Is America a Christian Nation? Or does the U.S. Constitution require us
to be a secular nation?
You are invited to judge the evidence for yourself.
We invite you to imagine that you are a visiting dignitary: an
extraterrestrial anthropologist from a distant galaxy, here to study the
human race. Your scholarly team will be studying America, your specialty
is American history, and your sub-specialty is "church-state
relations."
This website will show you how to answer the question, "Is America
a Christian Nation?"
Here are the steps we'll follow:
- We will go step-by-step through a decision by the United States
Supreme Court, the highest judicial body in America, which officially
and unanimously declared in 1892 that America is legally and organically
a Christian nation (Holy
Trinity Church vs. United States). This alone should answer
the question, but we'll help you understand the reasons behind the
Court's declaration.
- The Court did not merely say that most people in America were
Christian, or that there were no Muslims or Hindus in America.
According to the
author
of the Court's unanimous opinion, the Court's claim that America
"is a Christian nation" is in "the domain of official
action and recognition," not
mere "individual acceptance." The Court demonstrates
that our entire system of government was created
- with a duty to acknowledge the authority of the God of the
Christian Bible, and to obey His commandments
- by Christians who
- acknowledged the authority of God and were committed to obey
His
commandments
- intended the government they created to acknowledge and obey
God.
- This case was effectively overruled in 1931,
and replaced by subsequent Courts with the idea that the government is
"separate" from God, not "under
God." The new doctrine of "separation of church
and state" covers way more than churches; it really means the
separation of God and Government. In 1989, the Court
declared, "the
Constitution mandates that the government remain secular."
This is a lie. The Constitution does not require the government
to ignore God's authority and commandments, as the Holy Trinity
case shows:
- From its earliest founding in the 1600's, each American colony
was a Christian Theocracy.
- "Theocracy" means "ruled by God,"
not "ruled by priests."
A nation "under
God" is a "Theocracy" by definition.
- There was universal agreement that the formation of civil
government was a religious/Christian/Biblical obligation. All
governments were Theocratic. Governments were formed because it
was believed God in the Bible commanded human beings to form them.
The founding of a government was a religious
act.
- Under the new federal government which began under the U.S.
Constitution on March 4, 1789, the United States were
Christian Theocracies.
- The U.S. Constitution would never have been ratified if it gave
power to the newly-created federal government to prevent the
United States from being "under
God" and officially and legally acknowledging themselves
to be under His jurisdiction.
- Does a consistently Christian Theocracy torture or imprison or
execute blasphemers? This is a huge question, and we'll tackle it,
with all its implications.
Note for now that two people can answer the question differently and
both be Christian Theocrats. If Theocrat A answers, "Yes, execute
blasphemers," and Theocrat B says, "No, Christ would not
execute blasphemers in a perfect Christian Theocracy," the
position of Theocrat B ("No....") cannot be used to prove
that A and B were not living in a Theocracy, or that B intended to
establish an atheistic nation.
Most of the arguments about whether America is a Christian nation
violate this simple principle.
- The editor of this website believes that a
perfectly consistent Christian Theocracy would be a Libertarian Theocracy,
not a Police State or a totalitarian dictatorship by clergy. Many
Christians (especially among "the Religious Right") who
defend the idea that America is a "Christian Nation" will be
offended by the libertarian character of some webpages on this site.
This website is against capital
punishment, for example. To argue against capital punishment is
not to argue against Theocracy (the idea that government should obey
God). This is a question of how government should obey
God, not whether government should obey God. Today the
"Separation of Church and State" issue is a question of whether
the State should officially acknowledge and obey a Higher Power (though
a century ago it was not).
In fact, it is theoretically possible to imagine a completely
libertarian, 100% laissez-faire Theocracy, in which
there is no civil government whatsoever. One can argue
that the Patriarch Abraham constituted a
"Theocracy" (although there was nothing we would call
"civil government" at the time) because the government of
his household was "under God." Before Israel faithlessly
imported political structures from the world around her (1
Samuel 8) she was considered a "Theocracy," but Israel
was apolitical. See our sister websites, www.Anarcho-Theocracy.com
and www.NAGocracy.com
Is America A Christian Nation?
First let's ask, WAS America a Christian
nation? It may not be any longer.
Obviously an important place to determine the answer to this question
is the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1892 the United States Supreme Court emphatically
declared that America was "a Christian nation." If you read the
Court's opinion, you will gain a nearly-complete education in the
Christian history of America. You will agree that America was once a
Christian Theocracy, and if you hear the heart of
Justice David Brewer (who wrote the opinion for a unanimous Supreme
Court), you'll know that if he and America's Founding Fathers could see
America in 2007, they would begin immediately working to make America a
Theocracy again. Here's where to get started:
The
Supreme Court's Christian History of America (1892)
Step by step, the Court shows why America was founded as a
Christian nation -- officially, legally, constitutionally. Let the highest
court in the land be your guide. Follow the Court's history and review the
documents cited by the Court.
