Russell Blackford wrote:
>
> I've looked up the Canadian Charter. It does, indeed, commence:
>
> "Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of
> God and the rule of Law".
>
> However, it also guarantees "freedom of conscience and religion" as one of
> the "Fundamental Freedoms".
>
> There's no reference to God in the US Bill of Rights but I thought there was
> in the Constitution itself. I'll look later.
it refers to individuals being endowed by 'their creator' with certain
inalienable rights. A majority of those in the continental congress were
of Unitarian, Universalist, or Quaker extraction, and recognised the
religious diversity throughout the states, and our history of being a
haven for religous groups that european countries (particularly Britain)
trod down on. Heck, the state of Rhode Island was founded by a splinter
group from a splinter group. As a result, they likely wished to make it
a bit easier for all groups to understand and appreciate that it is our
natural rights that is truly important, not the name of the entity which
endowed us with them.
I expect that the British Parliament, being dominated by the Anglican
Church, felt a bit less compunction against a more overt phrasing.
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