America's Christian Right likes to talk a lot about how America is a 'Christian' Nation. Do you ever see them explaining exactly what they mean, though? No. The fact of the matter is, 'Christian' has a lot of different possible meanings, most of which are contradictory. Either the Christian Right is ignorant of this fact or, more likely, they are using the ambiguity for political purposes.

In God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law, Marci A. Hamilton writes:

“Christian” has so many connotations that inyoking it leads to no particular theological and certainly no public policy conclusion. Christian can refer to the set of beliefs that are Catholic, or those that are Protestant, or those that are evangelical, or all of these beliefs taken together. It encompasses disparate cultural worldviews. For example, the Irish Catholics are Christian and so are the white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. “Christian” contains within itself powerful contradictions: The South African Dutch Reformed Church, which supplied the theology on which apartheid was built, is Christian, and so was the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., who led the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1960s on religious principles.

Slavery in the United States was enforced with Christian maxims, like the following by Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America: “[Slavery] was established by decree of Almighty God. . . it is sanctioned in the Bible, in both Testaments, from Genesis to Revelation. . . it has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts.” ... At the same time, Christians constructed the Underground Railroad that brought thousands of former slaves and their families to freedom.

The term “Christian” can equally refer to the harrowing torture of the Inquisition, the impetus behind the Salem witch trials, or Mother Teresa’s work in Calcutta. Christianity is present in every one of these examples, which means it is an amorphous term that carries more political punch than one identifiable meaning. In fact, its current political force is built on an assumption that the Unites States is a monolithic and united Christian nation. There is no such thing — America has always been a collection of sects, not a homogeneous people of faith. [emphasis added]

Unfortunately, many Christians are unwilling to acknowledge the role or complicity of Christianity in anything they don’t like. They deny that those responsible for apartheid, slavery, the Inquisition, or anything else disturbing were “real” Christians or following “real” Christian values. To see just how narrow their vision of Christianity is, notice that they aren’t even willing to acknowledge their opponents on various current political debates — like gay marriage, abortion, or even taxation — are “real” Christians.

The only valid form of Christianity is their form of Christianity; it stands to reason, then (though they don’t come out and say it) that for America to be a “Christian Nation,” it must adhere to and promote their sort of Christianity exclusively. Why don’t they say it? Because most Christians and most Americans don’t agree with everything the Christian Right promotes. They may agree on some points, but not all of them. The ambiguity of the label “Christian Nation” allows the Christian Right to encourage the belief that all self-professed Christians are somehow included in the agenda. They aren’t, obviously, but it helps the Christian Right’s political prospects if voters believe it anyway.

The United States is still not a Christian country in the sense those using the phrase want it to mean, because even if every possible meaning were packed into the term, it still would not encompass what this republican form of government aspires to. That is the achievement of the public good, which in turn, is determined by representatives who are delegated the responsibility to consider and then determine it in of current knowledge and experienced problems — not a particular religious viewpoint or writing. It is not an overstatement to say that the phrase “Christian country” in the same-sex marriage context is no more and no less than a political grab for power, rather than a description of any single set of values that could or should determine public policy.

The hard work of this republican form of government cannot be avoided by posting a sign declaring “Christian” on the front lawn of the White House. Representatives, in dialogue with the people, must forge the hard policy choices for every citizen, believer or nonbeliever, Jew, Muslim, Christian, or Wiccan. Their job is to define the social contract of marriage in a way that best serves the needs of the public, and all those who are affected by the marriage law, which is part of an intricate social web. The issues are extraordinarily complex: inheritance, legitimacy, children’s rights, property ownership, and taxation, to name a few, and the task is unfortunately quite difficult. Resorting to phrases like “Christian country” does not begin to answer the question. [emphasis added]

The Christian Right talks a lot about “values” when what they are really after is power: political power, social power, economic power, and most of all cultural power. There was a time when conservative Christianity defined the basic boundaries, choices, and behaviors of people in all those fields (or at least that’s what Christians keep telling themselves). Today, however, Christianity is completely optional and no one has to abide by any Christian standards in politics, society, or modern culture.

This is what the Christian Right would like to reverse with their rhetoric about America being a Christian Nation. If America really is “Christian,” then the absence of Christian power and privileges is a mistake. If America is supposed to be “Christian” in nature, then the Christian Right’s grab for power is really a grab for something which was due to them all along. Denying similar power or authority to anyone else is equally appropriate.

 

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