Is the U.S.A. a Christian Nation   2015-81

First off, most people would probably say YES to the question of whether or not the United States of America is a Christian Nation. But I then ask, “Are we really?”

The USA was, after it became a nation following the Revolutionary War, considered or thought of as a Christian nation. It was NEVER declared, as such, then. The Declaration of Independence called the nation or invoked God in its dating as “in the year of the Lord” but that was about it then as far as a tie in with Jesus Christ, in any way. This use of “the Lord” was a common way of dating in the 1700”s In fact, the original founders declared in the Treaty of Tripoli which was upheld in the Constitution, “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion”. In essence, we were NOT founded in the context of Christianity.

OK, this is referring to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, but I again ask, “Are we a Christian Nation and I add “today”? I am not trying to have an opinion of the legal senses of whether or not we are, but instead, will relate to the thought of the people of the country themselves as their being Christian.

I wrote earlier about “What is a Christian” in post 2015-79 and that, somewhat, relates to people in general in America today as a definition. But, how many of us are Christians in reality? Do we believe in God, which encompasses Jesus Christ? More importantly, do we practice our Christian faith that we believe in or just say we are Christian, without commitment?

More and more people are “dropping out” of their religious faiths, meaning people that were Catholic, Lutheran, Methodists, Episcopalians, and all the other major faiths.  It was once popular to go to church and then the numbers changed and less and less people do so today. I could ask, “is going to church a Christian thing?”, presumably that the church is a Christian one. I hate to use the word Church in relation to being a Christian though, because you CAN be a Christian without going to church…….

Can we call ourselves a Christian nation whereas the majority of the people do not practice the Christian beliefs and teachings? The numbers are out there for the totals that attend church, share the faith in Christ, read the Bible, attend small church groups or Sunday School and they are not only down, but very much below the 50% level. That is telling in so many ways.

The crucial role of Christianity in this nation’s formation is not without dispute, although as Revolutionary leader Patrick Henry said: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship.” The problem is that he could state that then, but today, it has no merit in some ways.

Only the principle of church-state separation can protect America’s incredible degree of religious freedom. The individual rights and diversity we enjoy cannot be maintained if the government promotes Christianity or if our government takes on the trappings of a “faith-based” state. I understand that fact, but feel that with religious freedom comes the responsibility. What do I mean by that? There was a news item on Yahoo.com that stated a political group was considering making a change to the Constitution that would declare the U.S.A. having Christianity as a national religion and it was at the 57% level.  This would not be a good idea as far as I am concerned.

We have the freedom to NOT attend church or involve ourselves in religious undertakings. I don’t want to have the requirement that I be a member of a certain religious group to live in the U.S.A.  I want the freedom to attend the church of my choice or not. If I want to be Buddhist and study Zen Buddhism so be it; I can in the U.S.A.  If I want to deny there is a God or say there never was a Christ, then I want that freedom to do so; I can do so in the U.S.A.

We are so very lucky in the U.S.A. of this freedom and I cherish it.  Some places in this world exact the final solution of death, for not believing in a certain god or their religion. Death is the answer for them in some cases, or at least is the extreme punishment. That is severe and somewhat archaic thinking of what to do to someone for their religious beliefs or non-practice of their faith. This could also apply to blasphemy or additional acts that go against the mainstream beliefs of that faith.

One of the quietest times on our road where we live is on Sunday morning at about 7:30 A.M.  A normal work week day would involve a busy and hectic travel at this time period. The only area where it is evident of their being some travel is on Sunday morning near or at the golf course on the way to church. This is just facts presented without any judgmental thoughts added.  It is a way of life today, period.

One of the things I look at as a positive thing of going to church is the “community”, that it offers. This means, the overall togetherness of fellowship, prayer, discussions, enjoyments, and all the rest of the things that make up a religious get-together.  There is nothing wrong about meeting like this and there are continued periods of joining with the same people later in the week that are part of this experience.

I do not want to look at our country as a non-Christian state of being, but perhaps it actually is in reality. This could be for many reasons, which have been reported on, but the fact remains that more and more people do not have a belief in a man named Jesus Christ, that died for us so we may have a chance of eternal life. Perhaps the promise of living forever is not a big draw today; don’t know.

Den Betts