God in America: How Religious Liberty Shaped America DVD

God in America is a real eye-opener!

I watched all three episodes of GOD IN AMERICA and thoroughly enjoyed the entire presentation. I believe the program did an excellent (very objective, for the most part) job describing the evolution of ...Read complete review

I watched all three episodes of GOD IN AMERICA and thoroughly enjoyed the entire presentation. I believe the program did an excellent (very objective, for the most part) job describing the evolution of Christianity in 'the new world' from the 1500's to the present.

I must say though, was rather shocked at the response of some of my Christian friends when I suggested they watch the program though. Some refused to watch it, saying all they need to know is in the Bible. It points out how and why so many American Christians are so uninformed about their own faith (according to recent polls). Such self-imposed ignorance is very unsettling for me because it promotes isolation and inaccurate beliefs.

What I got out of the presentation was not so much that America has always been a "Christian" nation, but how Christianity in America has been forced to change with the events that have driven our culture in the direction we have come thus far. For instance, the issue of whether God sanctions slavery or not. Christians in the South read the Bible and found countless passages supporting slavery. Christians in the North chose to ignore those passages and go with their gut feeling that Jesus would not have approved of it. (Would he? We really do not know. Slavery was common back then and Jesus never commented on it.) The ensuing disagreement tore our nation apart and cost the lives of hundreds of thousands including President Lincoln himself, who Christians in the north considered to have been martyred like a sacrificial lamb to pay for American sins of 250 years of slavery in America.

The presentation repeatedly showed how early American Christians compared themselves to the Israelites coming out of Egypt. That perspective tended to alter the way they viewed events that happened around them, tainting perhaps, their ability to see things objectively.

I also found the events surrounding the term of President Eisenhower very instructive. He was converted to a true believer by Billy Graham apparently, and he began injecting references to God in America in his vocabulary and inserted "Under God" into the pledge of allegiance, prompting protests from those who viewed the role of American government as secular, NOT religious. The resulting US Supreme court rulings clearly established this to be the case and Bible readings and prayers were removed from schools.

For me the message of the presentation is more how American Christians have repeatedly brought on so much suffering to themselves and others like Native Americans, Catholics, African slaves, the Jews and other minority groups who felt dominated (harassed?) by the majority Christian community as they preached the love of Jesus. Sure, American culture has always primarily been protestant Christian, but all too frequently that has translated into righteousness, arrogance and intolerance of those who chose to live their lives in different ways. The film pointed out how minorities are now (and always have been) protected under our US Constitution, written by founding fathers that intentionally sought to use language that would prevent the State from supporting any religion. For them, America was viewed as a secular environment where all people were guaranteed the right to pursue any religion or belief they choose, or none at all.

And THAT, not God, is what makes America special.

Michael Jaquish
A Buddhist in America