The 7 Deadly Reasons America is not Christian
A seemingly ancient argument made by the religious right and their apologists is that “America is a Christian nation.” Therefore all sorts of theocratic nonsense is justified. Let’s see just how Christian this country is.
1. Greed
Perhaps the easiest and most straightforward measure of the un-Christian character of the US is the economic system that affects everyone’s life, is essential to its prosperity, and remains fundamental to the country’s self-identity (especially given the Cold War). Capitalism depends on many factors, but one of the most important is greed or self-interest. Merriam-Webster defines capitalism as “an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.”
Anyone with the most rudimentary understanding of how business works knows that a company doesn’t survive unless it makes profit. The same is roughly true of individuals in a free market setting. Self-interest, then, becomes a matter of survival for economic actors, other things equal. Government in the US does various things to level the playing field and help those who can’t help themselves, but the underlying framework of the system remains dependent on greed. One does not need to discuss arch-capitalist and atheist Ayn Rand in order to appreciate this.
Some would argue that Americans give plenty of money to charity. The response would be simply: where did that money come from? From a greedy process, of course. By definition, anyone who donates to charity today donated less than their total wealth yesterday. And donation is only possible if there is wealth to donate, which requires a wealth-generating system, of which America’s is capitalism. Little more needs to be said on greed, except a reminder of the recent financial meltdown caused in large part by unmitigated greed to the point of delusion on the part of some of the smartest players in the economy.
2. Envy
The strong individualism (which is itself un-Christian) and consumerism that lie at the heart of American society inevitably give way to envy, jealousy and coveting. Hence the tradition of “keeping up with the Joneses.” Indeed, an economy where 65 to 70% of the GDP is consumption almost by definition requires a significant feeling of want and a desire for more and better stuff. Consumption can even be estimated to be in the 80s or 90s percentage range.
The largely self-interested character of economic activity can be explained by greed. But only envy can adequately explain the huge rates of consumer debt ($2.5 trillion in 2009), the economic staple that credit cards have become, the entire phenomenon of the Christmas shopping season (very apropos) and the vast entitlements and services along with the low taxes that Americans demand from their government. This is envy not only of others who have more stuff than you, but also of what you could potentially be, and the kind of stuff you could have.
3. Pride
No one in the developed world is more proud of their country than Americans. This is not just a rhetorical twist of the word “pride.” Given the nature of the economic and social system, in a Darwinian fashion, we can expect that those who are more self-confident and aggressively self-interested will enjoy more success, on average, than those who are not. Just as confidence breeds success, success breeds confidence. An interesting take on the interplay between the two is written in Business Week here.
Much of this is subjective, of course. But will anyone honestly argue against the notion that confidence, pride, vanity, even narcissism are celebrated and rewarded in American society? A quick look at reality TV and its idolization of otherwise unimpressive personalities will dispel that idea. A glance at ESPN shows the kinds of personalities that succeed, and that are loved, in professional sports. A quick tour through YouTube will demonstrate that many people think themselves “experts” in this matter or that, rightly or wrongly. Personally, I think I am an intelligent person who has opinions that others may find interesting (hence this blog). I would not call myself vain or narcissistic, but obviously I am partaking of this overall phenomenon.
The spirit of individualism and independence inherent in the American social, cultural and economic character will almost inevitably lead to excess pride and vanity. How much pride is too much? Perhaps that can be answered with a question: how successful would Jesus be if he lived in the US today?
4. Wrath
American society on the whole cannot be characterized as particularly violent per se. However, it does occupy a unique place among developed countries in its level of violence. A ranking of countries by the number of murders per person places the US high among industrialized nations. According to the most recent data, the US has more murders on this measure than Armenia, India and Romania, as well as almost all other rich countries. For example, the US has 0.043 murders per 1000 people, while Italy has 0.013 and Switzerland has 0.009. Total crimes per capita also rank highly relative to the rest of the world, and especially (and most importantly) relative to other rich countries, as do assaults per capita.
The American justice system is characterized by greater emphasis on punishment and revenge than other rich countries. Accordingly, the New York Times reported in 2008 that 1% of the adult population was incarcerated. On the world ranking, it is clear that the US has one of the highest numbers of prisoners. (Reasonable questions can be raised on the number of Chinese prisoners, but the US clearly remains high internationally.) In addition, the US continues to execute certain criminals—an extraordinarily unChristian practice, and highly unusual in the rich world. All of this ignores the significant amount of violence in American culture and media, again relative to other industrialized countries.
5. Lust
Estimates of the total value of the pornographic industry vary wildly, but the LA Times reports that:
At least five of the 100 top websites in the U.S. are portals for free pornography, referred to in the industry as “tube sites,” according to Internet traffic ranking service Alexa .com… Sites like Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube attract more users than TMZ and the Huffington Post.
Even accounting for the fact that these websites are open for the whole world, one must recall the significant number of Americans that are on the net relative to other countries.
In the area of real-world sex, over 90% of Americans have done it by age 23, and yet the median age at first marriage is several years later and has been rising for years. These two facts produce a situation in which a staggering 95% of Americans have had extra- or premarital sex by age 44, according to a widely-cited study from 2006 (reported here, here and here, among other places). And premarital sex has been the norm for generations.
Since Christianity demands delaying sex until marriage, it is clear this situation does not characterize a Christian society. (Interestingly, a google search for “sex before marriage” turns up an unusually high number of Christian and Christian-themed websites, overwhelmingly against it, of course. Though they would seem to be swimming against the historical and cultural tide.)
