This morning I want to offer you the best article I've seen yet offering the specific facts making clear that the conservative claim of the United States being a "Christian nation" is entirely without merit:
5 Reasons America Is Not -- And Has Never Been -- a Christian Nation
Do click on through and read it.
VERY illuminating.
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Just thinking out loud here....
ReplyDeleteObviously the article is correct in everything it says. But are there other ways that the "Christian nation" issue could be addressed, and therefore, a different conclusion reached? Do not your religious beliefs affect how you vote and what you support? I've seen your posts citing thechristianleft.org; their home page quotes Psalm 140:12, which lends powerful support to government assistance to those in need.
This question is not limited to the USA. If Nepal ever gets over the political bickering and drafts a constitution, I doubt Hinduism will be established as a state religion in the way it was during the monarchy. But will Nepal cease being a "Hindu nation"? The caste system is so ingrained if already officially outlawed, and the streets of Kathmandu are filled with Hindu (and Buddhist) shrines; churches are few and far between. The opposite is true here at home.
All I'm saying -- and I am prepared to be persuaded to the contrary -- is it's important to understand the dominant influences on any culture. I think Christianity is one of those influences on ours, although I also see us (and much of the rest of the world) becoming increasingly secular.
This post is NOT meant to imply that non-Christians are any less American. I, for one, do not consider myself a Christian, but I certainly consider myself American.
--Bryan Doug