In
God We Trust has been our national motto for many years and reflects our
nation's reliance and trust in Almighty God throughout our history. In
this webquest, we will look briefly at our nation's Christian heritage
and how our leaders have always acknowledged the Providence of God from
our very beginning. WARNING: What you read may conflict with what you've
been taught and could have an effect on your belief about the separation
of Church and state.
The Tasks:
To
learn about the Christian heritage of our nation and how religion has always
been an important part of history and the governing of this nation
you will do the following:
Examine
quotes made by America's founders and Presidents reflecting their strong
reliance on Christian principles
Look
at The Declaration of Independence and the Christian thought behind it
Investigate
Supreme Court declarations in support of Christianity and our history
See
how our public buildings in Washington D.C. tell the truth about our Christian
heritage
Then,
examine the REAL meaning to the statement, "separation of church and state.".
The Process:
To
accomplish the above tasks you will want to visit the websites listed to
get an understanding of how important religion and the reliance on God
was to our history. Have a pencil and paper handy to record your answers
to the questions for each site.
1.
Did our founding fathers and early leaders have a faith in Almighty God?
Instead of listening to what some historians have told us about what the
founders believed, read and listen as America's
Founders and Presidents speak for themselves. You will be back to this
article later, so please read only the above section for this activity.
As you read, answer the questions below.
a. What bond did John Quincy Adams say was the highest glory of the American
Revolution?
b. According to Noah Webster, the moral principles and precepts in the
Scriptures should for the basis for what?
c. To what did Abraham Lincoln credit the knowledge of right and wrong?
d. In his Inaugural Address, George Washington stated in reference to the
United States, "Every step by which they have advanced to the character
of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token
of providential agency....." What did he mean by this?
2.
Here, we will look at the Declaration
of Independence and examine the Christian thoughts behind it. While
doing so, answer these questions.
a. Did the signers of the document believe in creation or evolution?
b. To whom did they appeal for the rectitude of their intentions for this
Declaration?
c. Explain the statement made by the signers, "firm reliance on the protection
of Divine Providence."
d. In your opinion, do you think those signers of the Declaration believed
they were doing the will of God?
3.
In this step, we will look at how the Supreme
Court has had a history of support for our Christian heritage. Read
about the declarations and statements made by the court by clicking on
the Supreme Court link in the left column and answer the following questions.
a. The first Chief Justice, John Jay, stated that it was in the nation's
best interest to prefer what kind of people as its rulers?
b. According to the statement by the Court in 1844 by Justice Story, from
what source could the purest principles of morality be found? Describe
the case leading to this decision found in the historical note below the
statement.
c. In 1892, the Court stated that this nation's civilization and institutions
were what? Did they have any precedents for this decision?
d. In the case Wallace v. Jafree in 1985, Judge William Rehnquist made
two statements about the "wall of separation" and recent court decisions.
What did he say about those decisions in relation to the intent of the
framers of the First Amendment. Also, he stated that the statement was
a metaphor. How did he recommend dealing with it? We will examine what
many believe to be the original intention of the statement "separation
of Church and state" later.
4.
The U.S. Capitol is the home for the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Read what Nathaniel Hawthorne had to say about our Capitol.
What did he refer to our Capitol as being? Our Christian history
can be found clearly expressed on our nation's capitol and other historical
buildings in Washington D.C. Scroll down to the following section
of the original article, Testimony
of Government Buildings then match the phrases to its correct location.
a.
In God We Trust
1.
Washington Monument
b.
Ten Commandments
2.
Capital rotunda
c.
Praise be to God
3.
Capital dome
d.
Crucified Christ
4.
House and Senate chambers
e.
Testimony to The New Testament
5.
Chief Justice of the Court
5.
By now, you should see a strong connection between the history of our country
and the Christian faith. With such a strong heritage of faith in God, where
did we get the expression, "separation of church and state?" Examine the
real meaning by scrolling down to the article, The
Separation of Church and State, then answer the following from the
article.
a. The phrase "separation of Church and state" came from an exchange of
letters between what two parties?
b. What is meant by the terms alienable and inalienable?
c. In Jefferson's letter to Benjamin Rush, he referred to the term "establishment"
as the establishment of what?
d. After reading the article, do you believe the "wall" was erected to
limit the power of government to interfere with religious expressions,
or to limit religious activities in public as is commonly referred to today?
