The U.S. was not meant to be a "Christian" Nation

In his book The Assault on Reason (on page 49), Al Gore writes that the Founders made sure that "the new American nation would... be protected against the ungovernable combination of religious fervor and political power as long as the Constitution prohibited the federal government from establishing any particular creed as preeminent. This principle was so well established that in 1797 the U.S. Senate unanimously approved, and President John Adams signed, a treaty that contained the following declaration: 'The United States is not a Christian nation any more than it is a Jewish or Mohammedan Nation."

There are plenty of texts in the American tradition that makes it clear that our country was established upon a backdrop of deist and theist principles. But this quote that Gore has supplied shows me the Founders were more clear than I was previously aware that this was never intended to be a "Christian nation." It was never an issue until recent evangelicals started rewriting history to make it seem that way. (Note, however, that the 'theism' and/or 'deism' is implicit in their saying that it is no more Christian than Jewish or Muslim. Yes, we believe in God, they were saying, but we're not only not going to privilege any one of the many Protestant faiths, but we're also not going to favor Christianity over Judaism or Islam.)

I am all for the defense of our theistic heritage--i.e., building our country upon belief in God. But that is not, despite what evangelicals may think, the same thing as mixing politics with specifically Christian principles and teachings. We do not have a theocracy. The theist element that is institutionally acceptable should be core principles alone, e.g. it's great that we have inscribed on our money "In God we Trust," and have defended the addition to the "Pledge of Allegiance," that this is a "nation under God." But we shouldn't confuse this core principle with the mistaken belief that the country was established as a "Christian" nation. There shall be no laws made respecting a particular religious creed. That's what our Constitution says. And it's a good idea. We're not an "us versus them" country when it comes to religion. Thank God.