Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch rejected the idea that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, contrasting sharply to a view held by some prominent conservatives.
Asked during an interview with PBS on Sunday about some conservatives’ beliefs that the U.S is rooted “in the same heritage and the same religion,” Gorsuch stood firm on his rejection of it.
“It’s demonstrably not true that we came from the same religion,” the justice said, pointing to early settlers such as the Quakers and the Amish.
“We were never supposed to be a nation that was about one race or one religion,” he added.
Gorsuch, appointed by President Donald Trump, sits on the conservative bloc of the Supreme Court, though some of his opinions have at times appeared at odds with his colleagues.
Asked by PBS’ Margaret Hoover whether there is a revisionist movement in the U.S. pushing the notion that the country has been a “white Christian nation,” Gorsuch responded, “I just don’t see it that way.”
“We have a First Amendment for crying out loud. No established religion,” Gorsuch said. “Everybody has the freedom of religion. Everybody has the freedom of speech. We are all equal under law.”
A 2022 Pew Research poll found that 60% of adults believe the founding fathers intended for the U.S. to be a Christian nation, while 45% believe it should be a Christian nation. In a more recent 2026 Pew Research poll, 17% said they want Christianity to be the official religion of the U.S.
Vice President JD Vance is among the conservatives who espouse the belief that the U.S. is a Christian nation, disregarding the concept of the separation of church and state found in the establishment clause in the First Amendment of the Constitution.
“I’m not saying you have to be a Christian to be an American. I’m saying something simpler and truer: Christianity is America’s creed, the shared moral language from the Revolution to the Civil War and beyond,” he said at Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest event in December.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has led prayer services at the Pentagon and invited Christian nationalists to join, has been more forthcoming about his beliefs.
Hegseth previously said at a Christian media convention in February that “there’s a direct through line from the Old and New Testament Christian gospels to the development of Western civilization and the United States of America.”
During the U.S.-hosted “Americas Counter Cartel Conference” in March, Hegseth told defense ministers from several Latin American countries that they share the “same interests” with the U.S.
“Because of this, we face an essential test,” Hegseth continued. “Whether our nations will be and remain Western nations with distinct characteristics, Christian nations under God, proud of our shared heritage with strong borders and prosperous people, ruled not by violence and chaos but by law, order, and common sense.”
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