First Amendment - Establishment Clause

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Let's take it phrase by phrase - feel free to rip my analysis to shreds.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
This is referred to as "The Establishment Clause" and, simply stated, the Founding Fathers wanted to make sure that there was not a "Church of America". Just a quick look at English history will show abuses by the Church of England. The Church of England is arguably the only major denomination that was started so a King could get a divorce. I'm not trying to throw stones but this is NOT the best reason to start a church and this kind of start will put you on shakey ground morally.

If by "Founding Father of the USA" you use the criteria that the person did one or more of the following:
- signed the Declaration of Independence
- signed the Articles of Confederation
- attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787
- signed the Constitution of the United States of America
- served as Senators in the First Federal Congress (1789-1791)
- served as U.S. Representatives in the First Federal Congress
(a total of 204 individuals) then this group pretty much covers the Western religious spectrum existing at that time. Heck, Thomas Jefferson himself is claimed by Anglicans, Unitarians, Deists and Episcopalians and is often quoted by atheists.

So there's no way that you would get this crowd to agree on one government sponsored church. Where all the hay gets made is when folks start saying that "X" or "Y" constitutes a "state sponsored church". When anything about public schools comes up, I like to point to the history of "public education" and how it was started in this country and say "The question is not whether or not we should have prayer in public schools. The real question is whether or not we should have public schools." But you knew I would say that, didn't you? :-)

More later.