It is presumed that since democracy reflects the will of the majority and the majority of the people are Christian, the laws and policies of the government must necessarily reflect Christian precepts. (I think that is the argument.)

If the United States finds itself in a different place, some suggest, it is because the will of the Christian majority is being suppressed. Placing Christianity as the boundary line for the laws of the land would restore a gentler, more compassionate country.

The proponents of such a “Christian nation” do not consider that the political battles required to bring about such a change constitute an attack on non-Christians. The consonance between faith and legislation amounts to nothing more than the achievement of justice in a righteous democracy that respects the will of the majority. Or so they say.

Equating Christianity with the full-flowering of United States’ democracy, however, is a flawed argument. The concept that a majority of the populace can or ought to decide on legislation is NOT the basic premise of democracy, but rather its result.

The basic premise of democracy – as found in the Declaration of Independence – is equality of citizens. It is only when there is liberty and justice for ALL that the vote of the majority can compel allegiance. Thus, the “good Christian gentlemen” of the KKK could not make claim to being a democratic organization because the purpose of their secret society was to deny equality to blacks, Jews, Catholics and other citizens of diverse backgrounds and beliefs.

It is contradictory to appeal to democratic values intended to bring equality when the result is a denial of equality to non-Christians. For the will of the majority to be valid, it must not adopt an Orwellian sense that “some are more equal than others.” A truly democratic society cannot favor one class of citizen over others.

The Evangelicals who run prison systems of rehabilitation in Jesus’ name cannot use public money to discriminate against Catholics and Muslims. This principle at times will limit Christianity: at others, it will protect it. Thus, for instance, the Jewish leaders who petitioned for a menorah in the Seattle airport could not require all Christmas trees to be removed: it was an issue of both/and rather than of either/or.

But if every religion has the same rights, does that constitute a statement that none of them is really “true”? It has been frequently objected that if the majority has no more rights than the minority, then democracy is no longer rule by the majority but has become a form of blackmail by the minority. Such thinking suggests that the majority need focus on its own self-interests and priorities, even if doing so denies attention to the neglected, marginalized, scorned, or poor sectors of society.

Ironically, defense of the neglected, marginalized, scorned, or poor sectors of society is Christ’s own measure of discipleship. As found in the Gospel of Matthew (25), the last judgment is based on clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, visiting the imprisoned, etc. – all of which are biblical metaphors for the minority or anawim. As Marx and Engels wrote in The Holy Family, Christians originated the concept that private property could be replaced by a community living under the inspiration of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” (See Acts of the Apostles 2:44-45).

Summing up, a Christian nation is a tolerant society dedicated to helping the most neglected and achieving equality of station for all – including unbelievers and sinners.

It is not at all surprising that the imposition in recent years of a restrictive “Christian faith of the majority” would be accompanied by a simultaneous effort from government to undermine the rule of law in the Constitution upon which U. S. democracy is based. It is not that we face a divergent choice between either Christian faith on the one hand or modern democratic values on the other, but that we need to push our understandings of both beyond the distortions generated by those fearful of freedom.

Those who promote a “Christian nation” that mistreats non-Christians are misinterpreting the message of the Christ they profess to serve. If we want to preserve both religion and democracy, we need to shape both faith and reason to the ever-changing demands of history.