In Memoriam: Charlie Kirk, Was the United States Founded as a Christian Nation?
Abstract
This article explores whether the United States was founded as a Christian nation, analyzing it within its theological and historical context. Using colonial charters, constitutional debates, church proclamations, and insights from key figures, it argues that the nation’s origins were heavily shaped by Christian beliefs, even as a conscious separation of church and state was maintained. While acknowledging opposing viewpoints, such as the Treaty of Tripoli, the analysis suggests these must be understood within a broader covenantal framework influenced by Reformed theology and biblical anthropology. The essay concludes that, in a nuanced way, the United States bears a Christian civilizational legacy, both culturally and philosophically, as well as legally.
Introduction
The question, “Was America founded as a Christian nation?” remains a hot topic in religious history, sparking both religious fervor and secular doubt. Supporters cite the common Christian language of the founding period, while critics emphasize the Enlightenment’s focus on the separation of church and state. This essay offers a balanced yes: the United States was not established as a theocracy but as a government whose constitutional framework presumed a Christian moral foundation, based on the covenant traditions of the colonies. As theologian John Witherspoon, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and president of Princeton, stated, the strength of republican rule depended on “true and undefiled religion” to guard against profanity and moral decay. To support this, the sovereignty of the states before the federal government, the clear Christian purpose in the colonial charters, and the religious beliefs of the founders will be examined.
The Antecedent Sovereignty of the States and the Limited Mandate of the Federal Compact
A foundational chronological observation clarifies the origin of authority in the American experiment: the states existed before the Constitution. These entities, similar to emerging nation-states, assembled the 1787 Constitutional Convention not to overthrow their sovereignty but to create an administrative system for interstate harmony. The federal government that resulted was granted limited powers, with residual authority kept by the states and ultimately by the people—a Lockean social contract infused with Calvinist covenantalism. This decentralized structure avoided the need for a confessional declaration in the federal charter, much like Robert’s Rules of Order assume procedural norms without theological language.
The secessionist sentiments of the era further confirm this viewpoint. During the so-called War of Northern Aggression (1861–1865), Robert E. Lee refused command of the Union Army, reaffirming his utmost loyalty to Virginia, thus demonstrating the states’ lingering importance. Similarly, the people preceded the state; as James Madison, the architect of the Constitution, suggested, the stability of the republic depended not on forceful rule but on self-control guided by the Decalogue: “We have staked the whole future of American civilization… upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves… according to the Ten Commandments of God.”
The framers’ debates, echoing those in Philadelphia, displayed a deeply Christian mindset. References to divine providence called upon the triune God of Scripture without clarification, making such allusions self-evident. The Bill of Rights, considered unnecessary by some due to its obvious connection to natural law, highlighted this silent agreement. Naturalization also reflected federal caution: the 1790 Act deferred to state discretion, resulting in various oaths until the 1950s, when a uniform process was introduced. Therefore, the federal system, as a secondary authority, inherited instead of created the Christian influence of its founders.
The Seventeenth-Century Genesis: Christianity in Colonial Charters and Ecclesiastical Establishments
The true origin of the American government dates back to the seventeenth century, when colonial charters conveyed a mission-driven purpose supported by Christian salvation beliefs. Nine of the thirteen original colonies had established churches, requiring Christian (or Protestant) loyalty for those in office, a practice consistent with the Westminster Confession’s view of civil authority as established for God’s glory and the welfare of the people.
The First Charter of Virginia (1606) exemplifies this teleological orientation: it commends the settlers’ zeal “for the Furtherance of so noble a Work, which may, by the Providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the Glory of his Divine Majesty, in propagating of Christian Religion to such People, as yet live in Darkness and miserable Ignorance of the true Knowledge and Worship of God.” The accompanying Instructions exhorted unity “to serve and fear God the Giver of all Goodness,” warning that unplanted colonies would be uprooted, a Pauline echo of divine husbandry (cf. 1 Cor. 3:6–9).
John Hancock, Massachusetts governor, embodied this confessional piety in his 1791 proclamation, beseeching that “all nations may bow to the scepter of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” and that the earth be filled with His glory, an Isaianic vision (Isa. 11:9) woven into civic liturgy. Such invocations recur: calls to confess sins through Christ’s merits, to advance His kingdom, and to supplicate forgiveness via the Savior’s mediation, culminating in eschatological hope for universal peace under the Redeemer’s reign.
