Christian America and the Kingdom of God

Introduction: Getting Our Bearings

introduction GettinG Our Bearings The idea of Christian America is a powerful, seductive, and potentially destructive theme in American life, culture, and politics. It therefore deserves thoughtful consideration by every citizen of this republic. And one of the most fruitful ways to explore that theme is to compare it with the biblical vision of the kingdom of God. Throughout this book, the reader will encounter the phrase “the myth of Christian America.” When I use the term myth, I don’t have in mind something that is fundamentally untrue. A myth may be false in certain ways and true in certain ways, but one characteristic of myth remains unchanging: A myth conveys power and deep meaning to people who embrace it. Our English word myth derives from the Greek word mythos, whose literal meaning is “story.” A myth, therefore, is a story, but not just any story. Rather, a myth is a story so powerful and so rich in meaning that it can orient our lives amidst the chaos and confusion of the world in which we live. The notion of Christian America performs that role for millions of Americans, and in that sense, this book will inquire into “the myth of Christian America.” Many fundamentalist and evangelical leaders routinely promote the idea of Christian America, and mil- 2 christian america and the kingdom of god lions of Americans—people who represent an array of religious traditions and no religion at all—simply assume the Christian character of the United States. Consider the following examples. • The platform of the Republican Party of the state of Texas affirmed in 2004 that the United States is “a Christian nation” and rejected the traditional American ideal of “separation of church and state.”1 • When asked the question “Why does the Arab world hate the United States?” a general in the United States Army—William G. Boykin—responded, “Because we are a Christian nation . . . and the enemy is a guy named Satan.”2 • Al Gore, while campaigning for the presidency in 2000, pledged to reporters to ask before every major decision, “What would Jesus do?”3 • George W. Bush, while campaigning in that same year, named Jesus as his “favorite philosopher.” And Franklin Graham, at Bush’s 2001 inaugural prayer service, offered this: “May we as a nation again place our hope and trust in the Almighty God and his Son the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer and our Friend.”4 • Addressing a conference of Republican governors in 1992, Mississippi’s Kirk Fordice spoke of America as a “Christian nation.” When one of his gubernatorial colleagues suggested that he really meant to say “Judeo-Christian nation,” Fordice replied, “If I meant that, I would have said it.”5 • In 1998 Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, speaking at a Baptist convention, declared, “I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ.”6 • In the days leading up to the Iowa Republican caucus of January 2008, Governors Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, along with Senators Fred Thompson and John McCain, outdid one another in their bid to claim the mantle of the most Christian candidate for president of the United States. • And Senator John McCain, a candidate for the presidency of this nation, claimed in 2007 that “the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation.”7 The Constitution, of course, did not establish the United States as a Christian nation. In fact, it did just the reverse, making it clear that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”8 —a provision one would think that United States senators, state governors, members of Congress, candidates for the presidency of the United States, and highly placed military leaders in this country would grasp and understand. introduction 3 But if people in those positions buy into the myth of Christian America, can we be all that surprised when the sociologist Christian Smith—basing his work on extensive surveys with a broad population sample—reports that “not only conservative Protestants but the majority of Americans believe that America was founded as a Christian nation?”9 While this book will point to the obvious truth that the notion of Christian America is alien to the United States Constitution, that is not the primary purpose of this text. Rather, this book will unpack the irony that the myth of Christian America...