The dangers of seeing America as a 'Christian nation'

Of course, the “Christian nation” argument also asserts that, despite its past shortcomings, it is Christian ecumenism itself that advises individual liberty and equal rights. Indeed, an important facet of Christian belief is free will under God. This seems to align with previous understandings of freedom, which often centered on individual agency.

Aristotle defined it quite simply as, “to live as one wants.” Unfortunately, Christianity failed through much of its history to extend this position beyond personal, household religiosity. By contrast, at its outset, the notion of American freedom was predominantly political and populist in nature.

As the 20th-century philosopher John Dewey observed, “the freedom for which our forefathers fought was primarily freedom from a fairly gross and obvious form of oppression, that of arbitrary political power exercised from a distant center.”

With this in mind, Dewey points out that American freedom at the time of the Revolution could essentially be boiled down to a libertarian skepticism of government generally, and the right to vote.

The threat from Christian majoritarianism

This formulation was not without complications. Dewey saw freedom as a moving target – “an eternal goal [that] has to be forever struggled for and won anew.” Indeed, as Tocqueville realized early on, strict majoritarianism in the absence of effective government to safeguard individual liberties has just as much potential for tyranny as any other form of rule.

Presumably, those in the majority who assert that the United States is a Christian nation prefer it this way. If they already see American freedom as derived from their own faith, then why shouldn’t they?

The dangerous implications of thinking in such a way should be obvious. A case in point is this year’s Texas school board curriculum revisions, which will recast American history in Christian terms and dangerously undermine accepted science.

Because the Texas board is a parliamentary body subject to majority vote and comprised predominantly of traditionalist Christians, these deliberations fulfilled Dewey and Tocqueville’s warnings, as well as an observation from H.L. Mencken, who described American democracy as “a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.” It can be easily argued that this is a majoritarianism that does not adequately comport with the rights of the religiously neutral minority.

Seeing American freedom as Christian freedom sets the stage for political battles much larger than Texas school books and secular billboards. The historical debate over the Christianity or secularism of the Founders will continue to be caviled over ad infinitum. More urgent and insidious is the claim by members of one side that they have first dibs to the freedom all should equally enjoy.

Stuart Whatley is a writer and journalist in Washington.

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