Whose god, anyway?

Quite recently, the current president made one of those matter of fact, mild statements he tends to make, which has rung in some circles like an alarm--he suggested that the US does not consider itself a Christian (or Jewish or Muslim) nation. It's a topic that's earned some debate, as there is a belief among some people that the US is.

There is one thing that has always puzzled me about this assertion--

Whose Christ? Or if we're not Christian, but just godly--whose God?

See, that there, is the important question. Because Christianity at the founding of this country, just as now, came in different flavors. In fact, the story of the pilgrim is just one of the many stories that both features and obscures the reality of religion in America--

Remember the Puritans? I'm sure you can't help but recall them. Buckles on their hats. Lots of black. Enjoyed, um, not a lot? Well, there was a very good reason so many of them got on the Mayflower--they were Separatists from the Church of England. They started to get slightly different notions about the Bible and all from the rest of their countrymen. (One of their ideological cousins, about a generation after the Mayflower shoved off, proved himself quite the Separatist--Oliver Cromwell signed the warrant that separated Charles I's head from the rest of him.) Anyway, they went to America for religious freedom.

You might also recall the Quakers. I'm from Philadelphia, so I sure do--William Penn founded the City of Brotherly Love and made sure it was a "greene country towne." We still have some nice parks. Anyway, William Penn was one of those guys--a religious sect of Christians didn't tithe, take off their hats to people in authority, swear loyalty oaths, and had a crazy idea that all men were created equal (bizarre belief, that). No wonder they got kicked across the pond.

Maryland colony was started by Lord Baltimore as a haven for Catholics. They had a "Toleration Act" that protected the Catholics from the Puritans and the other Protestants, but sentenced to death anyone who didn't profess in Christ's divinity. Throughout the colonial period, add your Baptists and Presbyterians. The original thirteen colonies were a mixed bag.

What becomes clear is that, while the American colonies were founded by representatives from various Christian sects, it was clear that they numbered amongst them people who were refugees from religious tyranny, who had reason to be in favor of toleration and freedom of religion, just as they needed space to practice their own creeds.

It was with this in mind that Thomas Jefferson penned this in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom:

Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burdened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

(A particular statute he was fond enough of to include in his epitaph as a major accomplishment.)

Among our early communities were also Jews, (the first synagogue, Touro, in Newport, Rhode Island, welcomed George Washington to the city in 1790) and Muslims as well, both imported as slaves and free, and also our indigenous people had their own beliefs.

So even from the founding of this nation, quite a few creeds contended. Although the majority were Christian, the truth is that the least difference between Christian sects was worth a war in "Christendom" (one interesting label for Europe). And so it was that while the Declaration of Independence made mention of a "Creator", there is no real mention of what that "Creator" was held to be (whether He, She or Divine It--the Creator could be Yahweh, Gaia or the Flying Spaghetti Monster), and the First Amendment to the Constitution reads as follows:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

where by "establishment of religion", it is meant not so much that the government can't establish a religion (although, no, it can't) but, "law respecting an establishment of religion" is intended just as I might say that my favorite bar is a "drinking establishment". As in, "I have no preferences with respect to a drinking establishment, when I need to get my drink on."

And after 200-some-odd years, we remain diverse in our various faiths, and even in the ways in which we express our heresy and lack of faith--"E Pluribus Unum", you might say. Hindu, Buddhist, Baha'i, Shinto, and other faiths have joined our national dialogue. We can add Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and more, to our list of Christian off-shoots. Islam and atheists contend for the most rapidly growing self-professors.

Perhaps, in our diversity, we find our strength against theocracy. In this country, as far as religion is concerned, we have let "a thousand flowers bloom." While so-called "fundamentalists" might try to grab power, the reality is, in this country, I don't think there are any two people sharing the same pew, who are of exactly the same mind. There is infinite variety of opinion, and every freedom to enjoy the same. We debate, we scuffle, and then we vote. For a candidate, or a referendum.

And all voters don't share a god. Just one person, and one vote. And an anonymous one at that. We can hear the voices of extremism, but we can also say "yes" or "no" to them. We are "blessed" with choice.

Freedom is the best antidote to theocracy there is--and that's what I try to blog about.