John McCain, United States Senator (R-AZ), made the following comments during a Sep. 28, 2007 interview with BeliefNet.com:
"I would probably have to say yes, that the constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation... The lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door doesn't say 'I only welcome Christians.' We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses; but when they come here they should know that they are in a nation founded on Christian principles."
Paul S. Vickery, PhD, Professor of History at Oral Roberts University, wrote the following statements for an OpposingViews.com debate titled 'Is the US a Christian Nation?' (accessed Apr. 28, 2009):
"America was not founded as a Christian nation in the sense that Saudi Arabia and Iran are now Muslim nations where mosque and state are one. There is no coercion to follow a particular faith, and it was simply stated in the first Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. Or prohibiting the free exercise thereof... It is, however, my contention that the nation was founded by Christians upon Judeo-Christian principles, and without the guiding force of Christianity this nation would not be the most stable, longest running constitutionally based republican government in the world."
Jerry Falwell, former National Chairman of the Moral Majority Coalition, made the following comments during a July 8, 2004 Fox News Hannity & Colmes interview:
"This nation was founded predominantly by persons who were followers of Jesus Christ. And numerically something like 85 percent of all Americans would profess to being at least Christian oriented.
Now that is not a negative thing. That's a positive thing. The reason why this country is so tolerant... the reason why Muslims - unlike Christians and Jews in Islamic states - can come here and build their temples and mosques with absolute freedom is because it is a Christian nation.
And that is the nature of Christianity: to be open, to be loving, to grant total fairness to everyone...
But primarily it is, numerically, a Christian nation. Now the Muslims have come in, and most Muslims in America love America just like I do, like you do. But we know that there are a significant percentage worldwide who don't exactly like America and like Israel. They hate Jews and Christians, and it makes it a little difficult.
I'm never going to be willing to say that we are Judeo-Christian- Islamic. I don't believe it. I don't think that ever is going to be properly said, though they try to jab that down our throats."
Samuel P. Huntington, PhD, author of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, wrote the following in an opinion article titled "'Under God'
Michael Newdow Is Right. Atheists Are Outsiders in America," published June 16, 2004 in The Wall Street Journal:
"Statistics say America is not only a religious nation but also a Christian one. Up to 85% of Americans identify themselves as Christians...
Americans have always been extremely religious and overwhelmingly Christian. The 17th-century settlers founded their communities in America in large part for religious reasons. Eighteenth-century Americans saw their Revolution in religious and largely biblical terms. The Revolution reflected their 'covenant with God' and was a war between 'God's elect' and the British 'Antichrist...'
Americans tend to have a certain catholicity toward religion: All deserve respect. Given this general tolerance of religious diversity, non-Christian faiths have little alternative but to recognize and accept America as a Christian society."
In Holy Trinity v. United States, 143 US 457, decided on Feb. 29, 1892, the US Supreme Court unanimously held:
"Among other matters note the following: The form of oath universally prevailing, concluding with an appeal to the Almighty; the custom of opening sessions of all deliberative bodies and most conventions with prayer; the prefatory words of all wills, 'In the name of God, Amen;' the laws respecting the observance of the Sabbath, with the general cessation of all secular business, and the closing of courts, legislatures, and other similar public assemblies on that day; the churches and church organizations which abound in every city, town, and hamlet; the multitude of charitable organizations existing everywhere under Christian auspices; the gigantic missionary associations, with general support, and aiming to establish Christian missions in every quarter of the globe.
These, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation."
Barack Obama, JD, 44th United States President, made the following statements on Apr. 6, 2009 during a joint news conference with Turkey's President Abdullah Gul:
"One of the great strengths of the United States is, although as I mention we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation, or a Muslim nation, we consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."
Brian McLaren, MA, leader of the 'Emergent Church' movement, wrote the following statements in his Apr. 16, 2009 article "A Christian Nation Wouldn't Act This Way," published on Washington Post's 'On Faith' blog:
"When people tell me that we are or have been a Christian nation, I want to ask, 'When?' Was it in the colonial era or during westward expansion, when we began stealing the lands of the Native Americans, making and breaking treaties, killing wantonly, and justifying our actions by the Bible? Was it in the era of slavery or segregation, when again, we used the Bible to justify the unjustifiable? Was it in more recent history, when we dropped the first nuclear bomb and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, when we overthrew democratically elected governments in the Cold War era, when we plundered the environment without concern for the birds of the air or flowers of the field, or when we sanctioned or turned a blind eye to torture earlier this decade? Was it earlier this week, when I turned on the TV or radio and heard people scapegoating immigrants and gay people and Muslims?...
[I] would say that the more we claim America is a Christian nation, the less we uphold the highest ideals of both authentic Christian faith and authentic American democracy."
Steve Benen, former spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, wrote the following comments in his Apr. 7, 2009 article titled "It's Not a 'Christian Nation'," published by TheWashingtonMonthly.com:
"The US Constitution is, of course, an entirely secular document, but for years, the religious right movement and its allies have been anxious to declare the US a 'Christian Nation...'
We have a secular constitution that established a secular government. Our laws separate church from state. No religious tradition enjoys official sanction over any other. Of course we're not a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation...
The usual argument is that most of the US population is Christian. That's true, but irrelevant. Most of the US population is white - does that make the United States a 'white nation'? We also hear arguments that most of the Founding Fathers were Christians. That's also true, but also irrelevant. Most of the framers were also men - does that make our country a 'man's nation'?
It's time to retire this old conservative canard."
Susan Jacoby, best-selling author, wrote the following statements in her Apr. 13, 2009 article "Obama Revives Forgotten Principle of Founders," published on Washington Post's 'On Faith' blog:
"US citizens understood the distinction between a Christian nation, or government, and a majority Christian population in the 18th century, and the fact that many do not understand this today - in a multiethnic and multireligious society that the revolutionary generation could not possibly have imagined - attests to the poor teaching of American history in schools throughout the nation...
The majority of Americans are still Christians, but our government is secular and our nation is now composed of nonbelievers and believers of numerous religious denominations - some of which did not even exist at the time of the nation's founding... We are not a Christian nation, and our government is not a Christian government. That's a simple fact, and one of the glories of our history - as the founders understood."
David J. Brewer, JD, former US Supreme Court Justice, in his 1905 lecture series "The United States, A Christian Nation," stated:
"This Republic is classified among the Christian nations of the world...
Nevertheless, in what sense can the United States be called a Christian nation? Not in the sense that Christianity is the established religion, or that the people are in any manner compelled to support it. On the contrary, the Constitution specifically provides that 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.'
Neither is it Christian in the sense that all its citizens are either in fact or in name Christians. On the contrary, all religions have free scope within our borders. Nor is it Christian in the sense that a profession of Christianity is public serve, or essential to recognition either politically of socially.
In fact, the Government as a legal organization is independent of all religions."