Anecdotal corroboration abounds. King George III dubbed the Revolution a “Presbyterian Rebellion,” while British Major Harry Rooke, seizing a Calvinist tract from a captive, lamented, “It is your G-d Damned Religion of this Country that ruins the Country; Damn your religion.” These aspersions unwittingly affirm the theological animus of the insurgency.
Juridical Affirmations: From Jay to the Holy Trinity Case
Judicial exegesis buttresses this historical narrative. John Jay, inaugural Chief Justice, averred: “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is their duty, as well as privilege and interest, of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” Joseph Story, in his 1829 Harvard address, proclaimed Christianity “necessary to the support of civil society” and integral to the common law. The Supreme Court’s Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States (1892) crystallized this: “Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind… This is a Christian nation.”
Story, appointed by Madison, clarified the First Amendment’s purpose: not to support “Mahometanism, or Judaism, or infidelity” by replacing Christianity, but to prevent sectarian competition and national church dominance. The 1854 House Judiciary Committee echoed: “Had the people, during the Revolution, suspected any effort to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been halted early.” Presidential endorsements are plentiful: Truman’s affirmation of Mosaic principles in the Bill of Rights; Roosevelt’s linking of national ideals to Christianity; Jackson’s declaration of the Bible as the foundation of the republic.
Congressional imprimaturs include the 1782 resolution endorsing a Bible edition for schools, commending it as “a neat edition of the Holy Scriptures for the use of schools.” Noah Webster’s 1832 History of the United States instructed youth that “the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament or the Christian religion,” positing scriptural precepts as the antidote to vice and tyranny.
Countervailing Voices: Contextualizing Adams and the Treaty of Tripoli
John Adams’s Treaty of Tripoli (1797) clause, “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,” holds a prominent place in disestablishmentarian lore. However, as it was added by the ambassador to comfort Barbary sensitivities, it was omitted from the 1805 renewal, which replaced it. “Founded on the Christian religion” likely implied theocratic involvement, similar to Europe’s confessional monarchies—Catholic in France, Lutheran in Germanic states, against which the founders revolted, scarred by Puritan and Presbyterian persecutions.
Adams’s body of work contradicts secularism: he praised the Bible as “the best book in the world,” and exalted Christianity as superior in wisdom and justice. He imagined a utopian government guided by its principles. The 1783 Treaty of Paris, signed by Adams, Franklin, and Jay, cited “the most Holy & undivided Trinity.” His son, John Quincy Adams, connected the Fourth of July to Christ’s birth, saying, “The Declaration of Independence… laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity,” thus uniting civil and Christian values.
George Washington’s missive to Delaware chiefs urged emulation of “the religion of Jesus Christ” for felicity, while his 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation enjoined gratitude to Almighty God. Jefferson, too, inscribed at his memorial: “God who gave us life gave us liberty,” trembling at the vigil of divine justice. Benjamin Rush deemed the Constitution providential, akin to biblical miracles.
The 1954 emendation of the Pledge of Allegiance, adding “under God,” formalized this heritage, echoing the 1945 adoption. Demographically, the United States hosts the world’s largest Christian (ca. 230–250 million) and Protestant (over 150 million as of 2019) constituencies, a qualified yet substantive affirmation.
Reformed Resistance Theory and the Covenantal Underpinnings
The Christian foundation of this tradition was influenced by Reformed thinkers—John Knox, Samuel Rutherford, Theodore Beza—who argued that lower magistrates must oppose tyrannical rulers and that citizens share this duty under divine law (cf. Rom. 13:1–7, interpreted covenantally). This theologico-political tradition, developed in Scottish, French, and English contexts, permeated the Revolution, making the republic a covenantal federation accountable to the Divine Sovereign.
Conclusion
In sum, the United States was founded as a Christian nation, not in confessional exclusivity, but in the ontological primacy of biblical anthropology, natural law, and eschatological hope. As the 1854 Congressional record intoned, Christianity was “the religion of the founders… [expected] to remain the religion of their descendants.” This inheritance demands theological stewardship amid secular encroachments, lest the republic forfeit its providential moorings. In memoriam, Charlie Kirk, whose polemics vivified this debate, may we reclaim the gospel’s public witness.
References
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21. Treaty of Tripoli (1797), Art. 11.
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The above article was Groked under the direction of Jack Kettler and perfected using Grammarly AI.
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
Mr. Kettler, an author who has published works in Chalcedon Report and Contra Mundum, is an active RPCNA member in Westminster, CO, with 21 books defending the Reformed Faith available on Amazon.
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