Is America A Christian Nation ???

[I AM ALL I AM]

"The proportion of the [American] population that can be classified as Christian has declined from 86% in 1990 to 77% in 2001." ARIS Study. 4
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm

Main religious preferences of Americans

According to the CIA,[6] the following is the order of religious preferences in the United States:

* Christian: (78.5%)
o Protestant (51.3%)
o Roman Catholic (23.9%)
o Mormon (1.7%)
o other Christian (1.6%)
* unaffiliated (12.1%)
* none (4%)
* other or unspecified (2.5%)
* Jewish (1.7%)
* Buddhist (0.7%)
* Muslim (0.6%)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_i ... ted_States

..... the actual number of overweight or obese people in America, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is much larger - about 60% .....
http://www.center4research.org/wmnshlth ... esity.html

Gluttony (Latin, gula)

Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow, gluttony is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins

The Seven Deadly Sins:
Lust
Gluttony
Greed
Sloth
Wrath
Envy
Pride

If the above statistics are correct, can America be called a 'christian nation' when there are 60% (some studies say more) of the population committing one of the 'seven deadly sins', that of gluttony ???

If so, would this mean that you can be a 'sinner' and still be considered christian ???

If not, does this mean that anyone claiming to be a christian that sins is not truly a christian ???

Or, is the claim of being christian enough to be considered a christian (as in George Bush claiming to be a christian) without having to follow the tenets of the faith ???

Or, is belief in 'Jesus Christ' all that is required to be considered a christian and not the actual following of the tenets of faith ???

[McCulloch]

What do you mean by christian nation?

1. A nation who's laws and government are established on the principles of the Christian religion?
2. A nation who's citizens are predominantly practicing Christians?
3. A nation who's citizens are mostly nominally Christian or post-Christian and with a history of Christian influences?

If (A) then the United States has never been a Christian nation.
If (B) then the United States is becoming less of a Christian nation with increased affluence and education.
If (C) then the United States could be described as a Christian nation.

[I AM ALL I AM]

G'day McCulloch.

d. What christians commonly refer to America being.

[JoeyKnothead]

G'day McCulloch.

d. What christians commonly refer to America being.

Calling something something don't make that something something.

[I AM ALL I AM]

G'day McCulloch.

d. What christians commonly refer to America being.

Calling something something don't make that something something.

G'day Joeyknuccione.

I agree 100%.

[Avariel]

If the above statistics are correct, can America be called a 'christian nation' when there are 60% (some studies say more) of the population committing one of the 'seven deadly sins', that of gluttony ???

If so, would this mean that you can be a 'sinner' and still be considered christian ???

If not, does this mean that anyone claiming to be a christian that sins is not truly a christian ???

Or, is the claim of being christian enough to be considered a christian (as in George Bush claiming to be a christian) without having to follow the tenets of the faith ???

Or, is belief in 'Jesus Christ' all that is required to be considered a christian and not the actual following of the tenets of faith ???

I would say your latter, as it's impossible not to sin by Christian standards, and many scriptures tell readers that you're basically going to sin and that trying to be perfect in itself is a sin, I think. Probably. It might as well be. At any rate, following guidelines, while important to the Christian religion, I don't think is necessary to salvation, and as salvation is necessary to being a Christian, one could be "saved (i.e. gone through the whole "I accept Christ as my savior" song and dance) and be a better "Christian" than someone who's never been saved and yet follows the tenets of faith to a T. I think Christ did a few parables on it, the holy man proclaiming how holy he was to the crowd while some other guy quietly greived that he was a sinner and a terrible person, and Christ said the second guy was more holy and would go to heaven. Or something.

I always mess up that parable, lol.

[indie_girl03]

i personally don't believe that america is a "christian" nation.
first, because there is freedom of religion here. we don't have a theocracy (thank god!) we can each choose our own religion, or lack of religion, and theres nothing illegal about it. just because the majority is christian doesn't mean that it's a christian nation. america is a melting pot of cultures, beliefs, and ideas. i think thats what makes america great!=)

[Skyler]

Hi I Am,

There is no such thing as a "Christian" nation. Jesus himself said "My kingdom is not of this world."

Also, to be saved one must repent of his sins and place his faith in Jesus. The "tenets of the faith" will follow if he/she is walking in the Spirit.

Skyler

[msmcneal]

What do you mean by christian nation?


A nation who's laws and government are established on the principles of the Christian religion?


A nation who's citizens are predominantly practicing Christians?


A nation who's citizens are mostly nominally Christian or post-Christian and with a history of Christian influences?


If (A) then the United States has never been a Christian nation.
If (B) then the United States is becoming less of a Christian nation with increased affluence and education.
If (C) then the United States could be described as a Christian nation.

This is absolutely right. It must first be established what is meant by "Christian nation". I think most conservative Christians think that "A" is what is meant. However, we know this is not the case. "C" would be the most correct form of this being a "Christian nation".

There is no such thing as a "Christian" nation. Jesus himself said "My kingdom is not of this world."

That's what I believed when I was a Christian. I refused to get involved in politics for this reason.

As far as the questions in the OP goes, the base determining factor of who is considered a Christian for polls and census' concerns, is simply that one professes to be so. This includes everthing from Catholics and Episcopalians, to Baptists and Pentecostals, to Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. I don't think debating who or what is a "true Christian" is important to this particular thread.

[I AM ALL I AM]

If the above statistics are correct, can America be called a 'christian nation' when there are 60% (some studies say more) of the population committing one of the 'seven deadly sins', that of gluttony ???

If so, would this mean that you can be a 'sinner' and still be considered christian ???

If not, does this mean that anyone claiming to be a christian that sins is not truly a christian ???

Or, is the claim of being christian enough to be considered a christian (as in George Bush claiming to be a christian) without having to follow the tenets of the faith ???

Or, is belief in 'Jesus Christ' all that is required to be considered a christian and not the actual following of the tenets of faith ???

I would say your latter, as it's impossible not to sin by Christian standards, and many scriptures tell readers that you're basically going to sin and that trying to be perfect in itself is a sin, I think. Probably. It might as well be. At any rate, following guidelines, while important to the Christian religion, I don't think is necessary to salvation, and as salvation is necessary to being a Christian, one could be "saved (i.e. gone through the whole "I accept Christ as my savior" song and dance) and be a better "Christian" than someone who's never been saved and yet follows the tenets of faith to a T. I think Christ did a few parables on it, the holy man proclaiming how holy he was to the crowd while some other guy quietly greived that he was a sinner and a terrible person, and Christ said the second guy was more holy and would go to heaven. Or something.

I always mess up that parable, lol.

G'day Avariel.

Thanks for your response.

Considering that the christian belief is that people are born in sin, it is impossible by christian standards not to be sinful. Accepting their premise that they are saved through 'Jesus', who apparently absolved their sins by being crucified (as crazy as that is), does it then mean that they continually have to do the song and dance routine to maintain themselves as christians ???

If so, would this negate many that claim the title of christianity but are not continually singing and dancing (going to church, confessing sins, etc) ???

For if they are not actually christians (by this definition), then the statistics claiming that the majority of America are christian is false and misleading. Being false and misleading, any proposition based on the said false and misleading statistics would also be false, that is, America would not be a christian nation as many (so-called) christians so claim.