Christopher Buck PhD Esq CV • 2024 Academic Profile • Attorney Profile

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR OF GOD & APPLE PIE (9-17-2018) "Reading Religion" published by the American Academy of Religion _______________________________________________ Because of the diversity of religious beliefs that are present in the United States, the prospect of a singular religious vision for America and its role on the world stage is difficult to pin down. In God & Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America, Christopher Buck eschews any simple generalizations and instead chooses to survey eleven distinct religious traditions and the way that they frame the US in their canon and practices. Rather than landing on comfortable, generalized platitudes, Buck’s work offers a glimpse into the different and often conflicting ways that the subject, shadow, and promise of America factors into these different religious traditions. On July 8, 2018, I met with Dr. Buck on Skype to learn more about his work. – Troy Mikanovich, Assistant Editor TM: Why don’t you start by telling me a little bit about God & Apple Pie? What are you arguing in the book and how did you get there? CB: God & Apple Pie is based on a course that I designed and taught at Michigan State University in 2003–2004. At the time there wasn’t an argument or a thesis. After I moved to Pennsylvania and I was studying for the bar exam, a senior editor from Praeger sent me an email out of the blue saying, “We saw your syllabus; how would you like to put together a book proposal?” So I had to develop an argument. The two operative hypotheses I have, which are both quite general and I think fairly common-sense are first, “religions remythologize America,” and further, that “religions re-envision America.” The book is a survey of eleven different religions, selected from among religions that have religious views of America either officially or popularly. In its original publication, the book was titled Religious Myths and Visions of America: How Minority Faiths Redefined America’s World Role. One of the themes in the book is America’s world role, however that’s defined—or “redefined”—by one of these religious traditions. TM: In the United States, now as much as ever, some people are interested in having a debate between those who have a particularistic vision of American religion and those who have a pluralistic or inclusive vision of American religion. Was the process of revisiting the first publication of your work in 2009 informed at all by the current religious—or partisan—landscape? CB: I would say that instead of this debate having informed the writing of God & Apple Pie, the current debate makes it more relevant. TM: In what ways? CB: I want to studiously avoid partisan politics, which I see as quite divisive. But on principle, there’s this idea of America’s world role—think of the slogan, “America First”—or, alternatively, “World First”—or some combination of these two catchphrases. President Woodrow Wilson, who was the only US president to have a PhD—a PhD in political science—is often credited by historians for being the first US president to openly define or propose America’s world role. Not that presidents didn’t have an idea of America’s place in world affairs before, but President Woodrow Wilson was arguably the first to articulate this vision of America’s world role so clearly and definitively. But that’s in the secular world. In the religious world, we have this idea of American exceptionalism going all the way back to the origins of America, and the “city upon a hill” idea that Ronald Reagan quoted in three speeches. TM: He even added “shining”; it was now the “shining city upon a hill.” CB: Yes—so, is that still the vision of America? And if so, what about America as an exemplar nation, whether religiously or socially? What can America contribute to the world? God & Apple Pie traces the evolution of an increasingly international awareness in the context of America’s world role.

Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 20.4 (May 2017): pp. 130–131. Review by Donald A. Westbrook (UCLA): “Thus, the volume [God & Apple Pie] has clear import for both theological studies and religious studies, and is unique in that it attempts to summarize, systematize, and synthesize the visionary and mythical examples it deftly surveys. … On the whole, this revised and expanded volume is impressive for the breadth and depth it accomplishes and will be of value to researchers, teachers, and especially general readers.”

rén E. Annus (University of Szeged, Hungary), Review of Religious Myths and Visions of America: How Minority Faiths Redefined America’s World Role (Santa Barbara, CA/Westport, CT: ABC-CLIO/Praeger, 2009), Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 15.3 (February 2012): 139–141: “This volume may be of interest to readers involved not only in Religious Studies, but also in Political Science, History, Intellectual History, American Studies, and Cultural Studies. . . . In the course of the detailed and well-documented analysis of individual religions, Buck reveals a highly elaborate and in-depth picture of the various beliefs, which is indeed impressive. . . He argues that the original myth and vision of America as a nation was captured by the Protestant notion of manifest destiny. This has been challenged by the other faiths . . . that have transformed the idea of manifest destiny into America’s common destiny. . . The book is overall a fresh and stimulating cultural reading of some of America’s religions and the complex ways in which their followers make sense of and act in the world.” [Electronic Database (full text available): ATLA Religion Database; JSTOR.]

God & Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America by Christopher Buck Kingston, NY: Educator's International Press, 2015 Contents Introduction, by J. Gordon Melton Chapter 1: America: Nation and Notion Chapter 2: Native American Myths and Visions of America Chapter 3: Protestant Myths and Visions of America Chapter 4: The Christian Right’s Myths and Visions of America Chapter 5: Catholic Myths and Visions of America Chapter 6: Jewish Myths and Visions of America Chapter 7: Mormon Myths and Visions of America Chapter 8: Christian Identity Myths and Visions of America Chapter 9: Black Muslim Myths and Visions of America Chapter 10: Contemporary Muslim Myths and Visions of America Chapter 11: Buddhist Myths and Visions of America Chapter 12: Baha’i Myths and Visions of America Chapter 13: Conclusion: How Minority Faiths Redefined America’s World Role Two sample chapters (by publisher's permission): 1. Native American Myths and Visions of America (Chapter 2) 2. Black Muslim Myths and Visions of America (Chapter 9) Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/God-Apple-Pie-Religious-Visions/dp/1891928155/ Introduction by J. Gordon Melton, Distinguished Professor of American Religious History, Baylor University Far from being an interesting additional topic for the religious dilettante, the discussion around the theological reality that is America, periodically bursts forth as an important item on the nation's agenda, from the place of prayer services in the White House, to the issuance of an annual government report on religious persecution, to the rise of contemporary terrorism. As one traces radical Islam, for example, one arrives at the writings of one Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian who spent some of his younger years in America, and came away with his own vision of a country mired in sin and decadence. He would posit America as the image of everything he hoped to escape in promoting the agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood. Now, in all honesty, I must admit that over the years as I encountered all of the intriguing, even fascinating, ideas about America in the great cosmic scheme of things, I never got around to systematically gathering the different visions and trying to make sense of them in any detailed fashion. Thus, I have been more than happy to receive, and now with this modest introduction, pass along to my scholarly colleagues and the reading public the work of Christopher Buck. During his years of observation and research, Buck has surveyed the spectrum of visions of America that have energized and motivated the America's religious community, and has selected from among them a sample that both (1) represents the spectrum of opinion about America and its importance, and (2) highlights the more important visions of America that have shaped and are continuing to shape the way we understand this country we call home. His work calls us to become self-conscious about the assumptions we use in our day-to-day movements that massage the ways we approach our neighbors, our colleagues at work, and the politicians for whom we vote. Buck begins with the visions of America present at the founding of the nation, aspects of which still strongly permeate the culture today, and have found a new home among conservative Protestants in their innovative idea of Christian America. Amid the Protestant context, we often forget the role of the Roman Catholic Church, which became the largest religious body in America in the 1840s and is now three times larger than its nearest competitor. At the end of the nineteenth century, a controversy on Americanism would erupt around Catholic visions of their place in a changing world that would drive it from participation in the nation's public square for a half-century, and molded its reentrance after World War II. And then there are all the other-than-Christian religions, from Ahmadiyya Muslims to Zoroastrians, all of which possess their its own vision of America that shapes their appropriation of life in the United States and guides their development as their place in the nation was challenged, then accepted, and most recently affirmed and even celebrated by the nation as a whole. We have watched as Buddhists have carved out a place as cultural peacemakers, Muslims have struggled with separation of religion and government, and Baha'is have tried to understand the communication of their founder, Baha'u'llah, with the presidents of the Americas collectively, and with 'Abdu'l-Baha's statements about the destiny of America in particular. All of this occurs in the ebb and flow of religious life. One day we envision the possible unity of America's religions only to be thrown up against the many harsh divisions, which motivates us once more to seek realms of agreement, which again highlights the array of issues that can drive wedges between those who accept the label "American" as part of their self-identity. In conclusion, I can, as a scholar, reflect on the contribution that this book, Religious Myths and Visions of America: God and Apple Pie, is making to our understanding of the American mosaic and how various segments of the religious community have found their way to being American. As an informed citizen I welcome its information that allows me to empathize with and make informed decisions relative to those with whom I might align (or oppose) as I sally forth in the public square. And on a personal level, I welcome the author's invitation for me to meet anew the residents of my neighborhood, those who shop in the same stores I do, send their children to the same schools my grandchildren attend, and diligently work toward their own appropriation of the American dream. J. Gordon Melton Distinguished Professor of American Religious History Baylor University January 2015 — This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

