Quote Originally Posted by April15 View Post
Neither. The biggest inspiration is the Magna Carta, the failures of the Articles of Confederation, and Cato. The Federalist Papers go into great depth on what and why the nation should ratify the new document. The Papers also discuss the origins of many of the ideas and concepts incorporated into the new government being proposed and how they would be better than any document before for the people. That in itself is counter to any religious belief that God was first. While we may trust in God all others pay cash!
Why did the Articles of Confederation fail? Why didn't they have a Constitution from the git go? The Constitution failed too... it couldn't be ratified.

Quote Originally Posted by pegwinn View Post
Better yet, specifically why do you believe those things. I am not a social darwin kind of guy (illiterate in that area) nor have I ever viewed the Constitution from a religious point of view.
The term Social Darwinists is defined as the pecking order... Darwin was not born yet, but the definition does relate. If you read the constitution it is written in a way that reflects the value of persons based on their wealth and power, a person's value is in their accomplishments of wealth and power. For an example the constitution is set up like free market capitalism... the best of the best stay in business... those with poor management fall to the wayside. Here I'm speaking of the constitution without the amendments.

Examples of the above are the construction of the Senate, who selects them... The election of the President, who selects them... In the original constitution only rich, powerful property owners could select Senators and the President... The vote of "the less than rich and powerful" was subordinated to the judgement of the Electoral College (rich, powerful folks from each state)...The Senate was appointed by the State Legislators... The Electoral College was likewise appointed. The House of Representatives that reflects "the people" is elected by the people... but if you look at the above powers given the Senate and President you must admit that the rich and powerful were to be selected by and amongst the rich and powerful. Look at the powers of the President... he can dismiss Congress or he can call them in at 6:00AM every day if he so desires under the established constitution... Would you not agree that is Social Darwinist? About the House of Representatives... Who could vote at the time? In the North "Property Owners", down to small shops could vote... in the deep South only plantation owners ports authority voted in federal elections.

So how is the Bill of Rights based on religious values? Can we agree that John Locke was the father of the Bill of Rights? He was a religious philosopher who visited the colonies and made friends with the NC Governor... the governor was impressed with his philosophy and created a State Bill of Rights... VA and other states did likewise... Does this guy qualify as religious?
According to Locke, God created man and we are, in effect, God's property. The chief end set us by our creator as a species and as individuals is survival. A wise and omnipotent God, having made people and sent them into this world:

…by his order and about his business, they are his property whose workmanship they are, made to last during his, not one another's pleasure: and being furnished with like faculties, sharing all in one community of nature, there cannot be supposed any subordination among us, that may authorize us to destroy one another, as if we were made for one another's uses, as the inferior ranks of creatures are for our's.
It follows immediately that ”he has no liberty to destroy himself, or so much as any creature in his possession, yet when some nobler use than its bare possession calls for it.“ (II. ii. 5) So, murder and suicide violate the divine purpose.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/#HumNatGodPur