Does the Mayflower Compact make us a Christain Nation

There's an ongoing cultural war or an apostate power struggle to label our country as a "Christian Nation," a nation based on the Ten Commandments. Besides the Ten Commandments, the Mayflower Compact gets quoted as one of the best proofs of a new "Christian Nation" being founded by settlers, colonists, and glory seekers.

What do the "Christian Nationists" say about the Mayflower Compact and the Pilgrims? "We all learned in school the story of the Pilgrims’ trip to the New World and their desire to live in a place where religious freedom was a fundamental right."

Someone clarify that story for me. Were the Pilgrims the only people to get off the boat?

What about the "Mayflower Compact" as a 'historical document. Who besides the 'Pilgrims' signed it? What needed to be fixed by a contract?

Why was it signed AFTER arrival?

Where did the Pilgrims come from?

What were the political beliefs of the group?

Were the "Pilgrims" the only ones to get off the boat?

No. Among the many non-Pilgrims, John Billington got off the boat. John becomes the first man executed for murder by the mixed colony. He also insulted Myles Standish, who was not a member of the "Pilgrim" sect. John got sentenced to having his heels tied to his neck for his freely spoken criticisms or insults. Billington is one of those who signed the "compact." Of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower, 28 adults were "Pilgrims," 18 adults were "servants," and 27 adults were not members of the "Pilgrims" sect.

Why was the Compact signed after arrival?

Generally, dissent driven by 'broken promises' to land in Virgina, an established colony. So, the Pilgrims weren't the first to move into the new neighborhood.

Where did the Pilgrims come from?

They first fled England to the Netherlands, illegally. Some of the early leaders of the group were executed for not following British religious laws. Some male members of the group abandoned their families, literally on the beach as they were fleeing the English (Christian) Church. Many of the English parents had Dutch children. The Dutch government let the Pilgrims worship freely in whatever manner the Pilgrims wanted.

However, in jolly ol' England, "under the 1559 Act of Uniformity, it was illegal not to attend official Church of England services, with a fine of 12d (£0.05; 2005 equivalent: about £5)^[3] for each missed Sunday and holy day. The penalties for conducting unofficial services included imprisonment and larger fines. Under the policy of this time, Barrowe and Greenwood [two separatist leaders who inspired the "Pilgrim Congregation."] were executed for sedition in 1593." So to be clear, if you didn't worship in the King's church, you were committing sedition.

What were the political beliefs of the Pilgrim group?

They didn't call themselves "Pilgrims" for one thing. That name is applied decades and decades later by others. The group believed in "separatism." Separatists held that their differences with the Church of England were irreconcilable and that their worship should be organized independently of the trappings, traditions and organization of a central state church.

Clearly not a honest example of a desire to form a "Christian nation" or a country. It's the story of a single congregation that was in three countries. The first, England, had a state church. That government executed men for having separatist beliefs. The separatist congregation was stable and secure in Amsterdam. But, the original members were aging, had never fully fit in with the Dutch, and were upset with how well their children were adapting to the languages and traditions of the Dutch. When the congregation left their Dutch city, they weren't fleeing religious persecution or seeking a safe place to worship freely.

How did that get turned into, "We all learned in school the story of the Pilgrims’ trip to the New World and their desire to live in a place where religious freedom was a fundamental right." Or, twisted into a proof the Pilgrims were seeking to found a new, Christian Nation by leaving Amsterdam.

Not a story the apostate Christian politicians want repeated.


Just as a footnote. Myles Standish wasn't a captain, more like a mercenary soldier hired by the investors in the adventure. I wonder how come no one mentions the investors when trying to use the Pilgrims as founding a Christian Nation?