No one can deny the rise of the shrill atheistic voices of our time.

But dare I say that the idea of state-sanctioned, and in some cases, state-mandated atheism, is absolutely out of step with the traditions of America. Here are eight reasons why:

1. At the time of our founding, 99.8 percent of the population were professing Christians. Ben Franklin, himself a bit of a skeptic, said in a book published in 1794 (posthumously), when writing about America, “Atheism is unknown there, infidelity rare and secret; so that persons may live to a great age in that country without having their piety shocked by meeting with either an atheist or an infidel.”
2. The founding fathers (not just the settlers, like the Pilgrims—whom even the ACLU will admit were Christians) hired chaplains to say prayers—virtually always in the name of Jesus—for the military and the legislature. The tradition of prayers at the opening of the legislature goes back as far as 1619 when the Jamestown colony had the first congress of any kind in America.
3. The symbol of America’s founding is the Liberty Bell, and it has a Bible verse on it—“Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof” (Leviticus 25:10).
4. The foundational education of the founders was Christian—even those who later may have lost their faith or some aspects of it. As Dr. Donald S. Lutz, author of The Origins of American Constitutionalism, once told me, they all knew the Bible “down to their fingertips.” For those who are biblically literate, it is easy to see this influence.
5. In addition to the above point, all the colleges in North America were thoroughly Christian. Those who attended Harvard, for example, learned at an institution with the motto (in Latin) “Truth for Christ and His Church.” Only centuries later, did the Harvard trustees sever truth from Christ and His church. Madison learned his wise politics from the then-thoroughly Presbyterian College of New Jersey. We know it today as Princeton.
6. Since 1956, our national motto continues to be “In God We Trust.” But sometimes you wouldn’t know that. It was suggested by Francis Scott Key, who wrote our National Anthem. The first verse, beginning with “Oh say, can you see…” is well-known. But note what he says in the 4th verse, which I wish we would sing more often:                                        Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n-rescued land                                                Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation! 
               Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, 
               And this be our motto, “In God is our trust!”
7. Every state constitution mentioned God. Most of them still do. For example, here is the opening to the constitution for my home state: “We, the People of the State of Illinois—grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political, and religious liberty which He has permitted us to enjoy and seeking His blessing upon our endeavors…”
8. The single biggest reason that state-sanctioned atheism is out of keeping with our American tradition comes from our national birth certificate. The Declaration of Independence says that our rights come from the Creator. Therefore, these rights are not up for grabs. In contrast, what the state gives, the state can remove.

This is only the tip of the iceberg on the issue. In America, atheists are free to share their unbelief. Great. I just wish they would extend that freedom to the very traditions that extended that freedom to them in the first place—the Judeo-Christian heritage.