In God We Trust
By Kyle Giblet
If you're looking for the
greatest, grandest figure in the complete American mythos -- fact or
fiction -- you might as well go straight to the top -- to God. The great
American orator of the 19th century, Robert Ingersoll, once wrote, "An
honest god is the noblest work of man" (Ingersoll 13). But just how
honest is our idea of God?
America is often
called a "Christian nation," with polls generally showing belief in
God in over 90% of the population (Shermer 79). But where has the American
zeal come from? How does belief affect Americans and their ways of living?
In this essay, I will explore the reasons for the overwhelming religiosity
of Americans, in order to show how the idea of God shapes American culture.
In the beginning, there were Puritans, and the Puritans were with God,
and these bold, brave pilgrims traveled to the American continent seeking
religious freedom, and we now enjoy this liberty for all types of worship
because of their pioneering efforts -- or, at least, so we're told from
an early age.
The first Puritan settlers in America supported freedom for their own
beliefs; however, they supported anything but religious liberty
for others. The orthodox view on freedom of religion was expressed well
by Puritan John Norton as "a liberty to blaspheme, a liberty to seduce
others from the true God. A liberty to tell lies in the name of the
Lord" (qtd. in Ellerbe 183). This philosophy also sums up the Puritan
belief in having a monopoly on "the truth." It logically followed that
if you know you have the truth, then you must follow this truth and
only it; Puritans therefore had no tolerance for democracy, which would
allow the people to decide their own truth. The Puritan theologian John
Cotton best summed up this view when he said, "Democracy, I do not conceyve,
that ever God did ordeyne as a fitt government eyther for church or
commonwealth...If the people be governors, who shall be governed?" (qtd.
in Ellerbe 181).
Puritan theology stated that wealth is an indicator of righteousness;
this created a drive within people to constantly acquire more wealth
(to prove that they were more righteous than others). The early Indian
wars were supported and financed by a wealthy Puritan elite in order
to get more land. The genocide of, and theft of land from, the native
Indian tribes was rationalized as taking the "gifts of God" from the
"heathens" (Zinn 15-16). The common people only rarely supported the
wars, thus the wealthy who funded the conflicts were the only beneficiaries
of conquered land (Zinn 16), setting up a class of "God-ordained" extreme
wealth on the American continent prior to the existence of the United
States.
Anti-freedom, anti-democracy, genocide, elitism: these are not words
normally used to describe American values; in fact, they seem to be
the exact antithesis of those ideals which Americans are raised to believe.
What can any of this have to do with American belief in God?
We shall see that the founding influences on America have had a profound
impact on its beliefs.
In a recent study conducted by Michael Shermer, it was found that most
Americans personally believe because of the "obvious good design of
the world," but most think that others believe because "they were raised
to do so, and it gives them comfort." Thus, Americans think that their
personal beliefs are logical but those of their compatriots are unthinking
and emotional.
This trend is not an American characteristic but a part of human nature;
however, it has some interesting consequences when combined with the
effects of the Puritan heritage I have previously discussed.
In modern America, people almost never question their station in life:
if you're poor, you're supposed to stay that way, ditto for middle class
or rich, and why? -- because "that's the way it's supposed to be." The
middle and working classes are always striving for monetary righteousness
but never seem to mind that they don't quite make it. If you get a better
employment position, then you have worked hard to prove your worth and
have gotten a reward (which, of course, is another step up Jacob's Ladder);
but if you are fired or demoted, then you have failed in your quest
for material holiness (and your descent into hell is assured).
In the medieval aristocracy, it was believed that those who ruled did
so because God had planned it that way, and therefore, opposing your
rulers is opposing God. The Puritans had the same basic idea but added
an extra step: those who rule do so because they have the money, and
they have the money because God planned it so. In Puritan society, to
stand in the way of wealth accumulation was to oppose the will of God.
