It is vital that we understand the heritage and the foundation of beliefs on which our nation was built. It is a constitutional right for us, as Americans, to practice religion as we please. I believe the First Amendment of the Constitution was put in there so that our Judeo-Christian values would forever be protected. This is not something we can simply eradicate for the convenience of those who feel otherwise. As the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said, "The Constitution is not a loving organism. It's a legal document, and it says what it says, and it doesn't say what it doesn't say." Here are a few examples of the faith of our founders:

1. Even the founding father of our country was a believer in God of the Bible. He was a man not only of tremendous intellect, but of conscience, caring, dedication and faith. His faith was founded on experience. During the French and Indian War, George Washington was riding horseback back and forth to deliver orders from General Braddock to the troops. In this, every other officer on horseback, except Washington, was shot down. After the battle, his faith in the Lord was shown greatly. On July 18, 1775, Washington wrote this to his brother, John A. Washington, "But by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation, for I had four bullets through my coat and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me!"

2. In 1775, during a meeting of the Continental Congress, all of the colonies were asked to pray for wisdom as the policies to govern the nation were being formed.

3. Thomas Jefferson said in 1781 in his notes on the state of Virginia, "God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?"

4. During the Civil War, President Lincoln proclaimed a day of "humiliation, fasting and prayer."

5. In 1952, President Truman signed a joint resolution from the Congress officially creating a National Day of Prayer.

There are many convincing statements by other founding leaders, such as John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Daniel Webster, Thomas Paine, John Locke, James Madison and others that make it clear that there was never any intention to ever remove God from the public sphere of our great nation (if only I had more time in this article to name each of them).

We are a nation that welcomes all nonviolent of every faith. Our Founding Fathers never intended to to be a theocracy, but they did not want us to eschew our religious principles.

To quote my favorite president of all time, and arguably the GOAT (greatest of all time), Ronald Reagan, "If we are to ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

One Nation Under God — Ronald Reagan