GOD & Apple Pie Religious Myths and Visions of America Two sample chapters (by publisher's permission): 1. Native American Myths and Visions of America (Chapter 2) 2. Black Muslim Myths and Visions of America (Chapter 9) Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/God-Apple-Pie-Religious-Visions/dp/1891928155/ From the Inside Flap; GOD & Apple Pie Religious Myths and Visions of America Christopher Buck Introduction by J. Gordon Melton, Distinguished Professor of American Religious History, Baylor University This book is about an unusual religious topic: the United States of America ("America"). "America" is, at once, nation and notion, country and creed, republic and rhetoric. This book is about Providence and principle--the relationship of the supernatural world to the world's superpower. "America" is not in the Bible, nor in the Qur'an. Yet "America" today pulsates with religious significance. "America" is a word that has taken on mythic proportions. Eleven religions have been selected for their distinctive perspectives on America: (1) Native American religion (Iroquois); (2) Protestant Christianity (the Puritans); (3) the Christian Right; (4) Roman Catholicism; (5) Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist); (6) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons); (7) Christian Identity (White nationalists); (8) Nation of Islam (Black nationalists); (9) Islam (especially Radical Islamists and Progressive Muslims); (10) Buddhism (Tibetan and Soka Gakkai); and (11) the Baha'i Faith. Over the course of American history, religious myths and visions of America tend to reflect an ever-changing American civil society, whether as a function of its social evolution or as a catalyst of it. The result is: Religions re-mythologize America. And: Religions re-envision America. God & Apple Pie invites serious reflection on what it means to be an American, particularly from a religious perspective.

Daniel Liechty (Illinois State University), Review of God & Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America, by Christopher Buck, Kingston, NY, Educator’s International Press, 2015, xiv + 421 pp., US$26.95 (hardcover), ISBN 978 1981928 154. Religion. Ahead of Print. doi: 10.1080/0048721X.2016.1244636 REVIEW I grew up in a town that held annual weeklong revival meetings each autumn, co-sponsored by all of the churches (or at least the Protestant ones) in the town. Together they provided a budget sufficient to bring in some internationally known star revival preachers. The ones who could really pack in the crowds were those whose revival message was linked to dispensationalist eschatology. As they scoured the books of Daniel and Revelations for clues to what would happen next, a grade-school listener like myself could hardly be blamed for concluding that the Rapture, Second Coming, and the Times of Tribulation leading up to Judgment Day were literally right around the corner – hopefully even before school let out for the year! That was more than 50 years ago now and while one would think it very difficult to maintain such fervor for so long, I recently ran across the television show of preacher Jack Van Impe, impressive in those days as much for his gorgeous looks as for his End Times message. Well, bless his heart, he is still preaching the self-same message as he was 50 years ago, only updated by the addition of current events that have taken place over the last half century, each one presented as another important piece of the puzzle. I was reminded of this as I read Christopher Buck’s fascinating book. Watching Van Impe as an adult underlined something I noticed even as a child. No matter how you twist and turn the many biblical passages to read the entrails of dispensationalist prediction, there is simply no direct mention of America at all in the scriptures. Yet strained though it would be, these preachers were unquestionably sure that America was pivotal and playing a special role in God’s plan for humanity and for the world. Furthermore, though again it was laid more between the lines than stated explicitly, heavy American loyalty and patriotism was both an expected plank in the belief system as well as the element that ensured that when the End Times feathers really did hit the fan, you would be sure to be found on God’s side of the apocalyptic struggle. Interestingly, all of this message about American primacy in God’s plan was also seamlessly mixed with raging denunciations of Hollywood movies, Rock and Roll music, liberal politicians and educators, consumerism, the welfare state, and much else that in retrospect appears to have been quite integral to the heart of American culture. The logical contradictions just did not surface. God and Apple Pie is a well-written and researched compendium of this theme of the special role America plays in God’s plan for humanity as it appears across the spectrum of American religions, denominational statements, and sectarian apocalyptic visions. For this reader, one of the great values of the book is that it really underlines the fact that wrestling with the religious ‘meaning of America’ has by no means been confined to the End Times tail of conservative Protestantism or far-right political theologies. Chapter by chapter, Buck examines not only a number of Christian theologies, but also Native American perspectives and Jewish and Catholic thinkers who understandably saw in American religious pluralism a place of refuge for their people. The chapter on Mormonism, which moved in a very few years from readiness to declare