America’s Christian inheritance
OPINION — Two recent letters reveal different versions of the same secular mistake. Alfred Southall claims America is not a Christian nation but a “secular democratic republic,” then defines a “true Christian nation” by his preferred government policies. Michael Scott asks why candidates connect religion and campaigns, suggesting that openly expressed Christian faith implies superiority.
Faith is not a professional credential. It does not automatically make someone a better litigator, physician, speaker or public official. It does reveal the moral framework through which a candidate understands truth, human dignity, justice, accountability and the proper limits of government. Voters are entitled to consider that framework.
The philosophical confusion runs deeper. Southall mistakes the Constitution’s prohibition on an established church for a command that American life be secular. Scott makes the related error of treating public expressions of faith as suspect unless they remain private.
Non-establishment is not secularism.
The First Amendment forbids a national establishment while protecting the free exercise of religion. It restrains government; it does not exclude the religious convictions of citizens from public life. Candidates may state the convictions that guide them, and voters may weigh both character and competence.
History confirms America’s Christian inheritance. In Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States (1892), the Supreme Court observed “a mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.” Not a theocracy. Not an established church. A Christian nation whose religious liberty protects everyone.
John Adams warned that the Constitution was made for “a moral and religious people” and was inadequate to govern any other.
America’s institutions were profoundly shaped by biblical faith. The Constitution did not erase that inheritance. Religious liberty was one of its greatest achievements. That is how and why America is a Christian nation.
Even atheists should appreciate that.
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