America and God: A History Lesson
So, there are these people who say that this nation was founded as a Christian nation, and that we should become one again. To those people, I quote Frank Costanza: "I've got a lot of problems with you people!"
Now let me be clear, here. I have no shortage of respect for the teachings of Jesus. Basing the principles of our government on his teachings would really be quite a good idea. And indeed, Jefferson, one of the primary Framers, agreed. But a "Christian" nation in the form that a Robertson or Falwell would have it, could not be further from the principles of the Founding Fathers.
Remember that the American Revolution was a product of the Enlightenment. Most of the founders identified as Deists (that is, believing in God as a concept not unlike nature, embodied in natural laws; as opposed to Theists, an umbrella term for those who believe in a personified God). Many fewer Americans identified themselves as church members in 1776 than in recent decades.
Religious conservatives point to several misleading facts to make their case, counting on a lack of historical knowledge or curiosity on the part of their listeners. For instance, they point to our country's national motto: "In God We Trust." Yes, that is our official national motto. But since when? The motto didn't appear on any currency until 1864. It didn't become the official national motto until 1956, and didn't appear on paper money until 1957.
The same people also become incensed by any notion that "Under God" is a problematic part of our Pledge of Allegiance. They point to recent court challenges on the Pledge as indications of our nation's moral decline. I get the impression that they believe the words were etched in stone by the Founding Fathers. Well, the Pledge didn't even exist until 1892, when it was composed by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister and a Socialist. The phrase "Under God," or indeed any reference to God was not part of the Pledge then, nor would it be for over 60 years. Over this time, it was an unofficial patriotic act, like the singing of "America the Beautiful" or "My Country 'Tis of Thee" as opposed to the National Anthem. It did not become adopted by the government and added to the US Flag Code (in a form modified from the original) until World War II. Even then, it still did not have the words "Under God." That didn't come until 1954, when Congress added it.
The historical arguments hold little water. But what about the aims? Y'know, a truly Christian nation would take great pride in a strong welfare system for its citizens, would be generous with its foreign aid, and would do its utmost to avoid war. It would shun capital punishment, and treat its criminals humanely. It would seek justice for the least of those among us. Those are aims that I could agree with. Hell, those are aims that I stand proudly for. To quote Chris Rock: "God bless America, and EVERYBODY else!"
In the end, what this seems to come down to is intellectual honesty. The purveyors of public piety have their facts wrong.
Well, thanks for reading. Here are some links I used in writing this entry:
Pledge of Allegiance:
http://history.vineyard.net/pledge.htm
http://PledgeQandA.com/
National Motto:
http://www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.html
Jefferson and Christ:
http://www.liberalslikechrist.org/about/libnotx.html
http://www.angelfire.com/co/JeffersonBible/jeffintr.html
Church membership then and now:
http://www.liberalslikechrist.org/about/graphs.html
11:41:32 AM 
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