To assert that North America is a “Christian nation” is misleading at best, and a distortion of its history, at worst even though about 85 percent of adult Americans claim to be Christian, according to a 2005 Newsweek article on “Spirituality in America.”
As an African American, perhaps I am more sensitive to such distortion than other Americans. I know, for example, that this nation--at its founding--defined itself in part by what my ancestors were not to it, namely, they were non-white, non-Christian and, therefore, non-free. As captured African slaves brought to the “New World” to provide free labor for early British colonists, no attempt was made to convert slaves to Christianity for over 170 years precisely because doing so might make them seem equal in colonists’ eyes.
Somewhere along the line, Christianity got conflated with ideas about democracy and freedom. Yet, it is one of the great paradoxes of this nation that while it declares itself to be a nation of liberty for all, it was built upon the backs of unfree human beings with no access to that liberty.
Today, this nation is comprised of many different peoples with various religious identities. We have become truly a melting-pot, though Christian values still hold a powerful sway.
A true Christian would, I suppose, at least attempt to imitate Christ’s love and acceptance of all beings equally. Just imagine if we were a nation where that was the case!
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