Is the United States a Christian nation?
Libertarian lawyer and college professor Jon Rowe thoughtfully and concisely weighs the arguments (and actions) of the culture warriors.
While acknowledging that the ACLU is frequently the target of religious-right "slander" — the word refers to spoken malicious falsehoods — Rowe notes that the organization, and some other secularists, sometimes go one step too far in separating religion and government.
I like Jon Rowe’s analysis, and have long been ticked off when relatively innocuous statements, like “In the Year of the Lord” are used by some “pro-family” types to argue the US is a “Christian” nation, rather than understanding that such statements are a reflection of the times in which the country was founded – when the belief in God was far more central to life than it is now.
What I also find fascinating is that so many of those people who claim this is a “Christian” country don’t realize or acknowledge that there is no way the Founding Fathers could have worshiped in the “Christian” sects to which the “pro-family” movement members often belong. Many of the evangelical churches, not to mention the Southern Baptist church, did not exist, or were in their infancy when the Declaration and the Constitution were written. Even those churches that are leaning more conservative now, like the Catholic Church, that existed at the time did not have the influence they now have. The assumption that because the Founding Fathers used some common “Christian” phrases they automatically would agree with the theology, say, of the Assembly of God, is specious, at best.
Thanks!