Is the United States a Christian nation?
The answer lies in one simple clarification: What is it precisely that you mean when you say “Christian”? Many will claim we are a Christian nation because so much Christian stuff (Bible-oriented cultural dissemination, many holding membership in established Protestant community, government leaders invoking God’s words, and so forth) has been prominently evident since settlements from largely “Christian” people began in the 1600’s. Others say no, and point to the vast diversity of religious beliefs given free expression in this country. Sometimes the anti-“U.S. is a Christian nation” folk perceptively point out the repulsive ways “Christianity” has exploited people through the years and stridently disavow any association with such religious comportments. The truth is that one cannot fully grasp whether or not the U.S. is “Christian” unless that term has a strict meaning that all can usefully understand, and because so many in this country have been so Catholicized by forces determined
” Answer: The best way to determine whether or not the United States is a Christian nation is to compare the philosophy of the United States with Christianity and see if they match. While there are many angles, both historical and social, from which this question can be answered, it is our core beliefs and how those beliefs affect our lifestyle, that ultimately tells others who we are. The American Ideal as set out in the Constitution is the idea that every person has certain God-given, unalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This philosophical ideal drives the United States in everything from its economic and foreign policy to the private lives of its people. But the question is: does this American ideal gel with the Christian worldview? Did the American ideal come out of Christianity? What does Christianity have in common with the American ideal? Can we really call the United States a Christian nation? To find answers, lets look at the three elements of the Am
