Recent claims suggesting that the United States was built upon a foundation of Christian nationalism are not just debatable — they are ahistorical. Our history can be complex, but in this case, it is straightforward. The 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, approved by George Washington and ratified unanimously by the Senate, could not be more clear:

“As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen (Muslims); and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan (Mohamedan) nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

This was a formal declaration of the nation’s character to the international community. It reflected the “original public understanding” of who and what we are as a country. The authors and architects of our nation may have been Christians, but they were in no sense working to build a Christian nation.

Tim Rogers
Creswell