The Guardian asked several writers whether the United States is still “one nation under God.” Here is how Judith Maltby replied:
At church the next day at my home parish, the sort of Episcopal parish that would give the Archbishop of Nigeria a heart attack, we prayed, as I have heard in every Episcopal church I’ve been in since the war began, for those serving under arms in Iraq and Afghanistan, including members of the parish. I can’t recall when I last heard prayers for British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in an English church. In England, perhaps, public prayers like that would be taken to imply support for the war. Nothing could be farther from the truth here and this is another way “one nation under God” manifests itself from perhaps a surprising quarter.
At the heart of all this is American exceptionalism – the belief that there is something special about the United States held by Americans of varied religious beliefs and none – it ought to be a country in which a seven-year-old Muslim American can aspire to be president. What seems to have divided Americans in this election is not disagreement over America’s unique calling, but whether that vocation confers privilege or responsibility.