Is America a Christian Nation?

Is America a Christian nation? Evangelical Christians have for the most part pretty much assumed it. But according to Dominic Aquila (editor of PCA News) there has been four different views concerning the relationship between Christianity and the state:

1. Christian Nation. This view maintains that America was founded on biblical principles and that there is a legacy of historical documents to show this (e.g., he Mayflower Compact). Present history and the interpretation of the Constitution must be seen from this historical perspective.
2. National Christian. This view holds that God is sovereign over all the nations and therefore each nation must officially affirm his Lordship. Most prominently held by the Covenanters because of their particular experience in Scotland, there have been attempts to amend the Constitution by adding that Jesus Christ was Lord of the United States.
3. Theonomy or Reconstruction. This view believes that the foundation for social order in any nation is God?s Law and that it should be the basis by which magistrates rule.
4. Principled Pluralism. This view maintains that America is made up of people from diverse cultures and religions and that Christianity is one of these. It is the responsibility of believers to influence and impact public policy with biblical principles by making a case for them in the public square.

On the PCA News web site is an umpired debate on this question. I have provided some quotes from William H. Smith, senior pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Ala, who effectively argues that America was not a Christian nation:

But was America ever a 'Christian nation?' The intuition of many Christians is to say, 'Of course, it was.' But this assumption is challengeable. In their 1983 book, The Search for Christian America, Christian scholars Mark Noll, Nathan Hatch, and George Marsden argued that 'a careful study of the facts of history shows that early America does not deserve to be considered uniquely, distinctly, nor even predominantly Christian, if we mean by the word 'Christian' a state or society reflecting ideals presented in Scripture. There is no lost golden age to which American Christians may return.' Those interested in the full argument may consult the book.

From the perspective of the Constitution it is clear that the United States was not established as a Christian nation. While the freedom of the exercise of religion was guaranteed (an amendment that has been tortuously read to require what it did not require when written ? the near total excision of religion from public life), there is no mention of a god, to say nothing of the God of the Bible and his Son, Jesus Christ.

It may fairly be argued that the culture that gave us the Constitution was far more "Christian" than that of today. Christianity was believed, tolerated, assumed, or considered benign enough by the founders and their fellow citizens, but had they intended to establish a Christian nation, they would have said so. Indeed, our brothers in the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America (sometimes called "The Covenanters") know that the founders did not found the nation on God, think they should have, and for a long time refused participation in the government or the practice of law just because the nation and its laws were not founded on the Kingship of Jesus.

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I also think [in addition to federal Judge Thompson who ruled against the placement of the Ten Commandments monument] that Judge Moore is wrong. He wrongly asserts that this nation is a Christian nation. He is wrong to stand in defiance of a court order. Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2:13-17 are timeless instructions that were given to those who lived under a pagan and immoral government that, as Peter warned, would soon turn its powers against Christians. Yet, both Paul and Peter teach submission to the government that is. Judge Moore is now rebelling against the established authority.

What are Christians to do as they sense that their country is "going to hell in a hand basket?" Well, we might try reminding ourselves that we are "citizens of heaven" (Philippians 3:20) and that we are receiving an "unshakeable kingdom" (Hebrews 12:28).

But what about God's Law? We might try first going back to our heritage. Read the Law and confess our sins against it in worship. Proclaim the Law so as to convict sinners and display the glory of Christ. Teach the Law as God's will for every life redeemed by Christ, filled with the Spirit, and motivated by love. And, we might try keeping it. I expect a multitude of law-loving, law-obeying Christians (on whose hearts the Law is written by the Spirit) will make a lot bigger impact than Tablets of Stone sitting in the Supreme Court building in Montgomery.