There is a growing trend in modern society concerning the relationship between Christianity and America. This trend is called Christian Nationalism. Actually, this trend has been going on for many years since before I was even born. Many Christians, on both the Left and the Right, are divided concerning this topic. Those on the Right seem to think that this country is a Christian country that promotes Christianity and bases its laws on the Bible. On the contrary, those on the Left say that this country is a secular country that bases its laws on secularism. Which side is more accurate and which side is severely mistaken? Furthermore, does the Bible have anything to say concerning this topic? In this blog, I shall discuss whether or not America ever was a Christian nation, and if it still is a Christian nation, then I will talk about why Christian Nationalism is actually bad for one's mental health. If you still disagree with me after reading this, then I invite you to have a civil conversation with me concerning this topic. First off, I would like to say that I love America and I love the freedoms that being an American brings with it. Secondly, I am a conservative, Reformed Christian man, but I disagree with the Christian Nationalists concerning this topic because I believe it goes against what the Bible clearly teaches. I will get more into that later in this blog. However, before I get into the meat of this blog, I would like to give a definition of Christian Nationalism for the people who do not know what it is. According to Wikipedia,
"Christian nationalism is a type of religious nationalism that is affiliated with Christianity, which primarily focuses on the internal politics of society, such as legislating civil and criminal laws that reflect their view of Christianity and the role of religion in political and social life"
One of the arguments that Christian Nationalists will make to support their claim is that the founding fathers were Christians. Their argument says that since the founding fathers were Christians who promoted Christianity, that means our nation was founded on Christian principles, and thus is a Christian nation. But, is this even remotely true? Well, no it is not. In fact, most of the founding fathers were deists who were against Christianity. Read the words of Benjamin Franklin for example when he says,
"I wish it (Christianity) were more productive of good works ... I mean real good works ... not holy-day keeping, sermon-hearing ... or making long prayers, filled with flatteries and compliments despised by wise men, and much less capable of pleasing the Deity."--- Benjamin Franklin, Works, Vol. VII, p. 75
Benjamin Franklin basically is promoting works-based righteousness, which is antithetical to the true Christian faith, which is based on God's grace found in Jesus Christ alone. If this is not convincing enough for you, read the words of Thomas Paine when he says,
"Every person, of whatever religious denomination he may be, is a DEIST in the first article of his Creed. Deism, from the Latin word Deus, God, is the belief of a God, and this belief is the first article of every man's creed."
If this still does not convince you, then I have one more quote from John Adams for you to read. He says,
"As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?" --- John Adams, letter to F.A. Van der Kamp, Dec. 27, 1816
I could go on and on for infinity with all sorts of quotes from the founding fathers just like these, but I think you get the point. The founding fathers were deists who did not like Christianity very much. As for the Constitution, if anyone actually reads it, then they will notice that the language used in it is inherently deistic, not Christian. There is absolutely no mention of Jesus Christ anywhere in the Constitution whatsoever. However, it does use terms such as "Sovereign" and "Creator", but these are not exclusively Christian terms, but they are deist terms. So, what does the Bible say concerning this topic, if anything at all? Well, if you turn to 1 Peter 2:9 it says,
"But you are a chosen race, a holy nation, a people for his own possession..."
This verse is clearly not referring to America because America was not even a country at the time Peter wrote this. So, what exactly was the Apostle Peter referring to when he penned these words? He was simply referring to the holy saints of God who are trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation. The people of God are the holy nation and they span all across the world in every tribe, nation, and tongue. The concept of a geopolitical nation being a Christian nation is very unbiblical. As for whether or not America has ever promoted or still promotes Christianity, I think the above quotes will tell you what the founding fathers were actually promoting and modern times have demonstrated that this country promotes anything but Christianity.
So, what does all this have to do with mental health, you ask? I think that Christian Nationalism is very bad for mental health for three different reasons. However, before I get into them, I'd like to say that I love and respect my brothers and sisters in the faith who are Christian Nationalists. I do not hold any animosity toward any of them. I just think they are sorely mistaken on this issue. The following reasons I believe that this issue is bad for mental health are:
1) It Goes Against The Grain Of Reality
2) It Promotes Ethnocentrism
3) It Divides Social Groups
I will elaborate on each of these points, but I would like to say that these are not the only ways that Christian Nationalism is bad for mental health, but for the sake of this blog these are the main points I'd like to address. If you can think of any more ways, please let me know in the comments below. I will now explain my points.
It Goes Against The Grain Of Reality
As I have pointed out, the reality is that America is a secular nation that was founded upon deism. To suggest that America is founded upon Christian principles or that the founding fathers were Christian is to deny all of the historical evidence that we have. Maybe before we had the advancement of the internet it was easy to pass off this lie, but now that we have the opportunity to do our own research, no one has an excuse to believe this. For someone to still believe that America is a Christian nation is at best ignorant or at worst willingly deceptive.
It Promotes Ethnocentrism
What do I mean by Ethnocentrism? According to the dictionary, Ethnocentrism is,
"evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of own culture"
In other words, Ethnocentrism is believing that one's culture is inherently better than other cultures and viewing other cultures in the light of one's own culture. Christian Nationalists tend to do this a lot. They say America is a Christian Nation and they are proud of this country, but then they look down on other countries they deem as "pagan nations". Even if this country were a Christian nation, which I've already established it is not, that would not make this country any better than Russia or Nigeria, or any other country.
