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But the phrase gained universal notoriety during a later, equally precarious period of American history. Following the deadliest battle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln delivered our nation's most memorable speech—the Gettysburg Address. "Under God" did not appear in Lincoln's early drafts of the speech, but it surfaced in the spoken version:

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Lincoln never clarified the precise meaning of "under God," but presumably he meant to convey America's dependence on God and submission to God's expectations for justice. Especially late in his life, Lincoln did shy away from discerning God's earthly purposes. In his second inaugural address, Lincoln pointed to the sin of slavery and said God gave "to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came."

Yet Lincoln had additional motivations for invoking the Almighty. Deeply saddened by the war's devastation, he worked to ensure that America would never again think of separation. Lincoln believed that if he could foster a civil religion, Americans would consider their nation to be sacred and thus indissoluble.

Lincoln's vision for civic religion should give Christians pause. Even if the Supreme Court retains "under God," the justices will do so only if they determine the phrase bears no genuine religious meaning. In other words, either "under God" serves to perpetuate American civil religion, or the phrase will be removed.

Christians have no interest promoting civil religion. America-worship is but a shadow of citizenship in heaven. When government co-opts religion in this way, genuine religious belief is cheapened. But if civil religion demeans Christianity, does God have a place in democracy?

More important than defending a phrase, Christians can revive the true meaning of "under God." They can elect public officials who acknowledge and submit to God's standards of justice in their decision-making. And they can help renew America's commitment to "liberty for all," because only "under God" are all men created equal. In secular and religious ideologies that reward human effort, men are anything but equal. Human equality is only possible when God lays low human divisions and renders null our uneven attempts to earn our way to heaven on earth or above.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. for reprint information.

Christian History Corner, a weekly column from Christian History & Biography, appears every Friday on Christianity Today's website. Previous editions include:

I Was in Prison and You Abused Me | What would Jesus do at Abu Ghraib? (May 28, 2004)

Do Nigerian Miracle Ministries Discredit the Faith? | The spiritual dynamism of West African Christianity is now well known even in the West. Do credulity-stretching, highly publicized miracles discredit what God is doing in that region? (May 21, 2004)

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May (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48