Why do you Christians claim the USA to be a Christian country.?

Question

Agnostic Buddhist minded Mormon non believer here.

You Christians are all alike. You make claims you say are true and the rest follow your claims as if they were.
This country was NOT founded on Christian "values" nor was it founded by Christians.
Far from it. It was founded by intelligent men with enough sence and wisdom to exclude religion. They knew religion in the government would be bad because of it's potential to alienate and segregate and attempt to dominate and regulate to their own "belief" NOT WHAT IS RIGHT AND TRUE.

Answer 1

Because it was founded as one...
"America seeks no earthly empire built on blood and force. No ambition, no temptation, lures her to thought of foreign dominions. The legions which she sends forth are armed, not with the sword, but with the cross. The higher state to which she seeks the allegiance of all mankind is not of human, but of divine origin. She cherishes no purpose save to merit the favor of Almighty God."

~ Calvin Coolidge, 30th American President

1 Chrisropher Columbus was motivated by his Christian faith to make his difficult voyage.
2 The Pilgrims clearly stated that they came to the New World to glorify God and to advance the Christian faith.
3 The Puritans who followed the Pilgrims to New England, created a Bible based commonwealths in order to practice a representative government that was modeled on their church covenants. Their more than 100 governmental covenants and compacts essentially laid the foundation for Americas Constitution, which was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1789.
4 This nation was founded in large measure as a sanctuary for religious dissidents, seeking asylum from religious pesecution and seeking the opportunity to live in freedom under the laws of God.
5 The education of the settlers and the founders of America was uniquely Christian and Bible based.More than 40% of the signers of the Declaration of Independence had seminary degrees.
6 The Great Awakening, a religious revival, was a key factor in uniting the seperate pre - Revelutionary War colonies and increasing communication among them.
7 Many of the clergy in American colonies "preached liberty" The pulpits of New England were especially important in helping to bring about independence.. Long before the general population understood the threat to American liberty, some colonial ministers saw what was coming and boldly spoke out about it from their pulpits.
8 Biblical Christianity was the driving force behind the men who championed American independence.
9 Christianity played a significant role in the development of our nations birth certificate, the Declaration of Independence.The Declaration of Independence metions God four times.
10 The Biblical understanding of the sinfullness of man was the guiding principle behind the United States Constitution.. The framers of the Constitution drew their inspiration from the Bible. They intended America to be one nation under God.


George Washington
Taken straight from George Washingtons prayer journal..http://www.eadshome.com/WashingtonPrayer.htm
O most glorious God in Jesus Christ, my merciful and loving father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day..I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins...sounds pretty Christian to me.Unless diests pray to Jesus.Not!

official actions of Jefferson -
legislative and military chaplains
establishing a national seal using a religious symbol
including the word" God " in our national motto
official days of fasting and prayer at the state level
punishing sabbath breakers
punishing marriages contrary to biblical law punishing irreverent soldiers
protecting the property of churches
requiring oaths saying "so help me God taken on the Bible
granting land to Christian churches to reach the Indians
granting land to Christian schools
Allowing government property and facilities to be used for worship
using the Bible and non denominational religious publications to be used in public schools(He was involved in three different school districts and the plan in each one of these required that the Bible be taught in each our public schools
Allowing clergymen to hold pubic office, and encouraging them to do so
Purchasing religious books to stock public libraries
funding clergy salaries in Indian mission schools
Funding construction of church building for Indians
Exempting churches from taxation
Establishing professional schools of theology( He wanted to bring over from Geneva, Switzerland the entire faculty of Calvin's theological seminary and establish it at the University of Virginia)
Treaties requiring other nations to guarantee religious freedom
including religious speeches and prayers in ceremonies
Doesn't sound like the actions of one who would remove the freedom of worship or "separate church and state." The separation of church and state IS NOT in our Constitution!

John Quincy adams, our sixth president, said," The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity." (Quoted from The Christian History Of The United States Verna M. Hall 1966)


John Adams proposed that when Americas future citizens celebrated The Declaration of Independence, they should have religious services to thank God for what He had brought about. President Adams said Independence Day should" be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival, commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward and forevermore."

