Is America a Christian nation? The controversy over pluralism

By Nick Gier | FāVS News Columnist

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. 

“Religion and government will both exist
in greater purity the less they are mixed.”
—James Madison

I would like to begin by quoting Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli: “The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.” This treaty, more than any other official document, is the clearest refutation of Christian nationalism, and the strongest affirmation of the U.S. as a secular democratic republic.

President George Washington approved the treaty, and it was considered by the Senate after he left office in 1797. The text of the treaty was read aloud before the senators and they, with no recorded debate, voted unanimously to ratify it on June 7, 1797. President John Adams signed it, “confirming every article and clause thereof,” three days later. It is significant to note that ratified treaties become part of the laws of the U.S.

The Treaty of Tripoli was signed under duress because American ships, after the Revolutionary War, had lost the protection of the British Navy. They were now vulnerable to attacks by the  Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. President Thomas Jefferson found the tribute paid to the Pasha of Tripoli excessive, and the U.S. declared war against the Pasha and other North African states.

With a stronger navy of six frigates and marines landing “on the shores of Tripoli”(from the Marine Corps hymn), the U.S. was able to negotiate a more favorable treaty in 1805. One could say that this treaty superseded the one of 1797 and its Article 11, but this objection ignores the fact that the Senate and our first two presidents affirmed a statement of the federal government’s secular nature.

In his book “The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America,” Frank Lambert explains that intention of Article 11 was “to allay the fears of the Muslim states” and to “assure the world that the United States was a secular state, and that its negotiations would adhere to the rule of law, not the dictates of the Christian faith.”

The memory of the Crusades, European Christians’ bloody wars of choice against Islam, is found deep in many Muslim minds. It reappeared when U.S. armed forces stationed in the Middle East were called “Crusaders,” and it was evident most recently in Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s praise for these medieval warriors.

Critical reaction to the Treaty

There were critics of Article 11, most prominent among them was President Adams’ Secretary of War James McHenry. He insisted that the nation was indeed founded on Christianity, and he asked rhetorically “what else was it founded on”? He felt aggrieved that Article 11 “always appeared to me like trampling upon the cross.”

The Constitution makes no mention of a deity and proscribes any religious test for office. The philosophical foundation of our government came from the Greek, Roman and Enlightenment philosophers, not the Bible.

Englishman John Locke gave us a tripartite form of government where Congress, the judiciary and the executive check each other. He also gave us another triplet, “life, liberty, and property,” but Jefferson changed property to happiness. For the progressive economic reason see bit.ly/4v6R5iU.

Article 11 does not dispute the importance of religion in American life, but it does affirm the principle of the separation of church and state. The founders, except for George Washington, saw the value in religion, and they were regular churchgoers. However, they knew very well the experience of their European predecessors and the dangers of mixing religion and government.

Christian nationalism in the 19th century

During the 19th century, Calvinists who called themselves Covenanters believed that Christ should be declared America’s king, and they refused to vote in elections until the Constitution was amended to recognize his sovereignty. Some of them called our founding document the “Infidel Constitution,” primarily because there is no mention of God and the fact that Article 6 would allow non-Christians to hold federal office.

Unlike many Christian nationalists today, the Covenanters respected the fact that the Constitution would have to be amended to attain their goal, one that they admitted was unlikely to succeed. They would also have to ask the Senate to vote to rescind Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli.

Christian nationalist Doug Wilson

Moscow’s Calvinist pastor Doug Wilson sees no need for a constitutional amendment. He appears to believe that all that is needed is a presidential proclamation acknowledging that “Jesus rose from the dead.” Wilson argues that his theocracy would be based on Psalm 2, which in his paraphrase declares that “there is a God, and he commands earthly rulers to kiss the son.” If they do not do what God commands, they will be destroyed.

Wilson proposes that the Supreme Court could — going against the plain language of the First Amendment, the Treaty of Tripoli and its own rules — declare that the U.S. is “a Christian nation and has been such from the beginning.” Wilson suggests further that Congress could declare “the formal adoption of the Apostles’ Creed.”

Pastor Wilson makes the startling proclamation that the only “free civilization will have to be Christian.” However, what kind of nation could be possibly free if its leaders refused the right of vote to women or non-Christians. Wilson believes that the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote should be rescinded.

Wilson: No Jewish office holders

Regarding the constitutional provision that there shall be no religious test for federal office holders, Wilson denies a basic right to non-Christian Americans. In the podcast “Extremely American: Inside Christian Nationalism,” Wilson deputy Gabe Rench asserts that in their theocracy non-Christians could not hold elected office.

Rench’s interviewer Heath Druzin was rightly startled. 

“As a Jewish American, I hear that I can’t run for office and other non-Christians can’t. I have to admit that it’s a little terrifying to me because that means a fundamental freedom of mine is gone,” Druzin said. 

Rench’s answer is equally startling: “Yeah because your worldview is not good for society.” 

Many Jews will join Druzin in scratching their heads in disbelief at this incredible broadside.

Wilson, Pete Hegseth and the Crusades

Christian nationalism also has a military arm in the person of Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War, as he and Trump prefer to call his department. Hegseth and Wilson have grown closer together recently, and last month Wilson gave a 15-minute sermon at the Pentagon. Hegseth once said that the separation of church and state is “leftist folklore.”

Many who study and serve the U.S. military are raising concerns about casting its mission in religious terms. 

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation gives counsel to many non-Christian members of the arms services, and its president Michael Weinstein declares that “this is totally unprecedented. Hegseth is making it clear that this war is Jesus versus Muhammad.”

Hegseth and Wilson, although admitting Christian atrocities, speak of  positive aspects of the Crusades. The violence was a necessary evil to block the advance of Islam in the world. In his book “American Crusade,” Hegseth writes that we should “thank a Crusader” for saving Western Civilization.

On his right bicep Hegseth has a tattoo that reads “Deus Vult,” a Crusader battle cry that means “God wills it.” On his right chest one finds a tattoo of the Jerusalem Cross of the Crusades. Both symbols are also favorites among white supremacists.

Wilson and Hegseth see political and military campaigns against Muslims as preemptive strikes. Wilson asserts that they are “a long overdue reaction to Muslim aggression.” Hegseth states that “our American Crusade is not about literal swords, and our fight is not with guns. Yet.”

A recent survey indicated that only a third of those polled believe that the U.S. is a Christian nation. Fortunately, Christian nationalists are in an up-hill battle.

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