Were We Ever a Christian Nation?

My colleague from the Fiction Focus Group, Will Kenyon, over at Kenyon’s Little Corner of the Universe, made an interesting assertion the other day in his post – that the U.S. was never a Christian nation. The assertion itself is not new, but what made it interesting was that it came in response to Obama’s recent speech in Turkey; it made me realize that both sides of this “Christian nation – are we or aren’t we?” argument have a valid claim to the truth, depending on how we define “Christian nation.”

For example, Will can align himself with Obama’s statement and assert we aren’t and never were a Christian nation, even though Obama stated “we’re no longer just a Christian nation,” implying that we once were.

Again, it depends on what we mean by “Christian nation.”

Do we mean by Christian nation one that compels adherence to Christianity? If this is what we mean, then no, we are not a Christian nation, and never were. The First Amendment prohibits Congress from making law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. This amendment stems directly from the fact that in England and in some colonies, citizens were required to attend church and to pay taxes to support the Church of England (the Anglicans, known in the U.S. as the Episcopalians). This is why the Baptist denomination – of which my ancestors were members - has such a long history supporting the separation of church and state – they were opposed to such coercion, for they were the very ones who were being thrown into jail for violation of the law. In other words, it was Christians who primarily supported the adoption of the First Amendment. It was such state coercion that led Jefferson to write the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, one of the three things he insisted be noted in his epitaph.

Do we mean by Christian nation one that is composed primarily of Christians? A case might be made for this. Certainly in the past, the U.S. population has been composed predominately of people professing to be Christian with Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, even atheist, in the extreme minority. The population, of course, has shifted since 1776. I really don’t think, though, that what we’re discussing is sheer demographics.

I think it gets closer to the heart of the issue to ask, do we mean by Christian nation one that is receptive to Christianity as truth, one that values the tenets of Christianity, one that was influenced by those tenets?

Regarding being receptive, imagine if we were writing the Declaration of Independence today. Can you imagine if such terms like

“…the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them…”

“….and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights….”

“…with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence….”

were proposed for inclusion? The Left would go absolutely ballistic.

So, we have to ask ourselves, what atmosphere was conducive for the inclusion of these phrases in 1776? From what mindset were the framers of the Declaration operating?

The Left luxuriates in saying that the Founding Fathers were really enlightenment deists, not Christians, but this can be proved nonsense very quickly. The god of deism does not care for the creation, does not interfere with the creation, and is absolutely aloof from the creation. The god of deism does not “protect” anything or anyone (so how can you have a ‘firm reliance’ on it?) and it makes no judgments. Yet, if you will go to the Jefferson Memorial in D.C., you will see the words of Jefferson inscribed upon its walls: “I tremble for my nation when I reflect that God is just: that His justice can not sleep forever.” That is NOT a deist statement.

What kind of atmosphere would allow George Washington to proclaim a Thanksgiving holiday with these words:

“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to ‘recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:’”

Again, a theistic, not a deistic, statement. And where were the Left at the time this was written? Was there an outcry that the “separation of church and state” had been violated, that the First Amendment had been violated? But on the other hand, was this statement a Christian one?

At first glance it seems contradictory to have a Constitution that forbids the establishment of a state religion and at the same time an atmosphere that had no fear of acknowledging the providence of God. It’s not contradictory, however, when you realize that a central Christian tenet is that morality and religion cannot be legislated. Christ proclaimed that moral righteousness can not be attained by adherence to (Jewish) Law; it must be received as grace through faith. The salvation experience is voluntary, one of free choice; it is not compelled. It is a matter of the inner heart, not outward forms. As the Apostle Paul noted, “The letter (of the Law) kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Thus, in the sense that morality is a personal, inward decision; and that every man must be left voluntarily to his own conscience; and that these are central tenets of Christianity; then, in that sense, this country is a Christian nation and as long as we uphold the First Amendment (and not prohibit the free exercise of religion), then we are and will be a Christian nation.

So, a question for Barack Obama, who is claiming that “we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers….”:

Has a Muslim nation ever developed the equivalent of the First Amendment? Could it ever?