An Uninformed Christian Conservative Discusses Politics

After recently witnessing a rousing argument on the subject between two mildly intoxicated conservatives, I have decided to give my two cents on the quintessential piece of conservative dogma, “This nation was founded on Christian principles.”

Most people seem to believe that this statement is somewhat true, with qualifications, or quite false, with some exceptions. As usual, most people are dead wrong; the issue is quite black-and-white, although the answer depends completely on what you believe ‘Christian principles’ to be. If Christian principles means the principles of Western culture, to be distinguished from Buddhist principles, Hindu principles, animist principles, pagan principles etc., there can be no question that the United States of America stood, at its founding, at the apex of the Western political tradition, founded according to Christian principles, and certainly not, for instance, the principles of Scientology. If, however, by ‘Christian principles’ we mean ‘the principles of Christianity’, maintaining that this country was founded upon them is patently absurd. Though I have deep respect for the statesmen who shaped this nation in its infancy, I believe that it is patently obvious that they were far too realistic found a nation based on the principles of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control. At best, it can be said that this country was founded upon the principles of enlightened self-interest, and that the greatest concern of our founders was to prevent men from wreaking violence upon each other through the apparatus of a corrupt or tyrannical state. And although the United States is by no means remarkable among the nations of history for these traits, it is nevertheless true that much of our history has been marked by extremes of greed, violence, hypocrisy, racism, exploitation, materialism and self-indulgence.

So, the statement that this country was founded on Christian principles is either a bland truism, or else a bald-faced lie. But why are we even concerned about this in the first place? No one really seems to give a damn what sorts of principles other organizations, the Coca-cola institute, for example, were founded on. All too often, this statement seems to be an argument for a sort of automatic Christian primacy in our cultural and political life, made by the sorts of folks who want the Ten Commandments put in front of court houses and evolution out of our textbooks.
I believe that Christianity is the only real solution to the problems that confront us as a nation, as a society, as a global community, and as individuals. I believe that all that is best in modern conservatism and modern liberalism can be found in much greater abundance in Christianity. I believe that Christian principles such as humility, love, hope and faith through which a society, or an individual, can be transformed. But I do not believe that any nation has ever truly become more wealthy, more vibrant or more just by slavishly adhering to a romanticized myth of a national past, and I do not believe that an appeal to such a past on the part of conservative Christians is anything but intellectual laziness and hypocrisy.