A Christian Nation

Do you really want the US to be a Christian nation?

First, ask yourself the question: what kind of Christian? According to census data from 2012, here is the makeup of Christian denominations in the US:

• The Catholic church, 68,202,492 members
• The Southern Baptist Convention, 16,136,044 members
• The United Methodist Church, 7,679,850 members
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6,157,238 members
• The Church of God in Christ, 5,499,875 members

Most of my readers are either members of the church of christ, non denominational, or members of the Presbyterian church or similar churches. This means that you are not on that list.

Even more obvious is that most people reading this are probably preterist. There may be several of my readers who believe in a future coming of the Lord, but even then I doubt you would be premillennial like most of the evangelical world.

This means that in a Christian nation – depending on how you define that – all of us would be in the minority. Foreign policy based upon premillennialism would go against a lot of what we stand for, as it already is. Plus we would be labeled heretics on a government level.

What's the alternative?

Instead of thinking of the USA as a Christian nation, think of it as a nation full of Christians. There is a distinct difference.

Jesus never intended for Christianity to be a state religion or be affiliated with empire, but it is something that is among the people of all nations (Luke 17:21).

When we think of America as being a nation full of Christians, the question “what kind?” disappears. At that point, we are more concerned with the charity and morality associated with Jesus' teachings instead of particular doctrines associated with a state religion.

This way of thinking is not a silver bullet that fixes all the problems, but it's a start.