Also, in what cases should the government be allowed to interfere with
religious activities?
The Evaluation:
Here, you will be evaluated
on your answers to the questions for each task. This rubric will give you
guidelines as to the scoring of your work.
Beginning
1
Developing
2
Accomplished
3
Exemplary
4
Score
Should
obtain a good understanding of quotes made by founding fathers and past
Presidents.
Answer at least one
of the questions accurately.
Answer at least two
of the questions accurately.
Answer three
of the four questions accurately.
Answer all four questions
accurately with a good attempt at last question.
Should obtain understanding
of the Christian ideas in the Declaration of Independence.
Answer at least one
of the questions accurately.
Answer at least two
of the questions accurately.
Answer at least three
of the questions accurately.
Answer all four questions
accurately with a good attempt at number three
Should understand
the statements of the Supreme Court regarding Christianity and government.
Answer at least one
of the questions accurately.
Answer at least two
of the questions accurately.
Answer at least three
of the questions accurately.
Answer all four questions
accurately.
Should understand
the Christian history told by our nation's Capitol and other historical
buildings.
Should be able to
match at least two of the phrases to their locations.
Should be able to
match at least three of the phrases to their locations.
Should be able to
match at least four of the phrases to their locations.
Should match all
five phases and locations as well as identify the statement made by Nathaniel
Hawthorne.
Should have a good
understanding of the meaning of "separation" and role of religion and government
as outlined in the article.
Answer at least one
of the questions accurately.
Answer at least one
of the questions accurately.
Answer at least three
of the questions accurately.
Answer all four questions
with a good attempt at question number four.
Conclusion:
It is my sincere hope
that you have learned about the Christian heritage of our nation through
this webquest, although we have only scratched the surface. There has always
been a reliance on God by our leaders and it is important that we remember
that Christian principles have always played an important part in our nation's
history and government. This belief can be seen in our founders, presidents,
courts, historical documents and buildings. When you are told otherwise,
simply take a dollar bill out of you pocket and reflect on our national
motto:
Credits & References:
Credit must first be given
here to my wife's uncle, John Singleton, who introduced me to David Barton's
work on this subject several years ago through an adult Sunday School class
in which I was a part. Barton's organization and website, WallBuilders,
is an excellent source of information for those wanting to study the subject
further. There are also many other links found on his site that were a
valuable resource for this webquest. Barton has also written many books
on the subject of America's Christian heritage with Original Intent
perhaps the best. Another great source
of information is the article, "America:
Intended to be a Secular State or a Christian Nation?" by Randy Alcorn.
This article draws from a list of resources and condenses them with particular
quotes. Also, the website Parents
Information Network gave some valuable information included in the
lesson. It is maintained and written by Larry Rice.
Teacher Advice:
This webquest is best used
for seventh or eighth grades since they will have a better knowledge of
American history and are better able to maneuver around the websites. There
are not many interactive activities such as would be the case for smaller
grades with no knowledge of any history.
It is probably best limited
to history, although you could perhaps include a lesson on geography with
a study on the places mentioned such as Philadelphia or Washington D.C.
The webquest is probably
best done on an individual basis for each student. They can do the entire
lesson in one class session or you may want to do it as an add on when
studying any one of the elements of the webquest, such as the founding
fathers, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, etc.
At this point, the students
may not be that familiar with the argument involving the separation of
church and state so you may want to give them some background about this.
They need to know that there is an argument against the teaching of Christianity
and Bible reading in the school. Discuss this with them either before or
during the lesson.
The evaluation is fairly
simple, the students just need to answer the questions. However, some of
the questions require some thought, especially those dealing with being
exemplary. The students should make a good, honest effort to form an opinion
or summary, giving some details about the situation.
1. Did our founding fathers and early leaders have a faith in Almighty God? Instead of listening to what some historians have told us about what the founders believed, read and listen as America's Founders and Presidents speak for themselves. You will be back to this article later, so please read only the above section for this activity. As you read, answer the questions below.
