'America was never a Christian nation': John Fugelsang pushes to separate Church from State

The recent celebration of America's 250th anniversary sparked fresh debate over the very origins of the country and the vision the founding fathers had for it. Since the celebration, including President Donald Trump's speech, had religious undertones, Christian nationalists found new footing to push their agenda of a Christian State. However, many, including author John Fugelsang, came forward to clear the misconception and call out those pushing Christianity without learning its values.

In his weather-delayed speech at the Great American State Fair, Trump made a claim about the Declaration of Independence, saying, "We are all made in the image of one almighty God," which was false and has since been widely criticized on social media. Amidst this, a new push for a Christian state emerged with religious nationalists pushing their agenda. Dismissing this, the author of 'Separation of Church and State: America's Best Idea' took to X, writing: "America is not, has never been, and was never intended to be a Christian nation. And the people who want it to be a Christian nation have zero interest in the actual teachings of Christ."

Sharing his article published in 'The Nation', he argued that while Christians claim America was founded by Puritans, it isn't accurate. The same was echoed by Pastor Loran Livingston, whose clip went viral after Trump's speech. "There has never been a Christian nation, and never will be. You don't live in one now. A Christian nation wouldn't have killed and displaced 20 million Native Americans, or thought owning slaves was pleasing to God," Livingstone had said.

Fugelsang also mentioned the same flaws in the ideology of the founding fathers, but pointed out that while they were wrong on many fronts, one thing they got right was to mention that America would always be secular, more than once in the document that serves as the foundational text for the Republic. He argued that it was done as they had learned from the past: "Here's the inconvenient history: The founders believed in faith without force," he wrote. "The 13 US colonies were already a patchwork of religious refugees: Puritans fleeing the Church of England, Quakers who'd been persecuted across Europe, Catholics who'd faced discrimination in Protestant countries. These weren’t people who needed convincing that state religion was dangerous; they already had the scars to prove it," Fugelsang explained. 

He added that while the Constitution never actually uses the expression "separation of church and state," it doesn't mention Jesus, the Bible, or even a vague divine authority. He further mentioned the inclusion of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution in 1791, including the First Amendment, which reinforced religious diversity and explicitly prohibited any national religion. "Separation of church and state made it easier to make peace, enjoy freedom, do business, and deal with pirates. So sorry, Christian nationalists: Our official religion remains all and/or none," he added.