That Christian Nation Nonsense (Gods Bless Our Pagan Nation)

This is a transcript of my speech at this year’s convention for the National Atheist Party (minus spontaneous asides and ad-libs). Though this was an oratorical adaptation and rearrangement of my previous work online (Christianity Was Not Responsible for American Democracy), it is also much improved and contains new material, and I received multiple requests from the audience to make a transcript of it available. This is my cue text, so it is not in every respect word-for-word what I spoke at the convention, but it is very near to it. I began with a quotation…

“I just have to say in all candor [that] this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles.” — John McCain (Presidential Candidate)

McCain also said:

“The constitution established the United States as a Christian nation.”

Many of you might already know that that’s bollocks. [Even McCain probably didn't believe it or even care whether it's true. But it's a stock assertion these days, which he had to state to win over his base.] The Constitution does not even mention Christianity, and even explicitly denies that it is founded on any religious principles at all. Not only does the 1st Amendment prohibit the abolition or establishment of any religion, not only does the Preamble conspicuously omit “preserving Christianity” from all the aims and goals of the Constitution, not only does the President’s oath of office spelled out word-for-word in Article 1, Section 2 not even mention God, much less Christ, but Article 6 goes out of its way to explicitly state that, I quote, “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” In other words, the Constitution not only doesn’t require anyone to be a Christian, it explicitly prohibits requiring it.

But you all know that. You probably also know that the Treaty of Tripoli, the English text of which was written at the behest of George Washington and signed by John Adams in 1797, said right out, “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” This English text was read on the Senate floor and passed unanimously among all the Senators present (only 9 Senators of the then 32 were absent). This text was also printed in several major newspapers and received little complaint. That pretty much kills John McCain’s notion that the Constitution establishes the United States as a Christian nation. Meanwhile, if it was in any other sense founded on Christian principles, the Founding Fathers evidently went out of their way to conceal this fact at every turn. Which seems unlikely.

To try and combat this fact, Christian apologists claim to adduce a quotation of John Adams from a private letter to Thomas Jefferson (of June 28, 1813). A private letter of course is the exact opposite of an official state document agreed by the entire Senate and read by the voting public. But that kind of distinction is inconvenient for Christians, so they rarely note where the quote comes from.

Anyway, the quote as you will see it repeated everywhere reads:

“The general principles on which the fathers achieved Independence were … the general principles of Christianity … [and] I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that the general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”

Now, if you see this in print, you’ll see they are often honest enough to include several ellipses—which should make you wonder, what was left out of the quote. You would be right to be skeptical. I’m going to read the whole context, because it’s fascinating—and not least because it mentions, and praises, all of you—that’s right, it mentions and praises atheists.

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