Ted the Penguin

Christian nation… right.

So John McCain is at it again.

“I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles, personally, I prefer someone who has a grounding in my faith,” the GOP presidential hopeful told the Web site in an interview published Saturday.

McCain also said he agreed with a recent poll that 55 percent of Americans believe the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation. “I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation.”

Now, I’ve got nothing against the man for stating his opinion and wanting a president with similar interests as his own. Who doesn’t? My issue is that someone who thinks they should be President… should know a bit more about our nation’s founding.

Yes, quite a few of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Christian… but an awful lot weren’t. In fact, it could easily argued that four of the first five Presidents were Deists. And saying that the nation was founded on Christian principles… well you could also argue that the nation was founded on Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or any number of religious ideals.

There is nothing specifically Christian in any of the nation’s early documents. If you look in the Declaration of Independence, nowhere in that entire document does religion play a major role, Christian or otherwise. You would think that if America was started as a Christian nation, then we’d have some semblance of it in one of our most important founding documents.

The Founding Fathers were actually for the most part wary of religion; this due in large part to the chaos of the governments of Europe that was based in religious context. They wanted no part of that in the new nation they were founding and was a major motivating factor in the inclusion of freedom of religion in the first amendment. Thomas Jefferson went on to elaborate about the ‘wall of separation’ between Church and State created by the first amendment and was one of it’s largest proponents.

And finally, from the mouth of a large equine, specifically the Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Tripoli of 1797,

As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion – as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen, – and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

It doesn’t make me angry that people have differing views or that they want to promote themselves as religious folks to gain the vote… but it’s an inaccurate view of our nation’s history. And somebody who wants to be in charge of our country should know better.