The Hebrew language is one of the aspects of the Judeo-Christian underpinnings to the early American culture. Many scholars in the early days of the United States of America knew some Hebrew – the way that scholars often know Latin today. It was important because it is the language of the Bible – the language that God spoke to the world in.
George Will once wrote that the early founders of the United States and the authors of the Constitution were not at all anti-religious. On the contrary, they were extremely informed religiously. Some were more observant than others, but they all had a deep appreciation for the importance of a greater Deity in their lives. However, what they also knew was that religion had been a leading reason for much conflict in Europe over the previous centuries. Therefore, they hoped to tame the passions of religion by setting up a way of life where Americans would spend most of their passions on capitalistic pursuits. This has been one of the greatest successes of the founding fathers. To this day. the United States is not a very religious country, despite the fact that there is a whole lot of religion throughout the country. It is more of a mercantile culture where freedom is the dominant attitude today as far as religion.
Today, the freedom of religion is not under attack, but so many other aspects of America life are. When freedom of religion begins to be attacked, then that means things are really spinning out of control. We must safeguard all that has been built up over centuries. Nothing less than our freedoms is at stake.