When people say that America is not a Christian nation, we can respond by saying, “You’re right. It was not founded as a Christian nation.” It’s not a Christian nation by design. The founders didn’t want a theocracy. They didn’t want to legislate religion. The founders of America wanted a land that had freedom of religion. A lot of them had just left a country where there was a prescribed way to worship, and they didn’t like it at all. They had seen the intolerance of a state church.
However, most of them were devoted Christians and wanted to include biblical principles in the founding documents. They wanted a nation where there would be justice for murder and theft. They desired to legislate morality so people could live in safety and peace. They legislated the natural law or the law that is written on our hearts. God placed a certain amount of conscience in every person’s heart.
The Intentions of the Founders
Most of the founding fathers wanted people to choose Christianity and the Bible, but they didn’t want anyone forced into it. Being a disciple of Christ makes you love freedom. The Gospel is Good News, but if someone is forced into saying they believe it, it becomes simply another religion. And Christianity is not just another religion. It is a way for someone to know God, be grateful for His help, and then live for Him. For when we try to keep the law, it condemns us, so our only hope is to trust in Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the law, so that we might live for God (Galatians 2:19). The grace of God should be esteemed because keeping the law can never make us right with God (Galatians 2:21). We’re simply not capable of fulfilling the law on our own. We need the atonement of Jesus.
The founders desired for America to be a place where the act of breaking moral laws was punished so people could feel safe to choose to worship God as they pleased.
The Declaration of Independence wasn’t about religion, but it also wasn’t secular. It speaks of the Laws of Nature. Everyone is equal and endowed by their Creator with certain rights. These rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Only God gives these precious rights, so no man or country can take them away. When the government oversteps, the people have every right to change it and institute a new government. The Constitution continues with the same principles of justice, tranquility, general welfare, and blessings of liberty.
The founders also did not want a human standard that has a natural progression of intolerance and a tyrannical rule. It becomes a system where the majority viewpoint can take over other viewpoints. Those who have the most power can determine how others live. My rights cannot take over your rights, and your rights cannot take over mine.
Evidence of Christianity’s Effect
What makes America great are the principles it was founded on. The people in America aren’t greater than anyone else in the world, but America’s founding documents give its citizens certain unalienable God-given rights that no person can take away, at least not lawfully. Natural law and God-given rights were not followed in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. This is why the Allied countries had every right to give those rights back to the people who were under the tyrannical law of the Germans.
America wasn’t founded to be a Christian nation, but Christians certainly did affect the country. Here are some evidences of that idea:
1. The phrase “In God We Trust” is prominently displayed in the Capitol building.
2. The House of Representatives portrays images of great lawgivers throughout history. All of them are shown in a side profile view except Moses. Moses is facing forward.
3. The Capitol rotunda consists of paintings of a prayer service of Christopher Columbus, bible studies of the Pilgrims, and the baptism of Pocahontas.
4. Multiple federal buildings in Washington, D.C., display the Ten Commandments.
5. Numerous bible verses are carved into the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial.
6. Since 1789, both the House of Representatives and the Senate have begun their day with a prayer.
The Founder’s Beliefs
The founding fathers of America had some differing beliefs, but all of them believed in a transcendent God that exists outside of nature. They all believed in a God who imposes moral obligations on human beings, punishes bad behavior, and rewards good behavior. Benjamin Franklin said that God “governs in the affairs of men.” He also said, “That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this.” George Washington’s first inaugural address included this line, “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.” John Adams wasn’t devout throughout his life but even he said, “Those general Principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the Existence and Attributes of God.” Samuel Adams went into more detail when he said,
“Principally, and first of all, I resign my soul to the Almighty Being who gave it, and my body I commit to the dust, relying on the merits of Jesus Christ for the pardon of my sins.”
It could even be said that some of America’s founders even believed that Christianity should be taught in public schools. Benjamin Rush said,
“The Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life… The Bible… should be read in our schools in preference to all other books because it contains the greatest portion of that kind of knowledge which is calculated to produce private and public happiness.” Noah Webster concurred, “The Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children under a free government ought to be instructed. No truth is more evident than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”
It was also the Christian influence that worked to abolish slavery. In the 1700s, long before the Civil War, George Mason was already saying,
“As much as I value a union of all the states, I would not admit the southern states into the union, unless they agreed to the discontinuance of this disgraceful slave trade, because it would bring weakness and not strength to the union.”
Conclusion
It's true that America was not founded as a Christian nation, but Christianity has always been a strong influence in America. As Patrick Henry put it,
“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 that reason alone, people of other faiths have been afforded freedom of worship here.”
Let freedom ring! And God bless America!
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Ehrlif
Jennifer Heeren loves to write and wants to live in such a way that people are encouraged by her writing and her attitude. She loves to write devotional articles and stories that bring people hope and encouragement. Her cup is always at least half-full, even when circumstances aren’t ideal. She regularly contributes to Crosswalk. Her debut novel is available on Amazon. She lives near Atlanta, Georgia with her husband. Visit her at her website and/or on Facebook.