It is a sad fact that the U.S. Supreme Court more recently
has denied its earlier ruling, and has denied what every signer of the
Constitution believed was the most fundamental obligation of every nation
under heaven: to acknowledge
God and His Providence.
Many Christians are recognizing that battle
lines are being drawn. The federal government now confiscates ten
times more in taxes than George III did, and Britain would never
have dreamed of using colonial tax revenue to remove God from schools,
fund Planned Parenthood, or send foreign aid to Saddam
Hussein. If there had been no "taxation without
representation," the American Revolution would have started anyway if
colonial schools were told they couldn't permit students to say the words
"under God"
or see the Ten
Commandments posted in the school hall.
When you finish reading the
Court's History of America, come back to this page for more evidence
that America is a Christian nation.
|
Does "A Christian Nation"
Mean "Theocracy?"
American liberals HATE the word "theocracy." All
you have to do to discredit an idea is accuse it of being connected in
some way with "theocracy."
"Theocracy" literally means "ruled by
God." It has nothing to do with priests. America was supposed to be a
nation "under
God." If America is under God, then God is over
America. That's the literal meaning of "theocracy."
The mainstream media use "theocracy" as a scare
word. They want you to think of Osama bin Laden instead of Jesus Christ.
They want you to think of "tyranny under god" rather than Liberty
Under God. Many writers who deny America's Christian history
attempt to confuse you with caricatures of intolerant right-wing religious
tyrants. Among them:
Neutralize
the word here.
Every single American colony before 1776 would be
described as a "theocracy" by the ACLU. The Declaration of
Independence is, by the ACLU's definition, a theocratic charter. The
Constitution would not have been ratified if it had been perceived as
infringing on the "theocratic" character of the states. (And it
was perceived that way, which is why the Bill of Rights was demanded as a
condition of ratification.)
Not a single person who signed the U.S. Constitution
intended to create a secular nation. From the beginning, America
was a Christian nation, and the Founding Fathers did not intend to
change this. Every single Signer of the Constitution believed the
following:
-
Christianity was the true
religion, others were "false
religions."
-
Forming a civil government was a
religious duty imposed by the God of the Bible, and hence all
governments must be "under
God."
-
The God of the Bible answered the prayers of the
colonists by directly
and supernaturally intervening in human history, aiding their
revolution against the British Empire to ensure American victory. Not
a single "deist"
("clockmaker god") signed the Constitution.
-
It is the duty
of all governments to endorse
and promote
the true religion, and make sure the statutes they pass conform
to the Bible.
Below are links to webpages with primary source evidence
that the modern notion of "separation of church and state" is a
myth. That slogan has nothing to do with churches, and really means
"the separation of God and state." Our goal is to
persuade you that America was intended to be a Christian nation. Imagine
the following spectrum:
| Atheistic Nation |
"Neutral"
nation |
Christian Nation |
Christian Theocracy |
| Communist China |
Sweden |
America,
1844 |
America, 1641 |
The links on this page should convince you that America
was not only designed to be a Christian nation, but that America was
intended to be a Christian Theocracy.
If we can get you to listen to arguments that America was intended to be a
theocracy, you'll end up feeling that the idea that America should be a
"Christian nation" is far more "moderate" (which will
be a shift in the right direction if you're infected with ACLU views that
the Constitution requires America to be an a-theistic nation).
All the evidence is against the idea of America as
an atheistic nation. All the evidence points to theocracy. And when
it comes to a nation's allegiance to God, none of the Signers of the
Constitution believed that "neutrality" was an option. If you
read all the evidence linked from this page, you will at least end up
agreeing with "Christian nation," and will probably admit
that America was intended to be a Theocracy.
| Theocracy Throughout History:
A Summary
|
Additional Sources
|
Ancient
History
The Founding Fathers were keen students of
ancient history. They knew that religion had always been considered of
great utility by ancient governments. There has never been a separation of
religion and state in the history of man. The Founders did not intend to
change this.
The Reformation:
Rebirth of Theocracy
- The Protestant Reformation was a key
influence in the American Revolution.
- First,
because the revolt against Roman Catholicism was a source of American
anti-clericalism. Today's
European Protestant churches are unreformed Roman churches. "New
Presbyter is but Old Priest, writ large" (Milton). Most of
the Founders' remarks used by atheists in our day to support the
separation of religion and state were
actually anti-clerical remarks designed to separate churches and
state, and reduce competition between clergy. This philosophy leads to
the
House-Church movement, where religion becomes more pervasive in
the life of the believer, not to a secular state, where religion
becomes more peripheral.
- Second,
because the Calvinistic emphasis on the Sovereignty of God was a
direct challenge to "statism," the deity of the sovereign
state. The
Revolutionary War was a Calvinist Revolution.
It is important not to confuse anti-clericalism with secularism. The
author of this web page, a
fanatic Christian Theocrat, has not been a church-member for 15 years.
The pages linked below discuss Early American history in the context of
Theocracy (a nation "under
God") and Anarchism (a People with a
divine wall protecting them from incursions on their rights by archists
in church and state). There is no compelling evidence that
the Founding Fathers intended to separate God and government.