Utah an independent nation to becoming perhaps the most solidly ‘pro-American’ faith of the bunch, is itself alone worth the price of the book. Other chapters, on Black Muslim and contemporary Islamic views, as well as Buddhist and Baha’i visions of America, fill out this book and are, to my knowledge, the very best sources available for summarization of this material. Another strength of this book is its demonstration that religious myths and visions of America do not simply remain in the pulpit and the pews. They have had continuing strong and discernable impact on American political theory and on domestic and foreign policy. Their influence, for example, can be found especially in the framework and even the specific language of those politicians and commentators espousing ‘American exceptionalism’, who might be quite surprised to have the religious connections pointed out to them. Buck suggests that what his book more than anything verifies is the assertion that religions in America periodically re-envision and re-mythologize the idea of America. This is an important notion, because America is a place, a land, an entity that sits within defined geographical borders. But as much or even more than that, ‘America’ is an ideal, a concept, something almost akin to a religion itself. Social theorists speak about the need for any nation to have unifying ideals that hold it together as a nation. For many nations, the unifying element has been the shared history, language, and race of the people. Only in the current generation, for example, are many European countries coming to grips with the sense that, for example, a French, or German, or Swedish identity can be held by those who are new immigrants, who do not yet speak the respective language well, and whose skin color is quite different from that of the ‘typical’ citizen. But America has been coming to grips with this sense for 250 years already. While no one (and certainly not Buck) would assert that we have been unequivocally successful in this and do not face serious issues related to it as well, there is no question that America has done better in integrating the wide masses of people into a unified nation than have many others. And while we often point to religions as the last bastions of social prejudice, Buck’s book well makes the point that in this re-envisioning and re-mythologizing function of religion – their ongoing ability to adapt, adopt, and refashion the major symbols of the nation – we also strongly have American religions to thank for the measure of success we have enjoyed. In the final chapters, Buck shifts gears a bit to pose more reflective questions about whether, from a sort of post-critical perspective, it still makes sense to speak in somewhat mythologized terms about America’s role in the world. He does not try to answer this definitively, but taking his cue from Robert Bellah’s formulation of the role of ‘civil religion’ in uniting diverse people together on the home front, Buck raises the interesting issue of whether, in a time of globalization and world consciousness, it might be time to think, along with Bellah, in terms of the need for a ‘world civil religion’. If this were to be the case, what special contributions could be made from the perspective of the American experience? Buck points toward the integrity of the original Protestant/Puritan vision, fostering values of liberty, individualism, populism, egalitarianism, and of democracy in general, but with special attention to the many ways in which these values have been honed, interpreted, and enhanced as they were strained through the minority religions, particularly that of minority religions associated with the struggle for civil rights and empowerment of all citizens in the social mix. I am reminded here of the Kantian social ideal of ‘maximum individuality (liberty) within maximum community’. This is obviously a dynamic concept, never achieved once-and-for-all, but an ideal toward which to work in each generation. Buck’s implied vision draws largely from the wider lake of attachment to universalism and democratic ideals. If it were unequivocally true that all people and nations were aching for the opportunity to come together in peace and international harmony, then it would be undoubtedly true that the American experience as presented in this book, of initially sound but functionally elitist Enlightenment ideals being continually adapted and refashioned in the symbolism of minority religions to produce a civil religion of dynamically wider inclusion into the beloved community, would largely fulfill the role of (1) being a model for the world, (2) exerting a benign political influence in international politics, (3) in the promotion of global peace and unity. These three concepts, exemplarism, vindicationism, and cosmopolitanism, form the basis for what Buck (citing in his favor a number of scholars and theorists) sees as the path toward a world civil religion. What is less clear in this book is how this vision plays out in a world in which at least some factions of undeniable importance see this vision itself as exactly what they reject and resist. True, Buck has shown how minority religions in America, such as Black Muslims and Christian Identity, contoured an initially hostile ideology in more positive directions. I am not sure, however, if that model can be repeated on the global scene. Finally, I want to emphasize that while this book is heavily documented (cumulatively some 40 pages of end notes and 30 pages of bibliography), the reading itself is quite accessible. It could easily function not only as an undergraduate textbook, but also as the main reading for any adult education class or discussion group.

