When the founders gathered to create a more perfect union, most were devout Christians. But they didn’t fall into the trap of creating a theocracy or Christian nation, and we are much better for it.
When the founders gathered to create a more perfect union, most were devout Christians. But they didn’t fall into the trap of creating a theocracy or Christian nation, and we are much better for it.
The Church of England was the backdrop of this concept, and the religious persecution that took place was a foundational reason many left England and headed to the New World.
Founders made statements similar to John Adams who said, “The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity.”
Make no mistake, the United States of America was established and currently follows Christian principles, but that is a far cry from being a Christian nation.
The biggest challenge if we were to be a Christian nation would be exactly which Christians are we talking about? Baptists? Methodists? Episcopalians?
There is a wide variety of Christianity in America and the world. From a variety of interpretations of scripture to very different policies within churches, to be a Christian nation would pit these groups against one another in a battle to control the government in a way to advocate for one of these approaches over another.
The founders knew of this potential for separation and potential abuse of authority.
So they intentionally kept the government out of denominationalism by keeping the government’s hands tied. So they created the language, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
The key here is the limitation is placed on Congress, not the people. By preventing Congress from creating a state religion or preventing the people from freely worshiping how they saw fit, the founders intentionally prevented the establishment of a “Christian nation.”
But they did something much better. They established a nation of Christians.
By allowing free worship, the founders recognized the various denominations of faith all at once, which unified people of faith.
And the founders encouraged the people to follow the principles of Christianity, like Thomas Jefferson who said, “The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.”
By being a nation of Christians rather than a Christian nation, the people would be free to follow their faith however they saw fit.
The natural question to follow is, “But what about other religions like Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and all the rest?”
Yes, even these can be freely followed in America.
Look to nations where these faiths are the law of the land and you will find turmoil, oppression and in almost every case conflict.
But the Christian principle of not judging those outside the church (1 Corinthians 5:12) leads to peace.
Being Christian is not a forced belief. No one is required to be Christian. It is a voluntary choice a person makes when exposed to the teachings of the Bible.
A Christian voluntarily chooses to love their neighbor as themselves. A Christian voluntarily chooses to follow the teachings of Jesus, which, as Jefferson stated, lead to happiness.
That’s why it is so much better to be a nation of Christians rather than a Christian nation.
Christianity already calls on us to love one another.
That may mean something different to people. For example Romans 13:1 says “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.”
That means we are to follow the laws of the land. It is biblical to expect us all to follow the laws especially since we are a nation of Christians. The laws are meant to protect all, and only those who disobey the law are putting themselves or their family at risk.
That does not prevent any one of us from showing an act of kindness to another, but violating the law is not how we represent the faith.
The foundational document of our nation, the Declaration of Independence, states clearly that our rights come from our Creator, and it is the role of government to secure our God-given rights.
Everything comes from God. Our nation is a gift from God, not because we have an all-powerful government, but because we recognize we have an all-powerful Creator.
That’s why we should be a nation of Christians, not a Christian nation.
Earl Watt is the owner and publisher of the Leader & Times in Liberal, Kansas. Watt started his career in journalism in 1991 at the Southwest Daily Times. During his career, the newspaper has won a total of 17 Sweepstakes awards from the Kansas Press Association for editorial content and 18 Sweepstakes awards for advertising. Watt has been recognized with more than 70 first place awards for writing in categories from sports and column to best front pages, best sports pages and best opinion pages. Watt is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and is the descendant of several patriots who fought for America's freedom and independence.
