When you read the home-bound letters that were composed by the British soldiers serving in the American colonies, you will often find that the colonists were referred to as "holy rollers", or "Christian zealots". As the American Revolution unfolded, it certainly would not have been a surprise to the British that the American churches played an active roll in the uprising. Yet, today we find that many Americans believe that the Founding Fathers established the separation between church and state in order that the church not influence the affairs of government - when in fact, these men hoped that government would not interfere with the concerns of the church. How much we have changed.
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