The Godless Constitution Book Report

Even though so many years have pass since creation the Constitution, Americans were and still are in the mindset that the Constitution was mostly created by religious motives of our forefathers and that this nation was built on religion. However, this is not the case. This is where The Godless Constitution by Issac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore comes into play. Throughout this book, these authors are going to try a convince the reader that this nation and its Constitution were in fact created separate from religion, the separation of Church and State. In this book we are given an inside look into what kind of relationship religion has with politics. In the beginning of the book, we see that the author(s) goes into asking the reader if America is truly a Christian nation. We are told that religion doesn't play a role politics, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Religion does not play an important role in our nation and that this book is not meant to dismiss religion all-together. The next chapter goes onto explain that our founders of this nation were trying to keep religion out of the Constitution when they were creating it. There intentions were to create a God-less Constitution, but not a non-religious nation. Next, we are introduced to Roger Williams, the person who founded Rhode Island. In this we see that Williams argument is that religion should not be apart of politics at all and that politics could cause complications with religion. He goes on to say that we should favor separation of Church and State even if we are religious followers, offering valid points as to why. Following Roger Williams, we are then introduced to John Locke and hear his argument and how the idea of a Secular nation came about. …show more content…
This goes on to talk about Locke's writings which pointed out that government no longer tries to promote a good or moral life nor does it try to defend religious truths. The government sole purpose is to protect life, liberty and property and nothing more and nothing less. Later on in the book, we meet Jefferson and his views on politics and religion. We see that his argument favors that there should be a wall between Church and State and that religion is a “...purely private concern”(p.96). We learn that his views caused many religious leaders to not like him at all. Following Jefferson, we learn about the on going battle of Sunday mail, which questioned if postman should work on Sundays or not. We also learn about how several clergy men were trying to put God into the constitution, but failed to do so. At the ending of the book, we are left with George W. Bush and his strong belief of the will of God. The author(s) go on to tell the reader that the close connection of religion and politics has caused problems with our nation. They conclude with Jefferson's idea of the wall of separation should guide America and that this nation should remain Godless and secular. I have to admit at first when I read the title of the book, I thought this was going to be some anti-christian rant book that I would not enjoy. Surprisingly though, it was not entirely a rant at all but an informative book that lead me learn about America's history with religion and politics