It Divides Social Groups
This point is the most important one because numerous psychological studies have proven that we are by nature social creatures. This means that we are healthiest when we are being social with other people and we are unhealthiest when we are isolated from people. I am not saying that having alone time every now and then is bad, but constant isolation from others is unhealthy mentally. Christian Nationalism tends to isolate individuals from others who are not in their own circle because they look down on other people who they deem as "outsiders". As a result of this, Christian Nationalists are dividing people up into different groups instead of uniting people together.
I hope that this blog helps you to better understand the issue of Christian Nationalism better and like I said if you still disagree with me, then I do invite you to have a discussion with me concerning this topic in the comments below as long as it can remain civil. I thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
"Christian nationalism is a type of religious nationalism that is affiliated with Christianity, which primarily focuses on the internal politics of society, such as legislating civil and criminal laws that reflect their view of Christianity and the role of religion in political and social life"
One of the arguments that Christian Nationalists will make to support their claim is that the founding fathers were Christians. Their argument says that since the founding fathers were Christians who promoted Christianity, that means our nation was founded on Christian principles, and thus is a Christian nation. But, is this even remotely true? Well, no it is not. In fact, most of the founding fathers were deists who were against Christianity. Read the words of Benjamin Franklin for example when he says,
"I wish it (Christianity) were more productive of good works ... I mean real good works ... not holy-day keeping, sermon-hearing ... or making long prayers, filled with flatteries and compliments despised by wise men, and much less capable of pleasing the Deity."--- Benjamin Franklin, Works, Vol. VII, p. 75
Benjamin Franklin basically is promoting works-based righteousness, which is antithetical to the true Christian faith, which is based on God's grace found in Jesus Christ alone. If this is not convincing enough for you, read the words of Thomas Paine when he says,
"Every person, of whatever religious denomination he may be, is a DEIST in the first article of his Creed. Deism, from the Latin word Deus, God, is the belief of a God, and this belief is the first article of every man's creed."
If this still does not convince you, then I have one more quote from John Adams for you to read. He says,
"As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?" --- John Adams, letter to F.A. Van der Kamp, Dec. 27, 1816
I could go on and on for infinity with all sorts of quotes from the founding fathers just like these, but I think you get the point. The founding fathers were deists who did not like Christianity very much. As for the Constitution, if anyone actually reads it, then they will notice that the language used in it is inherently deistic, not Christian. There is absolutely no mention of Jesus Christ anywhere in the Constitution whatsoever. However, it does use terms such as "Sovereign" and "Creator", but these are not exclusively Christian terms, but they are deist terms. So, what does the Bible say concerning this topic, if anything at all? Well, if you turn to 1 Peter 2:9 it says,
"But you are a chosen race, a holy nation, a people for his own possession..."
This verse is clearly not referring to America because America was not even a country at the time Peter wrote this. So, what exactly was the Apostle Peter referring to when he penned these words? He was simply referring to the holy saints of God who are trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation. The people of God are the holy nation and they span all across the world in every tribe, nation, and tongue. The concept of a geopolitical nation being a Christian nation is very unbiblical. As for whether or not America has ever promoted or still promotes Christianity, I think the above quotes will tell you what the founding fathers were actually promoting and modern times have demonstrated that this country promotes anything but Christianity.
So, what does all this have to do with mental health, you ask? I think that Christian Nationalism is very bad for mental health for three different reasons. However, before I get into them, I'd like to say that I love and respect my brothers and sisters in the faith who are Christian Nationalists. I do not hold any animosity toward any of them. I just think they are sorely mistaken on this issue. The following reasons I believe that this issue is bad for mental health are:
1) It Goes Against The Grain Of Reality
2) It Promotes Ethnocentrism
3) It Divides Social Groups
I will elaborate on each of these points, but I would like to say that these are not the only ways that Christian Nationalism is bad for mental health, but for the sake of this blog these are the main points I'd like to address. If you can think of any more ways, please let me know in the comments below. I will now explain my points.
It Goes Against The Grain Of Reality
As I have pointed out, the reality is that America is a secular nation that was founded upon deism. To suggest that America is founded upon Christian principles or that the founding fathers were Christian is to deny all of the historical evidence that we have. Maybe before we had the advancement of the internet it was easy to pass off this lie, but now that we have the opportunity to do our own research, no one has an excuse to believe this. For someone to still believe that America is a Christian nation is at best ignorant or at worst willingly deceptive.
It Promotes Ethnocentrism
What do I mean by Ethnocentrism? According to the dictionary, Ethnocentrism is,
"evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of own culture"
In other words, Ethnocentrism is believing that one's culture is inherently better than other cultures and viewing other cultures in the light of one's own culture. Christian Nationalists tend to do this a lot. They say America is a Christian Nation and they are proud of this country, but then they look down on other countries they deem as "pagan nations". Even if this country were a Christian nation, which I've already established it is not, that would not make this country any better than Russia or Nigeria, or any other country.
It Divides Social Groups
This point is the most important one because numerous psychological studies have proven that we are by nature social creatures. This means that we are healthiest when we are being social with other people and we are unhealthiest when we are isolated from people. I am not saying that having alone time every now and then is bad, but constant isolation from others is unhealthy mentally. Christian Nationalism tends to isolate individuals from others who are not in their own circle because they look down on other people who they deem as "outsiders". As a result of this, Christian Nationalists are dividing people up into different groups instead of uniting people together.
I hope that this blog helps you to better understand the issue of Christian Nationalism better and like I said if you still disagree with me, then I do invite you to have a discussion with me concerning this topic in the comments below as long as it can remain civil. I thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog and may the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Check out the other Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
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