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Why Doesn’t America have a State Religion?
Did this episode get you thinking, or did we miss the mark? Let us know by leaving us a message on SpeakPipe.
According to Pew Research, out of 199 countries and territories, “More than 80 countries favour a specific religion, either as an official, government-endorsed religion or by affording one religion preferential treatment over other faiths.” And while, "Islam is the most common government-endorsed faith, with 27 countries (including most in the Middle East-North Africa region) officially enshrining Islam as their state religion’, an additional “40 governments around the globe unofficially favour a particular religion, and in most cases the preferred faith is a branch of Christianity.”
So why is the United States of America, given the early influence of deeply religious groups such as the Pilgrims and Puritans, not a theocracy? And why, when petitioned by Christian clergy of all types, did the Founding Fathers completely reject the idea and in fact, worked to make sure the United States would not become ‘Christian’?
The answers lie in the English Civil War (actually, 3 distinct conflicts between 1642–1651). The civil war was primarily concerned with how the three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland should be governed. However, a central feature of the Civil War was the conflict between Protestants (of multiple varieties) and the Catholics.
During this time, John Locke began writing about “the religious intolerance and bickering that was blighting England at the time.” His later writings, Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) and Two Treatises of Government (also 1690) would become foundational for the Founding Fathers framework for government, the American Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
For more information:
https://www.rw.institute/
Follow Disorienting Dilemma on Twitter:
@podcastdilemma
Resources/materials:
CURRENT REFLECTIONS ON CHRISTIAN DOMINIONISM
St. Louis Pastor Confronts Progressive Culture: ‘You’re Either Going to Conform or You’re Going to Stand Out and Be Controversial’. Wes Martin is the lead pastor at Grace Church in St. Louis, where he’s led his congregation through the turbulent times of COVID-19 and some of the political debates that have shaped our society over the last couple of years. Martin spoke to The Daily Signal about his church’s mission and why he’s boldly confronting the progressive culture that’s undermining traditional American values.”
Republicans mostly mum on calls to make GOP ‘party of Christian nationalism’: “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has spent much of the summer calling on her fellow Republicans to become the “party of Christian nationalism,” even selling T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Proud Christian nationalist.” Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference’s meeting in Texas on Aug. 5, she said the Christian nationalism label is nothing to be “ashamed” of and encouraged other members of her party to “lean in to biblical principles.”
“Christian Nationalism” Used to Be Taboo. Now It’s All the Rage: “Scholars and self-proclaimed Christian nationalists may not always mean the same thing when they use the term. Some self-identifying Christian nationalists might simply be social conservatives who advocate against gay marriage, for example. This is different from the scholarly study of those who believe the American political process itself should be overhauled to serve God—or that the reasoning undergirding the laws of the U.S. should be explicitly Christian.”
The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation of the teachings of Christianity. In the United States, the Christian right is an informal coalition formed around a core of largely white conservative Evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics. The Christian right draws additional support from politically conservative mainline Protestants and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The movement has its roots in American politics going back as far as the 1940s; it has been especially influential since the 1970s. Its influence draws from grassroots activism as well as from focus on social issues and the ability to motivate the electorate around those issues.
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES IN THE FOUNDING OF THE UNITED STATES
Who were the Pilgrims and Puritans? “Pilgrim separatists rejected the Church of England and the remnants of Catholicism that the Church of England represented. Puritan non-separatists, while equally fervent in their religious convictions, were committed to the reformation of the Church of England and restoration of early Christian society.”
America’s Unchristian Beginnings – The Founding Fathers: “Most, despite preachings of our pious right, were deists who rejected the divinity of Jesus. The Christian right is trying to rewrite the history of the United States as part of its campaign to force its view of religion on others who ask merely to be left alone. According to this Orwellian revision, the Founding Fathers were devout Christians who envisioned a Christian nation. Not true. The early presidents and patriots were generally deists or Unitarians, believing in some form of impersonal Providence but rejecting the divinity of Jesus and the relevance of the Bible.”
Islam is the most common state religion, but many governments give privileges to Christianity: “More than 80 countries favour a specific religion, either as an official, government-endorsed religion or by affording one religion preferential treatment over other faiths, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data covering 199 countries and territories around the world."
Christian amendment describes any of several attempts to amend a country's constitution in order to officially make it a Christian state. In the United States, the most significant attempt to amend the United States Constitution by inserting explicitly Christian ideas and languag...
