Re: How many Christians are there in America?

On May 5, 8:41 am, Lee Ratner <LBRat...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>      This OT for the newsgroup but considering the collective
> knowledge and wisdom of the people here, I thought this is the best
> place to clarify something that has been confusing me for years. Most
> people here know that I am a Jew and an American. Growing up, I always
> assumed that most of the non-Jews in America were Christian. Then I
> learned that many Americans consider themselves to be agnostics,
> athiests, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists etc. Still, most Americans were
> Christian. However, the way some Christian Americans depict
> themselves, you would think that only a minority of Americans are
> Christians and the rest of the country is filled with heathens. I
> point to Evangelical Christians as an example of this. Now are they
> just using some definition of Christian that I am unaware of or is
> something else going on?

Yes, they're using a political definition. There are plenty of groups
in the US who happily mix their politics and their religions.

Nor is this a trait limited to either the US or Christianity: ergo,
9/11... Or, the radical European imams.

Beyond that, its a common political tactic, especially among
groups who really don't believe that there are any legitimate dissents
from their views and values, to portray themselves as the pure
and under siege minority, even when none of those things are at
all true, aside from there being more people of a different view who
dare to still... live.

But, this all goes back to plain old politics, whatever means are
used in the pursuit of the various political objectives.

Andre