Is America a Christian Country Founded on Christianity?

This is a very heated topic among many citizens of the United States. However, is this nation a Christian Nation and was it founded on it? The best way to answer this is both by points, addressing one of the two parts by themselves and a ending in conclusion.

Is the United States a Christian Nation?

Regardless how you think, even if you are a militant on both sides, this question and the other are both important and perfectly fine to ask. The United States as a country as a Christian nation is not true. But, what makes something a Christian nation? Well, that depends on how you word it and the intention of your question.

In some sense yes, it is in fact a Christian nation, or rather a theistic nation. The reason this is true is because there are far more churches than schools in total. There are also plenty of different types all being Christian churches alone. You have political and other icons, even presidents saying: "God bless America!" You have the pledge we do to the flag with "one nation under God," and even "In God we Trust" that is firmly printed onto our currency. The Presidents will even swear on a bible as you do in court with, like when entering the military at the military entrance processing station, also called MEPS, and many other phrases that end with "so help me God."

So yes, it is a theistic nation by those standards. If you look around, you might find more. There is a painting in Washington D.C. that depicts Washington, where one might assume God of the Abrahamic religion, to sit in very clear pictures of angels by him.

However, is this a Christian nation based on what it should be and how it is a nation that appeals to the Christian religion? The answer is simple, no. In fact, around the 1950's, many of the theistic things you see were in fact added. During the time of communism as a threat, President Eisenhower encouraged congress to put the phrase we know today that depicts God, into the pledge. This was in 1954. In 1956, "In God We Trust" was officially added on paper and added onto the coin in 1864.

The bible swearing was, as with "so help me God.", was added with George Washington, for the God and the bible something that has been used far before the United States was in country.

So as one could see, things became more theistic over time and one could see that George Washington was also a Christian. The Founding Fathers were not. A good number of the founding fathers are and were in fact Christians, some holding a strong grip on their belief, such as Washington, yet many others were also deist. Of course some might argue, especially by reading the letters of some, that a few might have been areligious or atheist, such as Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was one of the Founding Fathers that were deist in their views, yet many letters show him speaking rather harshly of religion, like Christianity.

One could think that George saying what he said was based rather on his personal beliefs and not something all are required to do, but to say it while expressing their beliefs, something that many who fight for a iron wall between church and state would not agree to have happen.

The closest thing to God we get is in one of the documents and people, at times, saying god as Washington did in his entering of office. But as one of our nation treasures that is a founding document that does say god would be the Declaration of Independence.

In the Declaration of Independence, the founding document of what would become the United States, Thomas Jefferson mentions "nature's God." This is likely to be a way to say one's belief, god or not, that supports one person's side. Of course it would make no sense for a deist to say you are entitled to a God you do not believe in, that being the Christian God, so even with the Founding Fathers you might see a struggle, but this phrase speaks to be for anyone of many faiths.

Was the United States Founded on Christianity?

Many people also have conflicting views here, but the answer is the same as the first, depends how you try to look at it. But in general, no it isn't. Nothing suggest it was founded on Christianity, only that a few people, like Washington insisting a nation can only be ran well by using the bible. But, again, you have people like Thomas Jefferson directly contradicting this. The Founding Fathers did not see eye to eye on this issue that would later play a huge role that affects the country of the United States today.

What we can look to is the Treaty of Tripoli. There are in fact a few versions but only one ratified in English. The one ratified in English in Tripoli on November 4, 1796, and at Algiers on January 3, 1797. The following is the ratified version in English that states as such:

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen [Muslims]; and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan [Mohammedan] nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

As one could see by reading just the first few lines, you could get the picture as to what the treaty entails.

Since quotes of the Founders prove pointless with all the contradictions in statements and letters, we can at least use this very treaty that was ratified and the only one ratified that says this.

What a lot of people think is that it is founded on the Christian religion mainly because the Fathers were Christian, but this is also false as I have explained, some had other faiths or none. But for those who think they are, even if the entire Fathers were Christian, a nation is not founded on nor the belief to which one holds. Like so, if I made a country now, it would not be an atheist country because I am one, it would simply be a nation and what it's founding paper are declared to be, such as official and ratified letters and documents, would say what the nation is likely to be.

One thing we do know, the Fathers lived in a time where it was as clear as you could see that the religious nations only had issues in them. We can see this by looking at Europe during such years as the 1300-1800. In those years alone, the theistic nations, or theocracy, had ruined much of it's ways. Kings would crawl on the ground to beg to be let in to the church again, people killed others based on beliefs and declaring said god was on said side, the inquisitions, the Vatican which was very powerful during those time and much more.

The Fathers likely saw this and tried to prevent a religious country from forming to prevent what happened in Europe from happening here, in our beloved country, the United States.

In Conclusion

The United States of America is in no sense, a country founded on Christianity or is one as of know. As we speak, people fight to bring a complete and powerful stop to the theistic view of our nation by making it into a nation that is complete in it's separation of church and state. Some might argue this is bad, but it isn't and we have many things showing that over time the nation became more and more religious. This has stopped however with the looming threat of activist trying to put a hold to it.

Yes a few things have been added and a few things removed, a few Fathers are and were Christian and others not, some say this and others that, treaties and other papers that make out country what it is also show nothing that it is indeed a Christian nation.

References

1) The Pledge of Allegiance, USHistory.org.

http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm

2) In God We Trust, Treasury.gov.

http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx

3)American State Papers, Volume 2, Gales and Seaton, 1832, p. 19.

http://books.google.gr/books?id=bAlCAAAAcAAJ&dq=

4) The Decleration of Independence, first paragraph, line 2-3.

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

Latest articles