John Adams wrote and distributed a book for 10 year olds that was to teach them how to read the Bible while he was in office.

John Adams warned his countrymen:
We have no government armed with power capable of controlling with human passions, unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strong cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholy in adequate to the government of any other.

The vast majority of delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention were professing Christians. Only Ben Franklin and James Wilson of Pennsylvania were known to be Deists.

Ben Franklins speech at the Constitutional Convention:
Mr. President. The small progress we have made after four or five weeks close attendance and continual reasoning with each other - our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as many noes as ayes, is me thinks a meloncholy proof of the imperfection of the human understanding.
We indeed seem to feel our own want of political wisdom, since we have been running about in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of government, and examined the different forms of those republics which, have been formed with the seeds of their own dissolution, now no longer exist.And we have viewed modern states all around Europe, but find none of their Constitutions suitable to our circumstances.
In this situation of this assembly, groping as it were in the dark, to find political truth and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understanding?
In the beginning of the contes with Great Britan, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection - Our prayers,Sir, were heard & they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor.
To that kind of Providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity.And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend?Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?
I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth - that God governs in the affairs of men.And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice , it is probable that an empire can rise without His aid?
We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that "except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it"(Psalm 127:1) I firmly believe this; I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: we shall be divided by our partial local interests: our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages.
And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by human wisdom, and leave it to chance, war and conquest.
I therefor beg leave to move - that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of heaven, and it's blessings on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service."

Here was probably the least religious of the Founding Fathers calling for prayer and quoting scripture
Congress has opened every session with prayer from the first (September1774)to the most recent.

I am always astounded at the amount of partial truths that have been used to rewrite our history and how some statements are taken out of context and used to give a totally false impression of their meanings... for example George Washington's opting out of communion.. It is being used to try and give the impression he was anti communion. Nothing could be further from the truth...He decided at one point that it was not fitting for him to take communion while he was fighting the war against the British and killing soldiers. They use this one instance to make their case. However the truth abut him is that he was the kind of Christian who at one time journeyed a long distance, to the home of a Presbyterian pastor to ask if he could take communion in their church(some churches did not allow others to participate in communion if they did not belong to their church, and he was Anglican and there were no Anglican churches in the town he was at.) Washington did join them in communion and there is a record of this.The very first act of George Washington as president was to bend down and reverently kiss the Bible after being sworn in.He would retire to his library with a candle from 9:00 till 10:00 every evening for prayer and bible study. A fact that is well documentedTher were many times that certain emergencies arose and people would have to seek his attention and would find him on his knees praying before an open bible. Those that knew him closely wrote of him as a devoted Christian.

I hear people say that Lincoln was an atheist...yes he was just as I used to be but I am now Christian.Listen to what Lincoln himself said..."When I was in Springfield I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, I was not a christian But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. Yes I do love Jesus." Those are Lincolns own words. No one can tell me he was an atheist no more than they can tell me that I am one now, even though I was one in the past. If you read my letters before 1981 I would seem to be an atheist.

By the way, James Madison's first draft of the religion clause of the First Amendment is as stated:
" The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief of worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of Conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext, infringed."
That should make it clear to anyone who want to know the real truth that the Anti Christian society we have in force today is as far from originally intended as possible.It was VERY SIMPLY written because there were numerous Christian denominations and the Founding Fathers wisely built in safeguards so that no one sect could lord over others as the Catholics had in England from which they came.

Take a walk around our nation's capitol.View the monuments such as The Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. You cannot read them without reading the word "God" carved in stone somewhere.Religious paintings grace the Halls of our government buildings in glorious testament to the value our Founding Fathers placed on religion.

The Northwest Ordinance is one of the principle documents in the history of the founding of America...it states: "Religion, morality and knowledge being essential to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."
Here we see why the Bible used as text books in our schools, and our Univerities teaching Theology was no misunderstanding of the Constitution.

The first Congress of the United States, the very day after they approved the First Amendment, passed an act establishing Chaplains for the Army, Navy , the Senate and the House. Do you think that they didn't understand the Constitution they had just written and approved?The only way that one can come to the conclusion that the Founders of this country intended a purely secular state, where the state is
" neutral" (translate "hostile") to religion is by selective History They base their decisions on a FEW selective passages from our history and ignore the mountain of evidence to the contrary

Answer 2

LOL nice religion... now Christians claim USA to be a Christian country because of ignorance. They believe that it is because the predominate religion is Christian but in fact those that formed the country were of varying religions. Some were even Atheists. They formed the country so that government would and should be separate from religion because they had seen the trouble caused when a religious group had complete power over the government as well. this is why they came to America to get away from it.

Answer 3

There's a difference between being a Christian nation, and being founded on Christian values. I have found that a lot of religions have the same values as Christians.

Answer 4

ahhh, but the question is, are you an American citizen and a resident? If you were you'd know the answer to your question. Seems our forefathers and founders of America, as I understand it, you know, those who wrote the constitution and all, were christians, from, I believe, the Anglican church of England. And I was under the impression (this is just off the top of my head because I don't feel like looking it up right now) that many of the presidents we've had were christian as well, and so is a big part of America christian. "Christian" encompasses many protestant religions as well as the catholic religion. When you get time you can check the stats.

Answer 5

I think it's because so much of the country's history involves Christianity. And today, let's face it, are Muslim holy days civic holidays? No, but Christmas is. *shrug*

I personally don't think of the USA like that. I will say that it has a strong Christian base in terms of simple statistics, but I am a firm believer in freedom of religion.

Answer 6

Because the majority of the population of the U.S. considers themselves to be Christian, so people just identify a country as what the majority of its citizens are. Doesn't mean its true, but people have a tendency to do that.

That exerpt from the Treaty of Tripoli is absolutely right. The founding fathers, in no way, wanted our country to favor one religion over another. Obviously, we have failed at that. Christian propoganda is seen all over our TV networks and in newspapers, radio stations, and some magazines. Plus we like to bring it into our politics and legislate laws based on someone else's religious beliefs.

Answer 7

Adams signed the Treaty of Tripoli (June 7, 1797). Article 11 states:

"The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."

From Jefferson's biography:

"...an amendment was proposed by inserting the words, 'Jesus Christ...the holy author of our religion,' which was rejected-----'By a great majority in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindoo and the Infidel of every denomination.'"


"Christianity...[has become] the most perverted system that ever shone on man....Rogueries, absurdities and untruths were perpetrated upon the teachings of Jesus by a large band of dupes and imposters led by Paul, the first great corrupter of the teaching of Jesus." --- Thomas Jefferson

"Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together." -- James Madison

"The U.S Treaty with Tripoli 1796" this document was signed by many of the founding fathers including John Adams & George Washington our first President.

Article 11 :. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.


//

Answer 8

Looks like some people don't know their history. America was NOT founded on Christianity.

Oh, and SaintOfSorts... "God" wasn't added to our money or the pledge until the 50's. You're also no longer required to place your hands on the Bible and make an "oath" before testifying in court.

Answer 9

Although USA was founded by Christian men..There is freedom of relegion in this country. Also the majority of the people in USA are christian. Up until now have people started questioning God I belive in God but as guidence as a way of understanding:)

Answer 10

Maybe fundamentalist or right-wing Christians make this claim. I hope I don't get flamed for this one, but I personally think they are delusional if they think the USA is a Christian country. The USA is very diverse in terms of culture and therefore religion. (I am a nondogmatic, dechurched Christ-follower who studies A Course in Miracles, Buddhism, and other world religions/philosophies that teach love, peace, justice, and enlightenment--for all.)

Answer 11

I suppose it's because Christian is the dominant religion here. Although I'd go as far as to say it's no longer, the Atheistic view is growing out of the new generation.