Most Americans Say It’s a 'Christian Nation'

The Washington Post recently asked a group of writers and clergy to respond to this question: "Some politically conservative Christians say that America is "a Christian nation," and at this time of year, with the country saturated with Christmas imagery, it can seem that they are right. Are they? Is America a "Christian nation"? Should it be?"


It's not just "some politically conservative Christians" who say this is a "Christian nation." A recent survey from the Pew Forum on Religion found 67percent of Americans also believe this is a "Christian nation." So did 63 percent of Democrats. This is not the view of a group of extremists but rather of the majority of the population.

I happen to believe it's wrong but when a belief is that commonly held it's worth taking a look at the evidence with an open mind.

Let's look at the most commonly cited evidence:

Most Americans are Christians – This is true. With all the appropriate emphasis on pluralism and tolerance, it's easy to forget how demographically Christian America is. Polls show consistently that more than 80 percent of Americans are Christian. There are six times as many Baptists alone as there are Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus combined.

But while "Christian nation" advocates are right about the math, it's nonetheless a weak point. If the term "Christian America" derives merely from demographics then we are also a female nation and a nation of brunettes. And when people of color become the majority, we would then become a brown and black Nation. These are meaningless appellations because, fortunately, this nation does not distribute its rights according to group size but rather fundamental principles.

The new world was founded as a Christian enclave– That's true, too. King James' charter for Virginia in 1606 officially declared that it was the colonists' mission to promote the "Christian religion" to those who "live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God" (i.e. the Native Americans). For the next 150 or so years, almost all the colonies officially endorsed or encouraged Christianity. What's often left unmentioned, though, is that our country's founders thought these 'Christian America' experiments worked so badly that they rebelled against that approach and created a secular Constitution.

Continued on page 2: What about the separation of church and state? »