Blessed is the Nation

Questions about the connection between religion and politics are more important today than ever before in the long and glorious history of the United States. America has been a nation influenced by Christianity from its very beginning. From the earliest settlers to the latest days of the 21st century, God has always been accredited with the success of America by most of its citizens. Dating back to the famous Pilgrims of Plymouth Rock who were followers of God, this country has always had a unique relationship with our Heavenly Father. We even owe the very creation of our system of government to God since America’s Constitutional Convention was saved by a request for prayer made by Benjamin Franklin. God and the teachings of the Bible have always had a place in American society despite what many secular Americans would attempt to say today.

References of God and religious observances were daily routines of the men and women who built America. Early governmental documents, such as the Mayflower Compact, specifically mention the signer’s dependence on God for their system of government, as well as for their very lives. In the document, the Pilgrims established their government upon God, writing, “IN THE NAME of GOD, Amen. We, whose Names are under-written, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and one another, Covenant and Combine our selves together into a Civil Body Politick, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid: and by virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In Witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our Names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Dom; 1620.”

The signers of the Mayflower Compact boldly declared their faith in God and their desire to spread His message into a new land. They specifically mention “advancement of the Christian Faith” as one of their objectives in the New World. The Pilgrims were not alone in their desire to advance the message of the Bible. The history of the United States of America is full of men and women who had similar goals of using the North American continent to spread the light of Christianity to the world.

Almost 100 years after the Pilgrims, men who pushed the boundaries of America into the frontier also showed a deep reliance in God. Daniel Boone read the Bible daily throughout his life as he continuously challenged the set borders of the American colonies/states. He was known to share the Scriptures to his companions around frontier campfires during long hunting trips into the backwoods. Boone also helped usher Christianity into the American wilderness by holding regular church services in the Boonesborough settlement during his time on earth. The efforts of men like Boone are another piece of the constant religious theme of America throughout our long national history. It is literally impossible to image American History without God and the Bible.

Countless examples of faith and references to God found themselves intertwined into the earliest days of America. It has been reported that it was even common for American militia men to declare their faith as they marched into battle. The chant “we have no king but Jesus” has been recorded by history as a favorite phrase of many American militia men as they marched into battle, illustrating the unique relationship between the teachings of Christianity and the ideas that would form the American system of government.

When Alexis de Tocqueville traveled from France to America in the 1800s searching for the sources of America’s democratic greatness, he found the influence of religion to be heavy upon the minds of all citizens of the United States. He stated, “America is, however, still the place in the world where the Christian religion has most preserved genuine powers over souls; and nothing shows better how useful and natural to man it is in our day, since the country in which it exercises the greatest empire is at the same time the most enlightened and most free.” Tocqueville was able to easily to see the influence of religion on the United States of America over 150 years ago. The light of Christianity he observed lit the path for the march of freedom for generations.

Ronald Reagan once recalled Tocqueville’s claim about finding the true greatness of America in its churches during a speech in 1983. Reagan quoted Tocqueville who once wrote, “Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the greatness and the genius of America.”

The visiting Tocqueville easily noticed the importance of religious observances to the American people. He also deduced something about religion in the United States that those who seek to create a more secular society have refused to acknowledge. Alexis de Tocqueville observed the lack of danger posed by religion to our democracy stating, “One can say, therefore, that in the United States there is no single religious doctrine that shows itself hostile to democratic and republican institutions.” Followers of Christianity today can attest to this observation of Tocqueville as true, but also as under attack from secular elements of our modern society.

Today, the influence of Christianity that was proudly proclaimed by our forefathers has been drastically diminished by those seeking to create irreligious society. The teachings of traditional Christianity have been pushed to the sidelines of the contemporary American political structure by mainstream society. Sadly, most of this has happened without organized Christian objections against the secular onslaught. The direction America is taking today is not a new one. Many laws and court decisions have pushed America down this path including the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade in 1973. This court ruling moved America farther away from the teachings of the Bible on the issue of abortion and has refused to relinquish its fatal grip on American society. Recently, court rulings and legislation on same-sex marriage have redefined marriage at the urging of those who no longer feel the Bible is a necessary guide for our government and our society.