Q: Are We a Christian Nation?
A: No, the United States of America is not a Christian nation.*
But wait, didn’t Christianity affect the founding and creation of the US? Yes, it did heavily.
- The US was founded on Christian principles† (but not all** of them). Christian principles were used directly in our founding documents. For example, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
- The large majority of our founding fathers (and mothers) were Christian. (Other faiths, deists, and more were sprinkled in.)
- Our founding fathers (and mothers) used Christian thinking, along with historical knowledge, logic, political knowledge, and forward/creative thinking to form our nation and our founding documents. For example, “establish Justice,” “promote the general Welfare,” and “secure the Blessings of Liberty,” are principles strongly affirmed by Christianity. These (and many others) are in the Constitution, but not labeled as Christian. I think this is important, as the Constitution was a secular document and our founders were not establishing a Christian nation.
*Why Are We Not a Christian Nation?
We are not a Christian Nation because:
- We make room for all religions. Christianity is not required. Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and many, many more are allowed. We have freedom of religion in Amendment #1, of the Bill of Rights, which protects both non-establishment and free exercise: the government may not establish a national religion, and it may not prohibit religious practice.
- By “Christian nation,” I mean a nation officially founded as a Christian church-state, where Christianity is required or legally established. We are not that.
- While Christian principles were used (I dare say) heavily by our founders, not all Christian principles were used. That is, **not all Christian principles appear in our founding documents. (An easy example is, Jesus of Nazareth died on a cross to save believers from their sins. This is a Christian belief but this does not appear in the Declaration or the Constitution.
- We have separation of Church and State.
†Comment on the Christian Principles
Q: Are the Christian principles, which were used by our founding parents, uniquely Christian?
A: No. The Christian principles used are also found in many other religions.
And, I Do Believe
Having said all this. I do believe the following are consistent with, and germane to, our country and its founding (and what I’ve said above):
- We are One Nation Under God,
- In God We Trust,
- God Bless America.
