A Christian Nation? Well Sort Of

The First Amendment reads in part: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Some Christians interpret this to mean that not only can't government restrict personal religious practice -- which no one has a problem with -- but since America is a "Christian nation," when courts ban sectarian rituals like prayer in public schools, crèches in community parks and displays of the Ten Commandments in taxpayer funded courthouses, they are denying Christians their "free exercise of religion."

But is America a "Christian nation" like Sarah Palin recently proclaimed and millions of Americans believe?

Well, yes, in the same way it's an English nation because it was settled primarily by English-speaking Englishmen. It's also a land whose population was once younger, shorter and thinner, and, oh yeah, originally -- redder! What it's not is a Christian nation like Israel is a Jewish nation or Iran is an Islamic nation.

Were the vast majority of colonists as well as some of the Founding Fathers Christian? Sure, although Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and four of the first six presidents, who considered themselves Deists, weren't among them. Did they rely on universal values found in some of the Commandments? Broadly, yes. I mean who would write a democratic constitution based on murder, stealing and lying? On the other hand there's nothing in it about keeping holy the Sabbath.

But did the Founders intend to constitute a government using the power of the state to enact God's will? Not unless Thomas Jefferson lied when he admonished there is "a wall of separation between Church & State."

How many references to God, the Bible, the Commandments or Christianity are in the Constitution? The answer is zero! zip! nada! Surely, had the Framers felt even remotely disposed to basing the Constitution on Christian canon, they would have made at least a passing mention. For example: inserting the phase "under God" into the Preamble; including among the lengthy enumeration of duties the powers to regulate spiritual matters and settle ecclesiastical disputes; or insisting on religious qualifications for various offices, which they not only didn't do, but specifically rejected in Article VI: "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

In fact, if the Constitution were divinely inspired than God must have made 27 mistakes -- corrected by Amendments -- evidently deciding later that maybe slavery and depriving women of the vote weren't such good ideas after all.

There is simply no evidence the Founding Fathers intended the Constitution be interpreted in light of Christian doctrine or provide Christian rituals preferential treatment.

But then facts have never played an significant role in conservative myths.