There are those who claim that if the civil government acknowledges God, it is practicing “religion” which is prohibited by the First Amendment’s establishment clause, which allegedly requires the “separation of church and state.” This view ignores the legal documents that articulate the American philosophy of government. A governmental philosophy that presupposes the existence of the Creator is essential to fundamental legal concepts such as equal protection under the law, due process, and unalienable rights.

The Declaration of Independence, the legal covenant that brought the United States of America into existence, specifically declared the philosophy of government upon which our nation was to be built. “All men are created equal, … they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” The political philosophy that presupposes the existence of the Creator God is no more “religion” than a political philosophy that presupposes no Creator God (socialism and communism).

In the classic book, The American Ideal of 1776, the author documents and explains 12 fundamental principles that are central to the philosophy of government of the United States.

IBLP has obtained a limited quantity of these out-of-print books. Though written in 1963, the information remains just as applicable to us today.