As with so many questions, we need to respond to “Is America a Christian nation?” with another question: “What do you mean by a Christian nation?”

If we mean, “Are the majority of the people in America affiliated with the Christian religion?” we would have to say, as Dr. Albert Mohler says elsewhere on this site, “Yes.” That’s simply a matter of fact.

If we mean, “Were the original inhabitants of America Christians?” the answer would be “No. They were native peoples with their own indigenous religions.” If we mean, "Were the original framers of the U.S. Constitution Christians," the answer would be, "Some were. Some weren't."

But if we mean, “Is the U.S. Consitution an explicitly Christian document?” we’d have to say, “It no doubt reflects the values of the largely Christianized European populace that produced it. But no, it doesn’t establish Christianity as the national religion. In fact, it forbids the establishment of a national religion.”

If we mean, “Are America’s domestic and foreign policies consistent with the teachings of Jesus?” I think we’d have to say, “Maybe partially at our best moments, but certainly not on many occasions.”

If the question is meant to explore whether Christians in America should be allowed to express their faith in public (saying, for example, “Merry Christmas” to one another), that would prompt me, speaking personally, to say, “Sure. And Jewish people should be able to say Happy Chanuka, and so on. Each person should be able to express his or her faith publicly, as long as doing so doesn’t violate the rights of another person.” The alternative – not allowing people to express their faith in public – would create a kind of totalitarian state few if any of us want. Besides, as this site demonstrates, respectful dialogue about religion is a fascinating and sometimes meaningful and even life-changing experience.

If the question is intended to privilege some (Christians) and marginalize others (nonChristians), I think it’s not the kind of question a follower of Jesus would even ask, because sincere followers of Jesus are taught to love their neighbors as themselves, which would mean they wouldn’t want to marginalize them.

Everything I know about Jesus leads me to believe that Jesus himself would be most pleased for those of us who are Christians to celebrate his birthday by actually seeking to follow his teachings about neighborliness – and especially, during these times of heightened religious tension in our world, neighborliness towards those of different faiths, and those of no faith. Which raises one further question: what if we asked, not "Is America a Christian nation," but "What would it mean for America to become a more Christ-like nation?"