America: Theocracy in the New World
Modern secularists have problems understanding the American
relationship between religion and government because they do not
understand that the Founders believed that
- Christianity was the true
religion, others were "false
religions." It would be suicidal to base a commonwealth on a
false religion.
- Forming a civil government was a
religious duty imposed by the God of the Bible, and hence all
governments must be "under
God."
- The God of the Bible answered the prayers of the colonists by directly
and supernaturally intervening in human history, aiding their
revolution against the British Empire to ensure American victory. Not
a single "deist"
("clockmaker god") signed the Constitution.
- It is the duty
of all governments to endorse
and promote
the true religion, and make sure the statutes they pass conform
to the Bible.
Every single person who signed the Constitution agreed with these four
premises, and they agreed that the true religion was Christianity. It
doesn't matter that they didn't agree among themselves as to the details
of the Christian religion. It doesn't matter that they made sure that one
variety of Christianity would have no legal power over other varieties of
Christianity. What matters is that not a single signer of the Constitution
believed in the "separation of church and state" where the word
"church" means "Christianity, the
true religion." Not a single person who signed the Constitution
believed the Constitution created a secular state.
The pages below are designed to explain these propositions and to show
that they were universally held by the Founding Fathers.
"Vine & Fig
Tree" in American History -- Homepage
American Law
Theocracy Defended
by the U.S. Supreme Court
Famous American Theocrats
"The Separation of Church and
State"
Theocratic Education
The Myth of Secular Governments
| Let's Make America |
| A Theocracy |
| Once Again |
|
"America was NEVER a
Theocracy!" |
"You mean like the Taliban?" |
Are you advocating the VIOLENT
OVERTHROW of the government? |
| Oh yes it
was. The literal meaning of "theocracy"
is "God Rules," and a nation where God Rules is a nation
"under
God." Each of the 13 colonies were Christian
Theocracies. |
No, we
mean "Liberty Under God,"
not "Tyranny under priests." Biblical
Theocracy is source of liberty in Western Civilization. |
Absolutely
not. Christianity is against violence, and the Bible commands us to
submit to imperialists, fascists, Nazis, communists, Republicrats, and
Demoblicans. Violent revolution against the Empire is never justified.
Even
America's War for Independence was not Biblically justified. |
“Liberty
Under God”
is what made America the greatest nation
in human history.
|
But what does “Liberty
Under God
” really mean? |
Does "Liberty"
mean anarchy?
Does "Under
God "
mean Theocracy?
If not, why not?
|
|
Continuing Education
Doctors, Lawyers, and other highly-trained
professionals are required to take “continuing education” classes
each year to remain highly-trained and up-to-date on the latest
advances in their field. Failure to do so can result in injury to
patients, imprisonment for the innocent, and malpractice lawsuits. In
extreme cases, doctors and lawyers who fail to stay abreast of
developments in their field can lose their license to practice.
At
the risk of sounding conceited and judgmental, I believe most
Americans are guilty of "citizenship malpractice." They’re
suspicious of those who "criticize the government," even
though Thomas Jefferson said,
In questions of power, then,
let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from
mischief by the chains of the Constitution.
Most
Americans haven’t read the Constitution in years, are ignorant of
its most basic principles and are not keeping informed of how today’s
politicians are violating those principles. They have lost their edge,
and millions of people around the world are in danger. If these
citizens don’t take some continuing education classes in
Americanism, they should lose their citizenship.
What
you are about to read is a “continuing education class” in
Americanism. You need it to be a good citizen and to be a good
influence on your rapidly-changing nation. |
The American Dream
The prophet Micah described a
world of "Liberty Under God" -- a day when swords are
beaten into plowshares, and everyone -- from richest to poorest --
owns their own property safely and securely, enjoying life under their
Vine & Fig Tree. This
ideal has been called "The American Dream," and the words of
the Prophet Micah were frequently on the lips of America's
Founding Fathers. Immigrants with only a dime in their pocket came
to America and found their Vine & Fig
Tree in a land of "Liberty Under God."
America became the most admired nation in the world because of its decentralized
material prosperity and its Christian
goodness.
Although the U.S. Supreme Court frequently
acknowledged that America was a Christian nation, there were a few
Americans who were not Christians. But they were not imprisoned or
tortured for their non-Christian opinions. Noah Webster said,
"The ecclesiastical establishments of Europe which serve to
support tyrannical governments are not the Christian religion but
abuses and corruptions of it." Daniel Webster similarly
explained: "Christianity to which the sword and the fagot
[burning stake or hot branding iron] are unknown -- general tolerant
Christianity is the law of the land!"
"Liberty" meant freedom to try,
freedom to fail, freedom to try again, freedom to succeed, freedom to
enjoy success. "Under God" meant honoring "The
Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" in your pursuit of
happiness.
"The American Dream" was not the prospect
of having "the government" take care of you from womb
to tomb. It was the prospect of being free to try new ideas, give it
your all, provide goods and services that benefit your neighbors, and
enjoy the highest standard of living in the history of the world.
|
|
|