“Chapter 12: Baha’i Myths and Visions of America” (sample chapter, released by publisher on September 30, 2018.) Christopher Buck, God & Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America. (Introduction by J. Gordon Melton, Distinguished Professor of American Religious History of Baylor University’s Institute for Studies.) Kingston, NY: Educator’s International Press, 2015. (Hardback release date: March 27, 2015; Paperback release date: November 10, 2015.) Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010TXL1EG EXCERPT: FIFTY BAHA’I PRINCIPLES OF UNITY I. INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD: (1) “Mystic Feeling which Unites Man with God”; II. FAMILY RELATIONS: (2) Unity of Husband and Wife; (3) Unity of the Family; III. INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS: (4) Oneness of Emotions; (5) Spiritual Oneness; IV. GENDER RELATIONS: (6) Unity of the Rights of Men and Women; (7) Unity in Education; V. ECONOMIC RELATIONS: (8) Economic Unity; (9) Unity of People and Wealth; VI. RACE RELATIONS: (10) Unity in Diversity; (11) Unity of Races; VII. ENVIRONMENTAL RELATIONS: (12) Unity of Existence (Oneness of Being and Manifestation; (13) Unity of Species; (14) Unity with the Environment; VIII. INTERFAITH RELATIONS: (15) Unity of God; (16) Mystic Unity of God and His Manifestations; (17) Unity of the Manifestations of God; (18) Unity of Truth; (19) Unity Among Religions; (20) Peace Among Religions; IX. SCIENTIFIC RELATIONS: (21) Unity of Science and Religion; (22) Methodological Coherence; (23) Unity of Thought in World Undertakings; X. LINGUISTIC RELATIONS: (24) Unity of Language; XI. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: (25) Unity of Conscience; (26) Unity in Freedom; (27) Evolving Social Unities; (28) Unity in the Political Realm; (29) Unity of Nations; (30) Unity of All Mankind/World Unity; (31) Unity of the World Commonwealth; (32) Unity of the Free; XII. BAHA’I RELATIONS: (33) Unity of the Baha’i Revelation; (34) All-Unifying Power; (35) Unity of Doctrine; (36) Unity of Meaning; (37) Baha’i Unity; (38) Unity among Baha’i Women; (39) Unity in Religion; (40) Unity of Station; (41) Unity of Souls; (42) Unity in Speech; (43) Unity in [Ritual] Acts; (44) Unity of Baha’i Administration; (45) Unity of Purpose; (46) Unity of Means; (47) Unity of Vision; (48) Unity of Action; (49) Unity of the Spiritual Assembly; (50) Unity of Houses of Justice and Governments. – God & Apple Pie (2015), p. 329. REVIEWS • “Interview with Christopher Buck, author of God & Apple Pie.” By Troy Mikanovich, Assistant Editor, and Christopher Buck. Reading Religion: A Publication of the American Academy of Religion. (Published online: September 14, 2018.) http://readingreligion.org/content/interview-christopher-buck-author-god-apple-pie • Reading Religion: A Publication of the American Academy of Religion. Review by Emily Goshey (PhD candidate, religious studies, Princeton University): “This overview of religions in America and their relationship with America as both “nation and notion” covers tremendous ground. … God and Apple Pie is a veritable encyclopedia of both primary and secondary sources, but with the benefit of a more digestible presentation and a coherent narrative framework. Although the numerous, lengthy block quotes require some extra work from the reader, the overall effect is to empower the reader to see for themselves exactly how people within a given tradition mythologize and theologize America. That is to say, Buck shows as well as tells. … God and Apple Pie offers a valuable contribution to readers looking to understand why religion matters in America and how different American religious groups have seen their relationship with their country. Any reader, no matter how well versed in religious traditions, would learn a great deal by perusing its pages.” (Published online: August 14, 2017.) http://readingreligion.org/books/god-apple-pie • Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 20.4 (May 2017): pp. 130–131. Review by Donald A. Westbrook (UCLA): “Thus, the volume has clear import for both theological studies and religious studies, and is unique in that it attempts to summarize, systematize, and synthesize the visionary and mythical examples it deftly surveys. … On the whole, this revised and expanded volume is impressive for the breadth and depth it accomplishes and will be of value to researchers, teachers, and especially general readers.” DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2017.20.4.130 / http://nr.ucpress.edu/content/20/4/130 • Religion: (Published online: 26 Oct 2016.) Review by Daniel Liechty PhD, DMin, ACSW (Professor of Social Work, Illinois State University): “Fascinating … The chapter on Mormonism … is itself alone worth the price of the book. Other chapters, on Black Muslim and contemporary Islamic views, as well as Buddhist and Baha’i visions of America … are, to my knowledge, the very best sources available for summarization of this material. … The reading itself is quite accessible. It could easily function not only as an undergraduate textbook, but also as the main reading for any adult education class or discussion group.” DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2016.1244636 / https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0048721X.2016.1244636

