The faith landscape has changed over the years where an estimated six in 10 Americans once believed that the country was a Christian nation—the Public Religion Research Institute/RNS found (2015).
Today, many Americans believe that this a chapter of the past, and the findings showed as many as 45 percent of people surveyed believe this since the last study done in 2010 (rose to 42 percent). Young adults were less likely to agree that we were always a Christian nation. “A majority (56 percent) of white evangelical Protestants and nearly half (48 percent) of white mainline Protestants say the U.S. was a Christian nation at one time but is no longer. About four in ten non-white Protestants (42 percent), Catholics (41percent), and religiously unaffiliated Americans (40 percent) say America was a Christian nation in the past, but is not today.”
You can read more on this study by PRRI.
Never stopping, the train of faith continues to move forward in politics, and in the nation. Just because some politicians are people of faith, doesn’t mean that their beliefs won’t influence decision making in Washington, or beyond the Capital. There have been many politicians who are/were outspoken about the Bible and being a Christian. They ruffle some up a bit with their views, but these leaders of the past and present, still held true to what they believe in—the cross.
For some Americans, this doesn’t set well. They believe that religion is becoming too political, even for those who are not widely religious like Hillary Clinton, Ron Paul, or Donald Trump. However, here are those who are outspoken about religious freedom for believers, and recapture the motto “One Nation under God.”
1. Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee was in office from 1996 to 2007. He was a Baptist minister before working in politics. He’s run for the White House twice, in 2008 and in 2016. Huckabee is a supporter of traditional marriage as he viewed it as a Biblical issue according to a CNN interview. “…unless I get a new version of the Scriptures, it's really not my place to say, 'OK, I'm just going to evolve.’ It's like asking someone who's Jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli. We don't want to do that. I mean, we're not going to do that. We're so sensitive to make sure we don't offend certain religions, but then we act like Christians can't have the convictions that they've had for 2,000 year.”
2. Rick Santorum ran for the GOP ticket in 2012, and in 2015. He also is the CEO of EchoLight Studios, a Christian movie distributer. The former Pennsylvania senator is very outspoken regarding his faith. He is opposed to abortion, same sex marriage, and strongly believes the U.S. was guided by Biblical principles, but also believed all should worship led. “I think I’ve made that pretty clear throughout my campaign that I believe very much in freedom of religion, and folks should be able to worship whoever they want to worship and bring their thoughts in the public square and have at it and give them the opportunity to make their faith claims, and make their claims to reason and any other claims. That’s what America’s all about. As far as I’m concerned they should be here and make their arguments the best they can.”
3. President George W. Bush was vocal about his beliefs in office. He said his faith played a big part in the life. “My faith plays a big part in my life. And when I was answering that question what I was really saying to the person was that I pray a lot. And I do. And my faith is a very, it's very personal. I pray for strength. I pray for wisdom. I pray for our troops in harm's way. I pray for my family. I pray for my little girls.”
4. Former Republican Vice Presidential candidate and Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin believes in God and the freedom to bare arms. Palin became a believer when she was 12 and was heavily involved in Bible studies, and groups through high school. She shared that she dedicated her life to God early on. "You know, I don't know. I knew early on that the smartest thing for me to do was to work hard, do the best that I can, make wise decisions based on good information in front of me. And then put my life, get myself on a path that could be dedicated to God and ask Him what I should do next. That will be the position I will be in as long as I'm on earth - that is, seeking the right path that God would have laid out for me.”
5. Margaret Thatcher was a devout Methodist Christian and was the first female to ever become British Prime Minister. Of course she’s not American, but she was a notable figure, who influenced American politics. The “Iron Lady” believed that being a good person was more than having faith. “Although I have always resisted the argument that a Christian has to be a Conservative, I have never lost my conviction that there is a deep and providential harmony between the kind of political economy I favor and the insights of Christianity,” she offered.
6. President Ronald Reagan was a devout believer and talked often about his relationship with Christ. He also shared he would serve God during his presidency. “Without God, there is no virtue because there's no prompting of the conscience. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
