A Nation Bound by Ideals

by Kayalyn Kibbe

Last week, at a press conference in Turkey, a predominately Muslim country, President Obama stated, "One of the great strengths of the United States is ... we have a very large Christian population -- we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."

Two days later, on April 9th, Obama hosted the first Seder held at the While House, and celebrated the Jewish Passover in traditional fashion. Obama’s words and actions signal a shift in American discourse: while three- quarters of American adults self-identify as Christian, we are beginning to imagine a nation that includes, tolerates and most importantly, respects an increasing diversity of religious beliefs.

Throughout Obama’s campaign and, symbolically, even during his inauguration, the President made a point of citing diverse religious ideas and did not shy away from the topic of religion. When speaking about his decision to have Rick Warren, a pastor who openly opposes gay-rights and abortions, give the inaugural invocation, Obama said, "During the course of the entire inaugural festivities, there are going to be a wide range of viewpoints that are presented. And that's how it should be, because that's what America is about. That's part of the magic of this country ... that we are diverse and noisy and opinionated.”

Perhaps, unlike President Bush and other presidents, Obama is focusing less on being a Christian and more on being kind. His remarks in Turkey remind us that no matter what our own personal beliefs are, it is more important to be kind to others and respectful of all. Obama himself is a Christian, but has not spent as much time talking about his personal views as he has encouraged us to become a nation “bound by ideals and a set of values.” Most religions have a variation of the idea behind the Golden Rule: “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” President Obama has been challenging us to do just that.

By saying that we are not a Christian nation, he is not ignoring the deep history of Christian America. While America may have a majority of Christian citizens, Obama’s over-arching approach of respect and understanding attempts to include and unifies everyone- American, Christian, Jew, Moslem, Buddhist, even Atheists, and all others. By not identifying ourselves as “A Nation of [ ]”, we are more able to connect and identify with other nations around the world.

It is easy to build a nation on a single religion- it is harder to build a nation bound together by the ideals that are, in fact, at the heart of all religions, including kindness, toleration and respect for others. Obama is off to a good start, and we all need to meet his challenge to live as a nation united by these ideals.