America is not a Christian nation in the official sense
Posted by admin on August 25, 2010
A much larger proportion of Americans attend church regularly than the British, French or even the Italians. Statistics currently suggest that as many as 88 percent of Americans believe in a God, spirit of life force. This compares with similar figures for Britain, where it is estimated that only 35 percent of the population believe in a God or major life force, or a spirit. The number of self-proclaimed atheists in western European countries is substantially higher than in the states, where some atheists are said to be ’in the closet’, in order to avoid being stigmatised.
America is a Christian-majority nation. That means that the majority of the population is Christian; however the law system, like in all other western countries, is secular. Therefore, it is not a ’Christian nation’in the sense that Sarah Palin would suggest, because America has no official state religion. However, perhaps one of the most important reasons why religion plays such a predominant role in American culture is because of its links to patriotism.
It is widely believed that the founding fathers aimed to establish America as a Judeo-Christian country. Social Conservatives believe that America is becoming a ’post-Christian society’, one that has forgotten it Christian ideals and is being washed away by the liberal agenda. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality is that America has never been a ’Christian’country in the sense that the law system has been dictated by a biblical agenda. The founding fathers recognised the tremendous role that religion had in America, which is why the Constitution protects the freedom of religious expression.
In the Christian religion they strictly believed and still do believe in no sex before marriage but are a more relaxed about contraception and cosmetic procedures such as botox sheffield.
However, President Obama believes that the country is bound together by its values and ideals, rather than a shared organised religion. After all, there are all kinds of other religions that exist in America - Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, to name just a few. What makes America great is the fact that it has accommodated many millions of immigrants, who have originated from virtually every inch of the world. Naturally, it seems right that the best way to celebrate America is to take pride in its values, rather than its Christian influence.