Is America truly a Christian nation?

 In a 2022 survey, about 68 percent of Americans responded that they were Christians. In 2010, Christians represented about 75 percent of those questioned. Over 90 percent of Americans identified as Christians, in 1948. I am not a religious expert, and I will upset some readers. If you are one of those readers, that is OK. I ask you to consider my argument. The United States has never been a “Christian Nation.” It has always been a “Nation comprised mostly of Christians.” Our founders intentionally separated government and religion. Before Thomas Jefferson wrote about “a wall of separation between the church and state” to the Danbury Baptist Association, in 1802, Roger Williams said an authentic Christian church could only exist if there were “a wall or hedge of separation” between the “wilderness of the world” and “the garden of the church.” Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, believed government involvement would corrupt the church. Both George Washington and John Adams signed the 1796 Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Tripoli, stating that “the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.” These founders didn’t oppose Christianity. Instead, as James Madison stated, they believed, “Religion and government will both exist in greater purity the less they are mixed together.”

Before the First Council of Nicaea, in 325, there were at least three branches of Christianity: Jewish, Pauline, and Gnostic. These branches were further divided into about 16 distinct groups of differing beliefs. After the First Council of Nicaea and before the East-West Schism of “the church,” there were at least 20 unique divisions of Christianity. Protestantism, the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century, gave rise to numerous branches of Lutheranism, Anglicanism, and Calvinism. Because the illusion of Christian unity gives Christians a feeling of majority, it is easy to ignore that divisions of beliefs and faith exist in Christianity.

The blanket of “Christianity” isn’t as all-inclusive as many of us naively accept it to be. The more society tugs at one edge, the more division is exposed at another edge. While organized religion and different denominations are societal creations, faith, on the other hand, is deeply personal and only exists in an individual. I may share beliefs with other Christians, but my faith is mine alone. Faith cannot be dictated, legislated, or mandated. Faith cannot be measured or verified. Only you can be certain of your faith, and you can only be certain of your faith. Faith is the proper basis for religion, not labels, doctrine, or ceremonies. This fact is why the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause is so important. It guarantees that no individual will ever be bound to the faith of another. Anyone can falsely claim beliefs, hollowly perform ceremonies without faithful intent, and deceivingly profess faith. Thankfully, our government cannot demand any of these acts of attrition.

So, before you continue to wrongly call the United States a “Christian Nation,” as many pandering politicians so often do, ask yourself, “Whose Christianity are you talking about?” The answer “Jesus’ Christianity” is a circular argument at best. “Whose Jesus?” “The Bible’s Jesus.” “Whose Bible?” “There’s only one Bible.” Actually, there are over 900 English translations of the canonical New Testament, not to mention all of the non-canonical Gospels and Epistles. I am not writing this to call your faith into question. In fact, I want you to realize your faith is precious and unique. Never use religion to demand a particular government policy. That is a door you don’t want opened. Government policy should be based on facts, not faith. I have strong morals and high ethics rooted in faith that I seldom live up to. I would never want those standards imposed on the nation. I wish more Americans lived the faith they profess instead of trying to force religious adherence on the nation, but those are just my thoughts. Think for yourself.