Which of the founders were non Christians? There is this idea that because Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and, for a short period of time, Benjamin Franklin were deists that they were either atheists or non Christians. The only way you can come up these ideas is if you didn't know what deism was.
First off just the word deism itself is the opposite of atheism. For that you just have to understand etymology. Theos and Deus both mean God. The first is Greek and the second Latin. So a deist and a theist are the same thing. An atheist is opposite of a theist because the "a" prefix means opposite. Deists have no "a" prefix and if they did they would use the Greek atheist instead of the Latin deist.
In Jefferson's case his problem is he didn't believe in the miracles of the Bible, but he definitely believed in God and in Jesus. He was more about the moral teachings that came out of the Bible. Jefferson went so far as to cut sections out of the New Testament (the 4 Gospels specifically) and had them put into a book that people called "Jefferson's Bible". Jefferson required his "Bible" as mandatory reading for all freshmen Congressmen. He also establish a non-denominational Christian religious service for Congressmen who were too far from home.
Franklin said in his youth he toyed with the idea of deism but he said "he repented". He had a falling out with his local Presbyterian pastor for some reason and he never went back to church after that, however, he continue paying tithing to his local Presbyterian church until the day he died.
I haven't read up on Thomas Paine's story so I don't know what his deal was. I know he went off the deep end in his later years and some what recanted his pro-freedom comments from his earlier years.
So again, I ask which founders are you talking about?
"There are some Christians today who want to turn this country into a theocracy. Thankfully there aren't enough of them to make it happen."
You and me both. However, ALL Christians believe that Jesus will return at some point and establish his Kingdom, which will be a theocracy. Also however, the plan that God created for mankind is based on mankind's free agency. We must be free to choose for ourselves. His Kingdom will be established when He returns and it will be a benevolent Kingdom based entirely on individual liberty. God will never force anyone into heaven. That choice is up to the individual.