Yes, This Is A Christian Nation. But Should It Be?

By D.T. Holt

What if Sarah Palin was an atheist? What if there was nothing else different and she had all of the same conservative touchstone values but just without the belief in God? Would she still be the darling of the far right that she is today? Not only is the answer no, she wouldn’t even be in the race. Her name would’ve never come up for consideration.

Similarly, what if Barack Obama really was a Muslim, like all those crazy emails are claiming? Again, what if everything else about him were exactly the same? Obviously, if this were true, we wouldn’t even know his name. He probably would have never made it to the US Senate, let alone the presidential race.

All of the contestants in a debate during the Republican presidential primary were asked if they believed every word in the bible and several of them said yes but, even more amazingly, none of them was willing to point out that the answer to that question was completely irrelevant. Those who were unwilling to sign on to every word gave stuttering non-answers that they hoped would be glossed over by the Christians in the viewing audience. Politicians on both sides of the aisle are afraid of having the wrong religious views and those, like John McCain, who, by all appearances, don’t seem to be active participants in religion, try desperately to pretend that they are.

For many, having a belief in Jesus Christ has become shorthand for having sound morals and the elusive “family values” that the pundits insist are the key factors in most presidential races. But would a politician who held the same views as you on the economy, on the war, on abortion, or human rights be dismissed because he does not share your religious views? Isn’t this a shallow short cut to choosing which candidate deserves your vote?

Conservatives have successfully rewritten history to read that this nation was founded on Christian values however a casual Google search brings a list of conflicting quotes about the religious beliefs and intent of the founding fathers. The truth is that their religious intentions are not only difficult to discern they are also irrelevant to this debate. The question is not whether we are a Christian nation but whether we should be.

I am an atheist, that is, I do not believe in God. Sometimes, I also refer to myself as a Buddhist but, I see Buddhism as more of a philosophy than a religion. I not only don’t believe that Buddha was a god, I don’t believe it even matters. I am drawn to Buddhism by the concept of being present in each moment and I have found its philosophies and rituals to be effective in my life. I mention my personal beliefs because I don’t expect or even look for them when choosing to support a candidate for president. I honestly don’t think it’s important or even any of my business.

I don’t care whether Barack Obama believes in God but I do care how he intends to help millions of Americans, many of them children, who are without adequate health care. I care about his plan for our economic woes and his plan to fix our failing education system. His religious beliefs are his business and should have no bearing in my judgment of his fitness for office.

The only time that a candidate’s religious beliefs become a concern for me is when, as in the case of Sarah Palin’s support of teaching creationism in high school science class alongside the theory of evolution, those beliefs can potentially have an undue influence on public policy. If Sarah Palin wants to ignore the findings of literally thousands of scientists and pretend that the earth is less than 10,000 years old, that is certainly within her rights however, those beliefs can have no bearing on the way she governs as an elected official.

The next President of the United States will potentially face as much adversity and make as many difficult decisions as any in our history. It’s time that we focused our attention on the intentions and policies of those vying for the highest office in this country instead of the incessantly examining their religious beliefs. It’s time to do the hard work of researching the candidates and leave the shorthand of a simple “yes, but is he a Christian?” litmus test behind.