Christian Nation?

I have often said that the quickest way to start an argument is to claim that America is or is not a Christian nation, and not explain what you mean by the term “Christian nation.” The key to the answer is tied up in the definition.

President Obama learned this when he said earlier this month: “ We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.” And a government professor learned the same lesson on my radio show recently when he was asked whether he thought we were a Christian nation.

Those who don’t believe America is a Christian nation will inevitably cite a section of the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli that says that: “the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.” Those who do believe America is a Christian nation will often cite the 1892 Supreme Court Decision of Holy Trinity v. United States that states: “No purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, State or national, because this is a religious people … This is a Christian nation.”

President Obama may not consider America to be a Christian nation, but a recent Newsweek poll shows that nearly two thirds of Americans (62 percent) do consider America a Christian nation. The key, I believe is in the definition. If by “Christian nation” one means that it was founded as a theocracy, then obviously America is not a Christian nation. If by “Christian nation” one means that is how it is defined in the Constitution, then once again it is not a Christian nation.

But if you mean that Christian principles were important in the founding of this country and even in the framing of our government, then certainly America was influenced by Christianity. Professor John Eidsmoe says: “A majority of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were professing Christians, many had theological training, and at least one had been a licensed preacher.”

Is America a Christian nation? It depends on how you define the term. I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.