Secular Christian Nation

Oftentimes you hear someone describe the U.S.A. as a "christian nation".  Whether it is indeed a christian nation depends on how you define "christian nation".

Well over half of all 305 million Americans is self described as a christian, so, in that regard, America is a christian nation, since a majority of her citizens are christian.

But please don't make the mistake of thinking that the United States was intended by its founders to be christian, or that the founders themselves were all christian. The truth is, some were, some weren't.

Among those who were was of course George Washington, the father founder himself.

However, the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, and the author of the constitution, James Madison, were most certainly not christians. They were "deists", which is essentially atheism, or the worship of science. 

The late eighteenth century in Europe and America was a period of devotion to science and humanistic reason, often called "the enlightenment". The founders tended to be wealthy, educated - and humanistic. The declaration of independence is a letter oozing with logic, and the constitution reflects a mind set in pursuit of reason, and logic. Many of those who signed the declaration were other than christian.

Benjamin Franklin was another who replaced christianity with scientific study. He and John Adams both wondered about life on other planets. Franklin wondered whether Jesus traveled from planet toplanet, spreading the gospel. A lot of people have probably wondered the same thing.

 Near the end of his life, when Thomas Jefferson was hiring faculty for his new University of Virginia, he received a letter from John Adams, urging him not to hire Europeans, because they would be more likely to be christians, and therefore, dogmatic, and anti-intellectual.

The christian influence in American history and contemporary life is indisputable. And so are a muttitude of other influences.

Please scroll down for the other articles in this issue of The Truthless Reconciler! Thanks!