McCain a Christian Nationalist?

Frederick Clarkson at Talk2Action writes of an interview John McCain gave to Beliefnet last year. Clarkson says that in that interview, "John McCain came out as a Christian nationalist." Mr. Clarkson, rightly perturbed by McCain's perfidy, went on to say "This is a disturbing development from a man who has been profoundly critical of the religious right in the past, but has courted movement leaders, and received the endorsement of some while seeking the GOP nomination for president over the past year.

"In this interview, he comes out more strongly as a Christian nationalist and critic of separation of church and state than any nominee for either party in modern American history."


The interview was conducted by Dan Gilgoff and titled "John McCain: Constitution Established a 'Christian Nation.'"

Here's one of the questions and McCain's answer:

Q: A recent poll found that 55 percent of Americans believe the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation. What do you think?

McCain: I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation. But I say that in the broadest sense. The Lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door doesn't say, "I only welcome Christians." We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. But when they come here they know that they are in a nation founded on Christian principles.


Abraham Foxman, national director of the ADL, wrote McCain about this interview last October. He said, in part, "We and others are confused and dismayed by the comments you made in the course of this interview.... you came to the conclusion that 'the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation."

McCain responded by saying "I did not assert that members of one faith have a greater claim to American citizenship than another....I believe people of all faiths are welcome here and entitled to the protections of our Constitution....I observed that the values protected by the Constitution -- such as respect for human life and dignity - are rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition. That is all I intended to say to the question: is America a Christian nation?"


The ADL replied that McCain's "clarification" with regard to "human values cherished in America....[as being] values cherished in the Judeo-Christian tradition" was heartening, but expressed disappointment that McCain did not specifically retract the statement that "the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation."


McCain was, of course, involved in the well-known exercise of eating his cake and having it, too. By stressing human values being rooted in the so-called Judeo-Christian tradition, he thought he could get the ADL and other "liberals" off his back, and by not specifically retracting his statement about the Constitution creating a "Christian nation," he could pacify his extremist supporters hanging far out on the Christian right wing.

Unfortunately, for John, one of these days he's going to flip-flop too hard, land on his head and it will be all over! Right now John believes anything you want him to believe so long as you vote for him. But that only works for a little while...


I don't know who wrote the following, but it demolishes this nonsense about the U.S. being a Christian nation rather effectively. It begins by telling Mr. McCain to "listen up:"

"It has often been said that to find God in the Constitution, all one has to do is read it, and see how often the Framers used the words 'God,' or 'Creator,' 'Jesus,' or 'Lord.'

"Except for one notable instance, however, none of these words ever appears in the Constitution, neither the original nor in any of the Amendments.

"The notable exception is found in the Signatory section, where the date is written thusly: 'Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven'". The use of the word 'Lord' here is not a religious reference, however. This was a common way of expressing the date, in both religious and secular contexts. This lack of any of these words does not mean that the Framers were not spiritual people, any more than the use of the word Lord means that they were.

"This lack of these words reveals neither a love for, nor disdain for, religion, but the feeling that the new government should not involve itself in matters of religion. In fact, the original Constitution bars any religious test to hold any federal office in the United States.

"So tell us again John, why you feel the Constitution establishes the U.S. as a Christian nation, given that the word 'Christian' nor any of its derivatives is even mentioned?


That says it very well! And it leads us to suggest that Mr. McCain take a course in American government as well as American history -- you know, just to get some of the fundamentals down.