Short answer
Many American Christians did. Manifest Destiny was the 19th-century belief that the United States was meant by God (﷾) to spread across North America. The phrase was first printed in 1845. It spoke of a continent "allotted by Providence", which means given by God (﷾). Behind it lay an older idea, from papal bulls of the 1400s. Christian nations could claim lands that Christians did not rule. In 1823 the US Supreme Court used this "discovery" idea against Native Americans' title to their land. Whole nations were then moved west, and thousands died on the Trail of Tears. Not every Christian agreed. A missionary, Samuel Worcester, went to prison for standing with the Cherokee. In 2023 the Vatican rejected the doctrine of discovery. Christian Europe also expelled whole peoples. England drove out its Jews in 1290, and Spain its Jews and later its Muslims' descendants. Muslim armies conquered too, but as a rule they did not drive out or convert the native peoples. That is why Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania are still Christian after centuries of Muslim rule. In Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the native peoples became small minorities in their own lands. Islam teaches that the earth belongs to God (﷾), and that no race is chosen above another.
Full explanation
Where the phrase came from
In 1845 an American magazine, the Democratic Review, argued for taking Texas into the United States. The essay, credited to its editor John O'Sullivan, spoke of "our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence". "Manifest" means plain to see. "Providence" means God's (﷾) care and plan. So the claim was that God (﷾) had given the continent to the young nation. The phrase spread quickly and was used to back the push west.
“our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions”
The older idea: lands for Christian nations
The idea was older than America. In the 1400s, papal bulls (letters from the Pope) gave Portugal and Spain lands that Christians did not rule. Colonial powers later used them as the "doctrine of discovery". In 1823 the US Supreme Court relied on it. A Christian nation that "discovered" a land gained title to it. The native people kept only a right to live there. Chief Justice Marshall wrote: "Conquest gives a title which the Courts of the conqueror cannot deny".
Papal bulls such as Dum Diversas (1452), Romanus Pontifex (1455) and Inter Caetera (1493) gave Portugal and Spain lands not ruled by Christians. Colonial powers later used them for the "doctrine of discovery". In 2023 the Vatican repudiated that doctrine and said it was never part of Catholic teaching.
“Conquest gives a title which the Courts of the conqueror cannot deny”
What it meant for the Native nations
In 1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. It let the President move Native American nations west of the Mississippi. The Cherokee were forced out in 1838 and 1839. Thousands died on the march that became known as the Trail of Tears. The land they left was opened to settlers.
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 let the US President move Native American nations west of the Mississippi. The Cherokee were forced out in 1838-39 on what became known as the Trail of Tears, and thousands died on the way.
Not every Christian agreed
Samuel Worcester, a Christian missionary living among the Cherokee, refused to obey Georgia's laws on their land. He was sent to prison. In 1832 the Supreme Court ruled for him and for the Cherokee nation. The government did not enforce the ruling. In 2023 the Vatican rejected the doctrine of discovery and said it had never been Catholic teaching. So many Christians, then and now, have judged it wrong.
Samuel Worcester, a Christian missionary living among the Cherokee, was jailed by Georgia for refusing its laws on Cherokee land. The Supreme Court ruled for him and for the Cherokee nation's rights. The government did not enforce the ruling.
Papal bulls such as Dum Diversas (1452), Romanus Pontifex (1455) and Inter Caetera (1493) gave Portugal and Spain lands not ruled by Christians. Colonial powers later used them for the "doctrine of discovery". In 2023 the Vatican repudiated that doctrine and said it was never part of Catholic teaching.
- 1400s
Papal bulls
Popes give Portugal and Spain lands that Christians do not rule.
- 1823
The doctrine of discovery in US law
The Supreme Court rules that a Christian nation's discovery gives title to the land.
- 1830
Indian Removal Act
The President may move Native nations west of the Mississippi.
- 1832
Worcester v. Georgia
The Court rules for a missionary and the Cherokee. The ruling is not enforced.
- 1838-1839
The Trail of Tears
The Cherokee are forced out, and thousands die on the march.
- 1845
"Manifest destiny"
The phrase is printed: a continent "allotted by Providence".
- 2023
The Vatican rejects it
It says the doctrine of discovery was never Catholic teaching.
Expulsions in Christian Europe
Christian kingdoms in Europe also drove out whole peoples for their faith. In 1290 King Edward I expelled every Jew from England. Jews were not allowed back until 1656. In 1492 Spain's king and queen expelled the Jews who would not be baptised. Spain's Muslims were then forced to be baptised. From 1609 to 1614 even their baptised descendants, the Moriscos, were driven out. Many of the Jews expelled from Spain found refuge in the Muslim Ottoman Empire.
