Kinda puts to death the old “America is a Christian nation” myth, don’t it?
In defense of that myth... Those who make that assertion are under no illusions that America was ever *all* Christian. After all, consider slavery... But, consider these three points:
(1) There is an enormous Christian substructure in our culture -- it shows up in our laws, in passages in the Constitution, our customs, our national habit of charity, etc. Our civilization is based on Judeo-Christian worldview and presuppositions in too many ways to count.
(2) At several key turning points in our history, it was Christian influence that kicked us in the right direction. The antislavery movement, to name just one example, began in the church. (Alas, so did Prohibition... oops.)
(3) At times when a much higher percentage of the population affirmed Christian faith and attended church, the levels of public, civic virtue were much higher. It was safe to walk the streets at night, or let your kids run through the hills all day ("Just be home for dinner"). Civic virtue can survive by inertia for some time after the faith is forgotten, but it is unstable... one little kick from the hippies in the 60's and it all came crashing down, leading to the present hell-on-earth.