EXPOSING THE MYTH OF AMERICA AS A "CHRISTIAN NATION"

Many of America's prominent ideas about Christianity and religion are very new in history. Evangelical Christianity was developed by John Wesley in the 18th century. So these are ideas that were cooked up in the last 200 years. They are not some representation of long term, traditional values. And the idea that America's founding fathers were all going to church and engaging in prayer around the clock is rubbish. Much of this view of early America was developed in propaganda after World War II.

After World War II there was a sense of triumphalism - that the American way was the best way, and that America had created a kind of wonderland, "the American dream." There was also a great fear of communism, and the atheist aspect of the communist governments. So much of this lead to a tremendous religious so-called revival. The 1950s were the biggest church building boom in America. Church membership in modern America, in the 1950s through even today, is at a far higher level than it was during colonial times. In fact, the phrase 'In God We Trust' was not added to American money until after the 1950's, along with the phrase about God in the pledge of allegiance.

In the 1960s, all this fell apart. There were a lot of excesses, in terms of drug use and sexual activity. Therefore, in the 1980s there was a big lash back against sexuality and drugs. This was marketed via a multimillion dollar religious marketing campaign, such as the Billy Graham Association and so on. And this lead to the promotion of the "war on drugs," "mass incarceration," and other kinds of hysteria that effect American life today.

So today there is a massive movement to reinvent America's history. To portray our history as that of a Christian nation. But this is the result of short term ideas and political trends. The reality is that many of the key founding fathers, such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison advocated for a secular state. The text of the Constitution does not say that the United States is a Christian nation. And there were even times in America's history where conservative Christian ministers attacked the Constitution for its lack of references to Christianity. This happened both in the beginning of America's history when the Constitution was first ratified, and after the Civil War when a band of politically powerful ministers in the National Reform Association tried to overthrow what they saw as a secular document. So it is interesting that conservative ministers in the 18th and 19th century knew that the Constitution was secular, but that many ministers today have overlooked this fact.

DISPELLING THE MYTH OF CHRISTIAN AMERICA

Was America founded as a Christian nation? (CNN, 7-4-15)

America is not a Christian nation: The dark capitalist roots of our country’s most destructive myth (4-29-15)

5 Reasons America Is Not—And Has Never Been—A Christian Nation (Alternet, 6-24-12)

The Myth Of A 'Christian Nation' (Huffington Post, 5-25-11)

 

GROUPS THAT WANT TO DISMANTE THE CONSTITUTION AND MAKE CHRISTIANITY THE NATIONAL RELIGION

57% Of Republicans Say Dismantle Constitution And Make Christianity National Religion (Politics USA, 3-16-16)

Ted Cruz Tells Hate Group: Only Way to Save U.S. is by Turning it into a Theocracy (Video) (Forward Progressives, 8-12-15)

The Conservative Crusade For Christian Sharia Law (The Daily Beast, 2-18-14)

The Christian Right, Dominionism and Theocracy (Public Eye)

 

GROUPS FIGHTING FOR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

People for the American Way

ACLU

Americans United for Separation of Church and State


WHAT WOULD AN AMERICAN THEOCRACY LOOK LIKE?

Let's say that many of these people advocating for a Christian theocracy in America got their way. What would this look like? Well, we've already seen the results of this. It was called The Dark Ages. When the Roman Empire converted to Christianity in 395 A.D, a wave of terror was unleashed upon the ancient world. While we certainly don't want to white-wash the brutality of the Roman Empire, it is true that it was a fairly tolerant place as far as religious diversity is concerned. The ancient world also had a fairly open and healthy view about sexuality. Yet when biblical law was implemented across Europe, this all changed.

So what would the legal code look like if we returned to biblical law? Here are some quotes from the bible as well as early church fathers below.

THE DEATH PENALTY FOR HOMOSEXUALITY

"If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death." Leviticus 20:13

THE DEATH PENALTY FOR ADULTERY

“If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”    Leviticus 20:10 (Unlikely conservatives will push for this law because with it would mean too many politicians would be put to death.)

THE TOTAL SUBMISSION OF WOMEN

"I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man. She is to keep silent." (I Timothy: 2:12)

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." (Ephesians 5:22-24)

"A wife is to submit graciously to the servant leadership of her husband, even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ." —Official statement of Southern Baptist Convention, summer 1998 (15.7 million members)


SOME OLD TESTAMENT LAWS STILL ON THE BOOKS IN AMERICA

SHOULD YOU GO TO JAIL FOR ORAL OR ANAL SEX? TRADITIONAL AMERICAN RELIGIOUS LAW SAYS YES

Not only are there people who want to impose the biblical sexual morality, but in America, many biblical rules WERE the law until the 1970's. And even still, there are states with laws against oral and anal sex.

There are also politicians waging a vigorous campaign to protect and promote these laws. In 2013, Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican candidate for the Governor of Virginia in 2013 tried to make oral sex illegal (Huffington Post).

If that isn't already insane, in the states of Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Kansas, it is legal to make love to a corpse, but not to engage in oral and anal sex with the living (Gawker).