Today this philosophy has evolved a little further in its formulation
as the American dream: those who have the money, rule because of God's
plan, but if you show your piety by working hard for those righteous,
holy rulers, then God will reward you with some of the cash, too. It's
that simple.
People want to believe that they are good and that God will bless them.
They want the world in which they live to be stable, even predictable,
with definite rules; they don't want chaos or uncertainty. In this philosophy
(derived from Puritan predetermination), God is the "big kahuna," absolutely
nothing happens without his approval or say-so. This means that absolutely
everything that occurs, does so for a reason -- and not just for a reason,
but a good reason, because all of God's reasons are, by definition,
good. "You say you got fired from your job, your 8-year old can't go
to school because the building is condemned, and your dog died?" "Gee,
I guess, since it's all part of God's plan it must be good, maybe God
just decided that you were too comfortable and getting a big head over
it, so he decided to give you a dose of humility -- yeah, that must
be it." "After all I know you didn't get laid off so your company could
post even greater record profits; I know the school wasn't condemned
just because there wasn't enough money to rebuild on account of the
tax breaks the own had to give the corporation when it threatened to
go to Mexico; I know your dog didn't die because the rich company owner
cut some corners on pollution control so he could have a few more millions
in his pocket." Yeah, right. But people accept and don't fight because
"it's all in the plan."
There have been recent upsurges in fundamentalism in America: more people
wanting their religion to be more exact, more specific. In the face
of this, it is still considered better to deny the religious absolutes
and be an alternate believer, than deny the capitalistic absolutes and
be a socialist. If you want a billion dollars, a mansion, and servants,
(even though you're a/an ***insert religious affiliation of your choice***)
you get met with "Doesn't everyone?" If you want to raise income tax
(on the rich) and give everyone free medicine, the cry turns to "You
bastard!"
Maybe this is a crass exaggeration, but then why is union membership
in America (as compared to other Western nations) almost nonexistent?
-- Why do workers not want the vital say in how their job affects them?
Why is voter turnout always low? Why is an evil upper class citizen
still often considered "better" than an honest working class one? Why
does white collar crime go almost unpunished, but blue collar crime
get excessively punished? Why does everyone scramble to keep up with
fashion, thereby showing his/her neighbors that s/he can afford it?
Why do people dress up in their best, most expensive, clothing to go
and proclaim to worship the teachings of a poor Jewish carpenter who
ate handouts and wore rags? Why indeed.
I'm not calling for the mass renunciation of faith. What I am calling
for is a faith tempered with reason and fact. Believe or don't: it's
your choice. But don't let other choices be unmade, don't let injustices
stand uncorrected, just because "that's the way it's supposed to be."
Millions of people every year lose their property or savings to a religious
swindler, others, like the followers of Jim Jones, even lose their lives
(Randi 251). How much more is lost to the American capitalistic system
created by Puritan theology? All of this is merely the result of unquestioning
faith: whether in God, in a society, or in a system. The truth may set
us free, but first we have to ask the right questions.
Until then, the wealthy are considered to be blessed by God with their
good fortune. Look at Bill Gates: in America, he's wealthy because "he
worked hard, was lucky, and Providence smiled upon his industriousness,"
not because he is a criminal who gained his wealth through illegal activities.
Why isn't more made of the fact that Gates effectively extorted billions
of dollars from the market.
"Why? because he's rich, silly, and everyone knows that rich people
can't be all that bad or they wouldn't be rich." But what does being
rich have to do with being good? "I...I'm not sure, maybe they're just
more righteous."
Works
Cited
Ellerbe, Helen.
The Dark Side of Christian History. Orlando: Morningstar &
Lark, 1995.
Ingersoll, Robert G. On the Gods and Other Essays. Buffalo: Prometheus,
1990.
Randi, James. Flim-Flam. Amherst: Prometheus, 1982.
Shermer, Michael. How We Believe. New York: W. H. Freeman, 2000.
Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. New York:
HarperCollins, 1995.
