Some people have a different opinion:
The position that the United States is a "Christian Nation" is dealt a serious blow by the fact that, as early as 1797, the government specifically said that it is not a Christian Nation. The occasion was a peace and trade agreement between the United States and Muslim leaders in North Africa. The negotiations were conducted under the authority of George Washington, and the final document, known as the Treaty of Tripoli, was approved of by the Senate under the leadership of John Adams, the second president. This treaty states, without equivocation, that the "...Government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion...."
Read on:
Is This a Christian Nation?
Myths About the Separation of Church and State
Myth:
The United States is a Christian Nation.
Response: This can be taken a couple of different ways, some valid and some not. It could mean simply that a majority of Americans are Christian and/or have always been Christian. This is true. It could mean that American society has been heavily influenced by Christian beliefs and traditions. This is also true. These are, however, simply factual observations and do not mean much when it comes to political and legal action.
The most common meaning behind the above claim is that America is "Christian" in the sense that it represents Christian doctrines, beliefs and goals. It is "Christian" in the same way that a Methodist congregation is "Christian" - it exists for the sake of believing Christians and is supposed to aid people in being Christians.
Upon what can such a position be based? One way is to argue from the fact that many who came here were Christians fleeing persecution in Europe. Aside from the irony of using past persecution to justify contemporary persecution, this merely confuses the context of how and why the continent was settled with how and why the United States, as a legal entity, was created.
Another argument made is that the early colonies normally had established churches and the governments actively supported Christianity. This is not, however, a very effective argument, because it was exactly this against which many people fought. The First Amendment was specifically designed to prohibit established churches, and at the Constitutional Convention, attempts to write in some sort of nominal support for Christianity always failed. In addition, the people at the time were distinctly "unchurched." The best estimates indicate that only 10% to 15% of the population actually attended church services.
It is true that Ben Franklin proposed that delegates at the Convention open their sessions with morning prayers, and people who oppose the separation of church and state try to make a lot out of this. According to the records, Franklin suggested that "henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business."
Aside from the fact that such a prayer clearly isn't very Christian in nature, what is usually left unsaid is the fact that his proposal was never accepted. Indeed, delegates didn't even bother voting on it - instead, they voted to adjourn for the day! The proposal was not taken up the next day, and Franklin never bothered to mention it again. Sometimes, unfortunately, religious leaders will actually claim that this proposal was accepted, a distortion which appears to have originated with Senator Willis Robertson, father of Religious Right leader Pat Robertson.
The delegates' refusal to base this nation on Christianity can also be seen in the fact that neither God nor Christianity are mentioned anywhere in the Constitution. In the main part of the Constitution, the only mention of religion is that there should be no "religious tests" for public office. The First Amendment, then, prohibits the government from either establishing religion or interfering with people's religious beliefs. At the time, more than one critic denounced the Constitution as a "godless document" - hardly the product of people seeking to establish a "Christian Nation," is it? This was not an error or an oversight - it was a deliberate attempt to frame the nature of our government and political system in secular, worldly terms.
It is occasionally argued by a few desperate people that the Constitution ends with the date stated as "in the year of our Lord." This is not, however, an effort to establish the nation as a Christian nation. This is rather the way people dated documents at the time and the fact is the West operates on a Christian dating system. Using Christian dates, then, is a reflection of the influence Christianity has had on our culture and not a reflection of the basis for our political system.
The position that the United States is a "Christian Nation" is dealt a serious blow by the fact that, as early as 1797, the government specifically said that it is not a Christian Nation. The occasion was a peace and trade agreement between the United States and Muslim leaders in North Africa. The negotiations were conducted under the authority of George Washington, and the final document, known as the Treaty of Tripoli, was approved of by the Senate under the leadership of John Adams, the second president. This treaty states, without equivocation, that the "...Government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion...."
Contrary to the claims made by some from the Religious Right, America was not founded as a Christian Nation which was then later undermined by godless liberals and humanists. Just the opposite is the case, actually. The Constitution is a godless document and the government of the United States was set up as a formally secular institution. It has, however, been undermined by well-meaning Christians who have sought to subvert its secular principles and framework for the sake of this or that "good cause," usually in the interest of promoting this or that religious doctrine.
But the Supreme Court has ruled that this is a Christian Nation
This misunderstanding is based upon the Supreme Court's decision in Holy Trinity Church v. United States, issued in 1892 and written by Justice David Brewer:
These and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.
The case itself involved a federal law which prohibited any company or group to prepay the transportation costs of a non-citizen coming to the United States to work for that company or organization, or indeed even encourage such people from coming here.
This was challenged by Holy Trinity Church, which had contracted with E. Walpole Warren, an Englishman, to come and be a rector for their congregation. In the decision, Brewer found that the legislation was overly broad because it applied to much more than it should have. He did not, however, base his decision on the idea that, legally and politically, the United State is a "Christian Nation."
Quite the contrary - the things he lists as indicating that this is a "Christian Nation" he specifically labels as "unofficial declarations." Brewer's point was merely that the people in this country are Christian - thus, it seemed unlikely that the legislators actually meant to prohibit churches from inviting famous and prominent religious leaders (even Jewish rabbis) from coming here and serving their congregations. Perhaps realizing his error and the possibility of misinterpretation, Justice Brewer published a book in 1905 titled The United States: A Christian Nation. In it he wrote:
But in what sense can [the United States] be called a Christian nation? Not in the sense that Christianity is the established religion or the people are compelled in any manner to support it. On the contrary, the Constitution specifically provides that 'congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.' Neither is it Christian in the sense that all its citizens are either in fact or in name Christians. On the contrary, all religions have free scope within its borders. Numbers of our people profess other religions, and many reject all.
[...]
Nor is it Christian in the sense that a profession of Christianity is a condition of holding office or otherwise engaging in public service, or essential to recognition either politically or socially. In fact, the government as a legal organization is independent of all religions.
His decision was not, therefore, any attempt by Brewer to argue that the laws in the United States should enforce Christianity or reflect solely Christian concerns and beliefs. He was simply making an observation which is consistent with the first two, historical interpretations above: that people in this country are Christian.
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From Austin Cline,
Your Guide to Agnosticism / Atheism
