Revolution and religion

David Sehat, author and professor of history at Georgia State University, notes that in 2000, some 62 percent of Americans belonged to a religious institution. It wasn't always this way. In the Washington Post, Sehat writes, "The American Revolution was actually a low point in American religious adherence. Sociologists have shown that no more than 20 percent of the population in 1776 belonged to a church." This raises an interesting question: Would our founding documents and tenets have been as brilliant if religious beliefs (instead of reason) had held more sway? Think about it.