Citation: Buck, Christopher. “Ninian Smart (1927–2001).” British Writers, Supplement XXIV. Ed. Jay Parini. Farmington Hills, MI: Charles Scribner’s Sons/The Gale Group, 2018. Pp. 269–283. ISBN-13: 978-0684325156. (Release date: September 8, 2017.) ABSTRACT ACADEMICS IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES have a long- standing joke. Question: “What is the difference between Ninian Smart and God?” Answer: “God is everywhere. Ninian Smart is everywhere but here!” (Ninian Smart on World Religions, p. xxi). That one-liner about Smart’s ubiquity attests not only to the reach of his publications but also to his international influence in the emergence of the scholarly field of religious studies—first and foremost in Britain and, more widely, in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Almost single-handedly, Ninian Smart “founded the academic study of religion in Britain” and “gave intellectual structure and shape to the field in the rest of the English-speaking world, especially the U.S.A.,” according to Jacob Neusner (“Remembering Ninian Smart,” pp. 355–356). Yet Smart was far more than an academic. In writing books about philosophy and world religions, he was steeped in deep thought, immersed in higher thinking. Human and social values were his subject matter. He compared cultures, religions, philosophies, and political ideologies such as Marxism and Maoism. His own thinking about Buddhist enlightenment, Confucian order, Taoist freedom, Hindu liberation, Christian salvation, and so forth produced a wonderful, if not exotic, synthesis. He could see the full picture, understand human dilemmas, and propose global orientations in solutions that were simple, yet profound. A gentleman and a scholar in every sense, Smart was a down-to-earth man but a noble soul, with a grand vision of the world and the direction he believed that it needed to take. … Despite his Scottish flourishes—eating his porridge with salt and pepper, and occasionally donning his kilt and tartan—Ninian Smart was humanitarian and universal. He presented a vision and version of Christianity that could seriously engage with the fact of religious pluralism and operate in an entirely secular mode as well. Smart was fond of joking: “Comparative religion will make you comparatively religious” (quoted in Strenski, “Ninian Smart and the Overcoming of Philosophy,” p. 369). He recognized wisdom and insight in various religious and cultural settings, and he broke free entirely of parochial presumptions. In that regard, he was both theologian and academic. Ninian Smart, almost single-handedly, was instrumental in institutionalizing the academic study of religion. The entire discipline is indebted to his leadership and legacy. Now available in the Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) database.

World Religions: Belief, Culture, and Controversy - Topics - Christianity From ABC-CLIO's World Religions website AMERICA IS A MULTIFAITH NATION Question: Is the United States a Christian nation? Answer: The short answer is this: America is a multifaith nation. This response, while concise, is incomplete, for it is merely a naked assertion—that is, a declaration, affirmation, averment—standing alone. To assert is not to prove. To become an argument, this skeletal statement—this unsupported asseveration—must be fleshed out with the thew and sinew of reason and evidence. For this purpose, the author will employ his "CLEAR Argument Paradigm"— where "CLEAR" stands for Claim (Position), Limits (Qualifier), Evidence (Reasons, Grounds), Assumptions (Warrants & Backing), and Rebuttal (to objections). In a nutshell, the argument is as follows: America is now a multifaith nation, a post-Christian nation, and no longer a "Christian nation" (Claim), although America arguably was once so, if the 1892 United States Supreme Court decision, viewed in isolation, is invoked as proof: "[T]his is a Christian nation"[1] (Limits). Yet First Amendment jurisprudence—especially landmark decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court —defines America as a multicultural, pluralistic and thus multifaith society, such that the constitutional decree of the Free Exercise Clause embraces any faith (Evidence), assuming that such precedents command the highest legal authority and articulate normative social policy (Assumptions). Even if it is objected that America is a Christian nation by way of its historical heritage, and that America is still predominantly Christian, its demography is such that America is irreversibly a multicultural—and thus a multifaith—society (Rebuttal). The argument will now be presented more fully: