The Founders envisioned and implemented godly principles and values into the blueprint for America — although that fact is often forgotten.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” the Declaration of Independence states.

[lz_ndn video=32610597]

As we all remember and commemorate at this time of year, in July 1776 our proud country declared its independence from Great Britain.

“And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor,” the Founding Fathers wrote.

Today, as some people across our land destroy Ten Commandments statues on state capitol grounds and threaten Christian businesses owners with lawsuits for living out their faith, it’s invaluable to remember and celebrate our rights and independence.

Related: This Man Just Destroyed a Ten Commandments Statue

“This Independence Day, we should strive to remember the Christian underpinnings of this nation, which helped give freedom to all, regardless of creed,” wrote Jerry Newcombe, a Christian TV producer, radio host and author, in a column on World Net Daily.

“Barely a week goes by without some challenge to our nation’s Judeo-Christian roots in the name of the separation of church and state,” said Newcombe. “But as another Fourth of July is upon us, it’s interesting to note what the Founders said in their own words.”

Newcombe has written or co-written 28 books, including (with Dr. Peter Lillback) the bestselling “George Washington’s Sacred Fire.”

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

“Any serious student of American history will recognize that in the settling era of British North America, beginning with Jamestown in 1607, Christianity played a huge role in the motivation of so many of the different colonies,” said Newcombe in an email to LifeZette.

“That certainly doesn’t mean all the founders were Christian by any means,” Newcombe added. “However, studies show that about 95 percent of the men we call the Founding Fathers were professing, Trinitarian Christians.”

The faith of our American founders helped shape the USA. These heroic individuals included President George Washington — whom Newcombe called a “committed 18th century Anglican” — and Thomas Jefferson, among many others.

“Our third president was not a lifelong skeptic,” according to Newcombe. “In fact, a year after he wrote the main draft of the Declaration of Independence, he helped found a church, as a layman, called the Calvinistical Reformed Church of Charlottesville [in Virginia].”

He added, “Jefferson did not intend a ‘naked public square’ — like today’s secularists, where they change the ‘separation of church and state’ to the ‘separation of God and state.’ None of the Founders, including Thomas Jefferson, would agree with the absence of God and government.”

Related: Supreme Court Ruling: Big Win for Religious Liberty

Christianity and faith are referenced throughout the founding documents of our nation, and the Founders likely would not have been able to envision a world in which those moral principles and deeply held beliefs were not respected in society.

On June 28, 1787, Ben Franklin — a signer of the Constitution, of course — called for prayer at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when the United States Constitution was written.

Related: We’ve Got to Return to Biblical Foundations in This Country

“In the beginning of the contest with [Great] Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for divine protection. Our prayers … were heard, and they were graciously answered,” Franklin proclaimed on that day, 230 years ago. “To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity.”