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The most revealing glimpse of how the founding fathers felt about the role of Christianity can be found in a little-remembered 1797 treaty with Tripoli, the capital of modern Libya – a Muslim government.  It was negotiated right at the end of Washington’s second term, then ratified by the Senate and signed by the incoming president, John Adams.  The religious character of America is described in these words:  “As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion, – as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen (i.e., Muslims)...it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Church, Dean Merrill, page 90