We hear a lot about the “Separation of Church and State” today, that term written by Thomas Jefferson in the light of the great awakening. Today we have a reversal of what was intended for this new nation, primarily because of religious persecution from the State magistrates.
An example of this was The Puritans, who fled to America as they were often persecuted for their faith by the crown, and not being subservient to the Church of England.
In our earliest form of government, religious groups “Constituted” the amount of control to be placed over them by the law. Later we would get our term Constitution from these same constructs.
Freedom to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ was at the core of this new nation, and a “Declaration of Independence” was driven forward by men like John Adams on July 1st, 1776. John Adams was willing to sacrifice his all for this new liberty so that his children might have the opportunity to hear the truth of the Gospel in every area of life.
Most today are not taught that it was the Colonial Pastors who inspired their church’s thinking. Also, the Federalist Papers (debate) printed in the news helped bring about the American Revolution.
The Battle of Lexington and Concord, which began the Revolutionary War, was led by Jonas Clark, Pastor of the Church in Lexington, twenty years before the Revolution. Other Clergymen like Jonathan Edwards, James Whitfield, and countless others supported this new form of Liberty; primarily for the sake of the Gospel, without the heavy foot of tyrannical government being oppressive to personal liberty, and what the founders saw as God-given freedoms from the Creator.
This is what our Independence Day (the 4th of July) represents.