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They could pray in their own house.
In the New England Town that I live in, there are 5 churches within walking distance in the vicinity of Main Street and several more around town. I was informed by a town historian that in the beginning, like 1646 when the town was formed, the first question a newcomer was asked was what church he belonged to. Not if he was a Christian or not, what Church. Being a Christian was a given. Jews were not sold houses to, nor Black people of course although they would have been Christians likely.
Things have changed. There is a Hindu temple and Jewish temples now, an Islam center. Our Senior Center greets people with Namaste and in other languages. That is because we are a secular democracy, even if mainly a nation of Christians. America leans religious.
I would say that in terms of religion, overall America leans shallow.
In 1776, some ideas seemed so obvious that it didn't need to be said.
The founding father's assumed the great majority of immigrants were Christians and this would continue.
Quote:
The First Barbary War (1801–1805).
The First Barbary War was the first major American war fought outside the New World, and in the Arab world
Barbary corsairs and crews from the quasi-independent North African Ottoman provinces of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and the independent Sultanate of Morocco under the Alaouite dynasty (the Barbary Coast) were the scourge of the Mediterranean. Capturing merchant ships and enslaving or ransoming their crews provided the rulers of these nations with wealth and naval power. According to Robert Davis, between 1 and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Barbary corsairs led attacks upon American merchant shipping in an attempt to extort ransom for the lives of captured sailors, and ultimately tribute from the United States to avoid further attacks, as they had with the various European states.
In March 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams went to London to negotiate with Tripoli's envoy, ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman (or Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja). When they enquired "concerning the ground of the pretensions to make war upon nations who had done them no injury", the ambassador replied:
"It was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every mussulman who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise. He said, also, that the man who was the first to board a vessel had one slave over and above his share, and that when they sprang to the deck of an enemy's ship, every sailor held a dagger in each hand and a third in his mouth; which usually struck such terror into the foe that they cried out for quarter at once."
Jefferson reported the conversation to Secretary of Foreign Affairs John Jay, who submitted the ambassador's comments and offer to Congress.
As Europeans were not keen to be slaves, the Muslim religion was not compatible with Christianity or the USA. You think? History and its facts are our friend.
I can’t disagree that America was and is a Christian nation in a de facto sense. That’s something people from non-Christian backgrounds learn at a young age. It’s not always malevolent and is often incidental, but it’s certainly there. You know you are among the othered. Even in my earlier childhood when I thought the world was 50/50 Jewish and Gentile like my public school classes and social cohort, I knew we Jews were not among the societally favored half.
But that doesn’t make the United States a Christian country in a legal or governing sense. Would I want to live under Sharia law? Hell no. But I also don’t want this country operated as a Christian theocracy or a Jewish theocracy or any sort of theocracy.
I can’t disagree that America was and is a Christian nation in a de facto sense. That’s something people from non-Christian backgrounds learn at a young age. It’s not always malevolent and is often incidental, but it’s certainly there. You know you are among the othered. Even in my earlier childhood when I thought the world was 50/50 Jewish and Gentile like my public school classes and social cohort, I knew we Jews were not among the societally favored half.
But that doesn’t make the United States a Christian country in a legal or governing sense. Would I want to live under Sharia law? Hell no. But I also don’t want this country operated as a Christian theocracy or a Jewish theocracy or any sort of theocracy.
Theocracy erroneously pretends that God wants us to RULE in His place. But God is not about "ruling" at all. God wants VOLUNTARY acceptance and adoption of His Holy Spirit of agape love as the "governing factor" in our lives. That is how we avoid sin, NOT obeying laws or commandments.
I can’t disagree that America was and is a Christian nation in a de facto sense. That’s something people from non-Christian backgrounds learn at a young age. It’s not always malevolent and is often incidental, but it’s certainly there. You know you are among the othered. Even in my earlier childhood when I thought the world was 50/50 Jewish and Gentile like my public school classes and social cohort, I knew we Jews were not among the societally favored half.
But that doesn’t make the United States a Christian country in a legal or governing sense. Would I want to live under Sharia law? Hell no. But I also don’t want this country operated as a Christian theocracy or a Jewish theocracy or any sort of theocracy.
That is not the point of this thread, I don't think. It is whether the founders saw the U.S.as a Christian nation.
Yes, and it still is. The nation is of the people and the people are mostly Christian.
As a comparison, and not to slide into off-topic discussion, Israel is in both intent and purpose a Jewish State.
It is not clear to me what that means, if not a theocracy.
That is not the point of this thread, I don't think. It is whether the founders saw the U.S.as a Christian nation.
Yes, and it still is. The nation is of the people and the people are mostly Christian.
As a comparison, and not to slide into off-topic discussion, Israel is in both intent and purpose a Jewish State.
It is not clear to me what that means, if not a theocracy.
The intent in founding the two countries, speaking in religious terms, was diametrically opposed. Even the earliest settlers to the U.S. came here for freedom of religion, because they had been persecuted for their beliefs in England. The founders specifically separated religion from the governance of the country so that no one would comingle religion with politics. Israel, on the other hand, was a refuge for Jews to live and practice their religion since they had been killed in the millions for doing so in WWII, aside from being Jewish alone (i.e., racial reasons). It was, at the time, pretty much the one place on earth where they could exist as Jews in all ways without reprisal. They chose their form of government.
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Theocracy erroneously pretends that God wants us to RULE in His place. But God is not about "ruling" at all. God wants VOLUNTARY acceptance and adoption of His Holy Spirit of agape love as the "governing factor" in our lives. That is how we avoid sin, NOT obeying laws or commandments.