6. Gluttony
Americans love food. And it shows. The obesity epidemic barely needs mentioning, but estimates are that the majority of American adults are overweight, including a third that are obese. Significant numbers of teens and young people are also overweight (17% in 2006), as well as about 15% of low-income preschool-aged children as of 2008. Accordingly, as of the year 2000, daily per capita calorie consumption was at or near all-time highs, and average daily calorie intake rose 25% from 1970 to 2000.
An unscientific but thought-provoking look at weekly food consumption around the world is provided in a series of photographs here. Note the high per person food consumption of the American family (just 4 people) relative to the Italian family depicted (consisting of 5 people) or the Egyptian family (12 people—none of whom seem particularly malnourished).
Needless to say, another vital component of the obesity epidemic is low physical activity. Hence…
7. Sloth
There are a number of ways to measure sloth. One is obesity. Another is the abundant anecdotal evidence in our lives of friends or family who take full advantage of labor-saving technology. One interesting thing we can consider is low rates of voter turnout, which have not exceeded 63% in the last 50 years, and have remained at right around half of eligible voters over the last few decades. Non-presidential election years have seen turnout rates even lower—typically in the 30s, and never greater than 40% (the last time a non-presidential election year saw over 40% turnout was in 1970).
Given the absolute essentialness of voter participation in the kind of sociopolitical system that the US has, the relatively low rates of turnout are significant. One must conclude that either huge numbers of Americans are thoughtfully considering the available candidates, and deciding not to support anyone, year after year, or they are politically sleepwalking.
Now many Americans work very hard on a number of levels, to be sure. And many statistics and studies can be generated supporting a vigorous work ethic and diligence on the part of much, if not most, of the American population. But sloth affects a significant enough proportion of the society and of American life to warrant its inclusion as a factor. On its own, it is not very compelling. But in conjunction with the other 6 sins, it helps to weave a picture of a basically secular population.
Conclusion
None of this is to argue necessarily that any of these things are bad. But given the significant attention accorded these themes in the Bible and in Christian tradition, the “sinfulness” of America on a number of levels should serve as strong supporting evidence that it is not a Christian society. To be sure, a large majority of Americans happen to call themselves Christians, but this is irrelevant as we must look at people’s actions and not their words. And that is precisely what we have done in this essay. Probably the strongest cases are for lust, greed, gluttony and envy. America is a basically secular society populated by basically secular people. So stop all that talk about a Christian country!
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Actually, the Italians are prouder of their country than the Americans according to the Pew Research Crew. I would say the Americans are more self-centred due to their limited world view.
otherwise, yet another excellent post.
Thanks, although I wouldn’t say a limited worldview is limited to the Americans; that’s pretty much a human universal!
Any extra self-centeredness on the part of Americans is more likely an outcome of specific social and cultural dynamics (independent, frontier spirit, etc)
[...] concept, and the relatively high placement of the US should come as no surprise, given my recent analysis of the issue. Of course, one must remember the anti-American stance of much of the BBC, but [...]
im not sure if the person that wrote this is american or from somewhere else, but he or she is definitely anti american. ive been to other countries and i see lots of pride in france, fat people drinking calorie beer in germany, hooligans in england, poor countries envy wealthier countries and not to mention they are lazy or they would be in the same position as the wealthier countries are.
so basically theres no country better than america is. we are all in the same boat. this thing about prisons is a weak remark. american law enforcement just keep better control over aggression than other countries do. i seen a gang fight in europe and the police came 20 minutes later when it was over. then we got the facts about dictators and queens and emperors and kings that have enough vanity and the rest of the sins to match the world with. america doesnt have any rich kings with gold and jewels and fancy stuff like in their times when everybody was dirt poor and they were godly rich. you got khan napoleon hitler hirhito henry caesar mussolini erik atilla alexander pharoah stalin lenin hussein first emperor of china castro santa anna cortes nicolae tojo daladier, that was just some for history, and not to mention that there is alot of crime in africa that doesnt even get recorded because not enough people in the world show interest in their faults, only that they need food is interesting. and the world leaders now arent really much better (modern time).
so please be a little bit nicer to american people. we are not perfect, just like everybody else with the same problems.
one other small part. americans are a mix from all the other countries. so does that mean we are getting all the crap from the other countries? thx to the rest of the world.
so when an american is doing something sinful, the rest of the world can blame themselves. you all get what you make.
so if a king somewhere in a country a long time ago was mean to his people and some of the people left and tried to fine new land because they had so much wrath against their unfair or brutal king, then that means that king did it himself, he made his bed abd the bed for people in the future.
Irrelevant:
I wrote this article and yes, I am an American, born and raised. I too have travelled to many other countries. I am most certainly NOT anti-American, which you would see if you read the first sentence of the conclusion: “None of this is to argue necessarily that any of these things are bad.”
This article does not argue that America is bad, but rather that it is not Christian. For example, I think lust and greed are actually very positive forces if used responsibly. But they are decidedly contrary to Christianity. Therefore America is not Christian in those areas. Doesn’t mean America or Americans are bad.
Yes, of course there are crimes, obesity, etc in other countries. But the statistics don’t lie. There is more crime in the US and more obesity than in other rich countries. It’s a simple fact.
It makes little sense to compare America to poor, backward dictatorial societies because they are in two completely different categories. America is a rich, developed democratic society, so it must be compared against other rich, developed democratic societies.