The Myth of Christian Nations

A running joke in Western European history is that the Holy Roman Empire was not holy, Roman, or an empire. Something very similar could be said of many nations that boldly assert, notwithstanding much evidence to the contrary, that they are Christian nations. As the culture war rages on, conservative Christians are increasingly employing the Christian nation maxim to buttress their world view and to oppose new legislation that creates breaches in the wall of morality acceptable to conservative Christians.

When Christian voices in a small nation state like Barbados start making such grandiose pronouncement, these voices can be indulged then easily forgotten. Similar claims made by Christian voices in more powerful countries like the US, Italy, and Brazil cannot however be so easily dismissed.

Militant conservative Christians often resort to the myth of Christian nation status whenever the secular society embarks on a path that challenges the perceived moral monopoly established by conservative Christians. Notwithstanding the fact that conservative Christians have parted company with some of the more draconian moral imperatives found in the Bible, a case is usually presented by conservative Christians, warning of dire judgements on the secular society for following suit.

For example, the Old Testament is crystal clear about the fate of Sabbath breakers blasphemers, adulterers, fornicators, apostates, and the New Age crowd. The usually penalty for all these moral infractions was a speedy send off to the afterlife. Only the very hardline and hard headed among Christian conservatives would argue that capital punishment should be imposed for these deviations from Biblical morality today.

Strangely enough, they are few voices advancing the argument that contemporary societies are becoming anti-Christian or anti-Bible because the state does not stone Sabbath breakers, adulterers, New Agers, or blasphemers. The more liberal attitudes of the contemporary age are generally viewed as a positive and as a sign of moral evolution in the modern era.

The seizure by conservative Christians of a few culture war issues to the exclusion of several other equally worthy moral crusades opens up the conservative Christian community to the charge of cherry-picking in the moral arena. If conservative Christians can adopt a liberal attitude that precludes the death penalty for Sabbath breakers, adulterers, New Agers, and blasphemers, then it stands to reason that the same mental adjustments can be made that would lead to a cease fire in the culture war.

The claim of Christian nation status is laughable considering that most of the nations making the claim were anything but Christian historically. Barbados for example may have had many churches in its past but regrettably many of these churches were closed to people of African ancestry. The Anglican church in Barbados was also an enthusiastic participant in human trafficking commonly referred to as chattel slavery.

Conservative Christians in the US should hide their faces in shame due to the un-Christian history of the US. The American nation was conceived in the blood of the indigenous inhabitants of the land. For a macabre encore, the good Christians of America proceeded to brutalize and dehumanized the children of Africa who were kidnapped from their native lands and forced to work like beast of burden in the hell-holes of America.

Systemic racism, and poverty coupled with environmental degradation, militarism and the emergence of fascist brand of religious nationalism disqualifies America from even applying for the status of a Christian nation. No amount of historical revisionism can rehabilitate America sufficiently to qualify that nation as Christian. Conservative Christians would be more convincing arguing for an America affinity with the ancient and modern Jewish nation. Can anyone deny that both nations have a similar history of extreme religiosity, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and land theft?

From a purely theological perspective it can be argued that no nation on the face of the earth follows to the letter the high moral prescription laid down by the Christ. Truth be told, all nations to some degree reflect the principles of the camp that is opposite to the Christ. Lying, stealing, and destroying are foundational to all nations in the world today. Both politicians and people are equally guilty of lying, stealing and destroying.

Apparently, we will have to wait until sometime in the future for a truly Christian nation to emerge on this planet. I suspect that it will take the appearance of a personality like the Christ of the New Testament to inaugurate such a Christian nation. Until such a time, conservative Christians could do themselves and the world a big favor by privatizing their bigotry and by learning how to live and let live like the rest of the human family.

Lenrod Nzulu Baraka is the founder of Afro-Caribbean Spiritual Teaching Center and the author of Is God a Moral Monster?