In 1290 King Edward I ordered every Jew to leave England. Jews were not allowed to live in England again until 1656, under Oliver Cromwell.
A history of the Sephardic Jews: their life in Muslim and Christian Spain, the expulsion of 1492, and the refuge many of them found in the Ottoman Empire, where Spanish-speaking Jewish communities lived on for centuries.
A history of the Muslims of Spain after the fall of Granada in 1492: the forced baptisms of 1501-1502 in Castile and of the 1520s in Aragon, the laws against Arabic language and custom, and the expulsion of the Moriscos from 1609 to 1614.
A history of the Jews under Ottoman and Turkish rule. It describes how Sultan Bayezid II welcomed the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, how they settled in Istanbul, Salonica and other Ottoman cities, and how their Spanish-speaking community lived on in Turkey into modern times.
Muslim conquest did not empty the land
Muslim armies conquered lands too. But as a rule they did not drive out the native peoples or force them to change their faith. The Ottomans ruled Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria for centuries, and the princes of today's Romania paid them tribute. The Orthodox Church kept its Patriarch in Istanbul under the sultans. All four lands are still mostly Orthodox Christian. Compare Canada, Australia and New Zealand. There, settlers from Christian Britain took the land, and the native peoples became small minorities. In the last census they were 5.0% of Canadians, 3.2% of Australians and 16.5% of New Zealanders. Canada's churches ran schools that took more than 150,000 native children from their families. In Australia, from 1910 to 1970, between one in ten and one in three Aboriginal children were taken from home.
A history of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople under Ottoman rule: Mehmed II installed Gennadios as Patriarch after taking the city in 1453, and the Church kept charge of its own people's religious and family law through the Ottoman centuries.
From the 15th century the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, the heart of today's Romania, paid tribute to the Ottoman sultans and accepted their overlordship, but kept their own Christian princes and their Orthodox Church. They became fully independent in 1878.
Pew lists Greece, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria among the countries with Orthodox Christian majorities, each with its own national Orthodox Church.
Indigenous peoples were 5.0% of Canada's population in the 2021 census (1.8 million people), 3.2% of Australia's in the 2021 census (812,728 people), and Maori were 16.5% of New Zealand's in the 2018 census (775,836 people).
More than 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were sent to residential schools funded by the Canadian government and run until 1969 by the Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, United and Presbyterian churches. The last closed in 1996. Children were taken from their families, punished for speaking their own languages, and taught to reject their peoples' beliefs; thousands died at the schools.
The inquiry found that between 1910 and 1970, between one in three and one in ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from their families and communities.
Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania, under Muslim rule for centuries, are still mostly Orthodox Christian.
Islam: the earth belongs to God (﷾)
The Qur'an says: "the earth is Allah's, to give as a heritage to such of His servants as He pleaseth". It says God (﷾) made people into nations and tribes "that ye may know each other". The most honoured is the most righteous, not the strongest nation. Islam never taught that one race was chosen to own the earth. It forbade forcing anyone into the faith, and it commands justice even towards those one hates.
“Said Moses to his people: "Pray for help from Allah, and (wait) in patience and constancy: for the earth is Allah's, to give as a heritage to such of His servants as He pleaseth; and the end is (best) for the righteous.”
“O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”
“Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.”
“O ye who believe! stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear Allah. For Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do.”
Perspectives
A nation with a God-given mission
Many 19th-century American Christians believed God had chosen the United States. Its mission, they said, was to spread liberty and faith across the continent.
Providence allotted the continent to the United States for the free development of its people.
Rebuttal
The continent was already the home of many nations. A claim that God (﷾) gave their land to newcomers was used to take it, and thousands died. Many Christians rejected it, and the Vatican rejected the doctrine of discovery in 2023.
Christian nations brought faith and civilisation to the lands they claimed.
Rebuttal
Faith cannot be given by taking land. The Qur'an says there is no compulsion in religion, and it commands justice even towards enemies.
The Islamic perspective
The earth belongs to God (﷾), who gives it to whom He wills. No race is chosen above another, faith cannot be forced, and justice is owed to every people.
The earth is Allah's (﷾), to give as a heritage to whom He pleases.
God (﷾) made nations and tribes to know each other; the most honoured is the most righteous.
There is no compulsion in religion.
Under centuries of Muslim rule, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania stayed Christian.
Christian kingdoms expelled the Jews from England and the Jews and Moriscos from Spain.