Chapter 7: Religion, Secularism, and the State

“The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” – Treaty of Tripoli, 1797, signed by President John Adams and unanimously ratified by the Senate

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” – John Adams, 1798, one year later

Two sentences, one man, one contradiction that has never been resolved. This chapter is about what happens when a nation tries to live inside that contradiction – and what happens when it stops trying.