Atheism in America: Is America a "Christian Nation"?

     I've been talking with a guy on YouTube the past day or two and he was saying that America is "Christian nation". Moreover, that the founding fathers leaned toward a theocracy not just in their personal desires but as active politicians. I tried to explain that there is a difference between belief and policy, and that the founding fathers built it into the Constitution that there can be no law regarding religion (and thus no theocracy). He sort of disagreed / simply rejected reality and substituted his own.
     Though we eventually ended up arguing semantics and plenty of side issues, his initial point was that America is supposed to be a theocracy, or at least it allows for it. He gave examples from Thomas Paine's Common Sense and The Age of Reason of how Paine was a Deist, and saw monarchies as heathen inventions for power. I agree, but that doesn't mean that he thought America should be a theocracy, and certainly didn't advocate it in policy. Basic logic shows that, through the first amendment to the Constitution, theocracy is impossible in this country because "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The point here is that United States law doesn't allow for theocracy, but that doesn't exactly mean it isn't a "Christian nation".
     I guess it could be argued that the founding documents of this country were based on Christian tenets and that makes us a Christian nation, and I would have to agree in that sense. However, the idea that America is Christian in policy (beyond the simple fact that Christianity is still the majority of the people's religion), and that that is constitutional, is entirely wrong. It may be that the government is corrupt, and certainly there's a case for such an argument, but that could change with some sort of wave of rational thinking.... though I know rational thinking is a difficult topic for the religious.




What do you think about this?
Is America a "Christian nation", or is it secular (in policy)? If SO, is it constitutional?
Do you agree with my opinions? Disagree?


Feel free to comment or email me at SilenceTheIDiots@hotmail.com or on my YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/SilenceTheIDiots)