by Mike James

With the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States today, there is an ongoing debate in various forms of media as to whether the United States originated as a Christian nation. Many of the early settlers who came to America came from states (nations) that were known as confessional states. This means that the monarch of those nations decided the religion of their people. The early leaders of our country were aware of the problems this caused in Europe with many conflicts that arose over religious differences.

With this in mind, our founding fathers made sure our founding documents provided a separation of church and state. But it is important to note that prior to the Revolutionary War, most of the Thirteen Colonies were confessional states, although of different Christian denominations. Connecticut remained one until 1818. Those that were not made it clear in their constitutions that they believed in the biblical God. Other American states required each town or individual to support some Christian religious body without the state deciding which one. This was also abolished. The last state was Massachusetts, which restricted the obligation in 1821 and ended it in 1843.