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By PodstarterDid this episode get you thinking, or did we miss the mark? Let us know by leaving us a message on SpeakPipe.
According to Pew Research, out of 199 countries and territories, “More than 80 countries favour a specific religion, either as an official, government-endorsed religion or by affording one religion preferential treatment over other faiths.” And while, "Islam is the most common government-endorsed faith, with 27 countries (including most in the Middle East-North Africa region) officially enshrining Islam as their state religion’, an additional “40 governments around the globe unofficially favour a particular religion, and in most cases the preferred faith is a branch of Christianity.”
So why is the United States of America, given the early influence of deeply religious groups such as the Pilgrims and Puritans, not a theocracy? And why, when petitioned by Christian clergy of all types, did the Founding Fathers completely reject the idea and in fact, worked to make sure the United States would not become ‘Christian’?
The answers lie in the English Civil War (actually, 3 distinct conflicts between 1642–1651). The civil war was primarily concerned with how the three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland should be governed. However, a central feature of the Civil War was the conflict between Protestants (of multiple varieties) and the Catholics.
During this time, John Locke began writing about “the religious intolerance and bickering that was blighting England at the time.” His later writings, Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) and Two Treatises of Government (also 1690) would become foundational for the Founding Fathers framework for government, the American Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
For more information:
https://www.rw.institute/
Follow Disorienting Dilemma on Twitter:
@podcastdilemma
Resources/materials:
CURRENT REFLECTIONS ON CHRISTIAN DOMINIONISM
St. Louis Pastor Confronts Progressive Culture: ‘You’re Either Going to Conform or You’re Going to Stand Out and Be Controversial’. Wes Martin is the lead pastor at Grace Church in St. Louis, where he’s led his congregation through the turbulent times of COVID-19 and some of the political debates that have shaped our society over the last couple of years. Martin spoke to The Daily Signal about his church’s mission and why he’s boldly confronting the progressive culture that’s undermining traditional American values.”
Republicans mostly mum on calls to make GOP ‘party of Christian nationalism’: “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has spent much of the summer calling on her fellow Republicans to become the “party of Christian nationalism,” even selling T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Proud Christian nationalist.” Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference’s meeting in Texas on Aug. 5, she said the Christian nationalism label is nothing to be “ashamed” of and encouraged other members of her party to “lean in to biblical principles.”
“Christian Nationalism” Used to Be Taboo. Now It’s All the Rage: “Scholars and self-proclaimed Christian nationalists may not always mean the same thing when they use the term. Some self-identifying Christian nationalists might simply be social conservatives who advocate against gay marriage, for example. This is different from the scholarly study of those who believe the American political process itself should be overhauled to serve God—or that the reasoning undergirding the laws of the U.S. should be explicitly Christian.”
The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation of the teachings of Christianity. In the United States, the Christian right is an informal coalition formed around a core of largely white conservative Evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics. The Christian right draws additional support from politically conservative mainline Protestants and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The movement has its roots in American politics going back as far as the 1940s; it has been especially influential since the 1970s. Its influence draws from grassroots activism as well as from focus on social issues and the ability to motivate the electorate around those issues.
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES IN THE FOUNDING OF THE UNITED STATES
Who were the Pilgrims and Puritans? “Pilgrim separatists rejected the Church of England and the remnants of Catholicism that the Church of England represented. Puritan non-separatists, while equally fervent in their religious convictions, were committed to the reformation of the Church of England and restoration of early Christian society.”
America’s Unchristian Beginnings – The Founding Fathers: “Most, despite preachings of our pious right, were deists who rejected the divinity of Jesus. The Christian right is trying to rewrite the history of the United States as part of its campaign to force its view of religion on others who ask merely to be left alone. According to this Orwellian revision, the Founding Fathers were devout Christians who envisioned a Christian nation. Not true. The early presidents and patriots were generally deists or Unitarians, believing in some form of impersonal Providence but rejecting the divinity of Jesus and the relevance of the Bible.”
Islam is the most common state religion, but many governments give privileges to Christianity: “More than 80 countries favour a specific religion, either as an official, government-endorsed religion or by affording one religion preferential treatment over other faiths, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data covering 199 countries and territories around the world."
Christian amendment describes any of several attempts to amend a country's constitution in order to officially make it a Christian state. In the United States, the most significant attempt to amend the United States Constitution by inserting explicitly Christian ideas and languag...