The Nature of the American Patriotic Sentiment

A College Research Paper

For the vast majority of human existence, religion has been one of the most powerful driving forces for many people. However, there are others that find that same driving force in the context of their country. Considering that, to what extent is American patriotism similar in nature to religious devotion? Looking at the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the American Flag through a religious lens can help us better understand the complexity of patriotism.

Before trying to answer the research question, it is paramount to define the term ‘religious devotion’ as it will be used throughout this research. Religion, as defined by the New Oxford American Dictionary, is “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.” Therefore, the devotion that is being referred here is based on whether or not American’s feelings towards their country is the same in nature as religious people’s feelings toward their religion.

The United States of America became a country on June 4th, 1776, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean the American People were born on that same day. Rather, the American identity was crafted throughout the years that followed the country’s independence, starting with the Declaration of Independence, a document that justified the creation of the country. “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world” (Declaration of Independence). The document lists all reasons for a declaration of independence, in order to avoid having the act be seen as a crime against Great Britain. In doing so, the founding fathers unofficially establish some rules by which people should abide, since if anyone committed acts similar to those mentioned in the document there would be enough reason to break relations with the government. Furthermore, the document acknowledges its own authority by asking Americans to act upon such “injuries and usurpations:” “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security” (Declaration of Independence). However, instead of establishing a law, the purpose of the Declaration of Independence is originally to establish a country.

A text that serves a very similar purpose as the Declaration of Independence is the first book of the Bible, Genesis. Responsible for creating the Earth and explaining how it came into being, the book also establishes some rules by which people (at this point only Adam and Eve) have to obey: “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (The New Jerusalem Bible Gen 2:16–17). Although the two texts are extremely different in nature, they both serve the purpose of explaining how each new place came into being in the first place. Moreover, both texts had to establish some sort of short-term rule, whether it being involuntary or not, by which people living in those places had to follow. What is important, despite that, is how the texts are being used by the people. We know that Genesis is used to explain the Creation of the Earth, while the Declaration of Independence is used to explain why the United States became a country. What consists the religious devotion towards the Declaration of Independence is how it is highly regarded as an almost religious relic, as pointed out by Rober N. Bellah in “Civil Religion in America.” “The first speaks of the ‘Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God’ that entitle any people to be independent. The second is the famous statement that all men ‘are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights.’ Here Jefferson is locating the fundamental legitimacy of the new nation in a conception of ‘higher law’ that is itself based on both classical natural law and biblical religion” (Bellah 5). Consequently, not only is the nature of the regard for Declaration of Independence religious, but the texts itself also draws from religion.

Following the establishment of the country, comes the establishment of the laws by which it is going to be governed. The brief set of rules in the Declaration of Independence wouldn’t be enough to control a whole nation. The United States Constitution was created on September 17, 1787 and until this day it holds the absolute power in the country. Just like in the Bible, after the tale of the Creation there is the establishment of the law, when Moses receives the Ten Commandments. Bellah also noticed this similarity and pointed it out: “The Declaration of Independence and the Constitutions were the Sacred Scriptures and Washington the divinely appointed Moses who led his people out of the hands of tyranny” (Bellah 7). It is important to point out, though, that Bellah is paying more attention to the similarities between the religious tale and the American tale. While this is also relevant, it doesn’t necessarily justify a religious devotion. Moreover, the Constitution was drafted and ratified by a process with many delegates giving their opinions, while the Ten Commandments were imposed upon the people. Recently, the debate about the right to bear arms instigated passionate arguments supporting the Constitution. People who are in favor of firearms usually argue that it is a Second Amendment Right and that it, therefore, is a natural right that cannot be violated. This notion of law as an endowed right can be better understood using the example of Plato’s “Crito.” In it, Socrates blindly believes the laws of Athens and will do anything in his power to abide them. “To do so is right, and one must not give way or retreat or leave one’s post, but both in war and in courts and everywhere else, one must obey the commands of one’s city and country, or persuade it as though the nature of justice” (Plato 51b). Similar in nature, some Americans will blindly accept the Constitution as truth, not taking into consideration that laws may be flawed since they were written by humans, and therefore will not argue against it. The religious devotion herein present is similar to that of the people who take the Bible for granted. The Bible, just like the Constitution, was written by humans and is, therefore, flawed. Nevertheless, some people continue to take the whole Bible for granted, and therefore accept anything written on it.

Even though the Constitution strives to be as objective as possible, it can be open to interpretation just like the Bible. The only difference between the two documents is that former can be legally altered while the latter is to remain the same. The religious devotion towards the Constitution should not exist because people should be constantly trying to improve the laws, instead of taking them for granted. There have been many instances in which the United States had to change the laws according to the people’s need or desire. For instance, the Thirteenth Amendment is responsible for ending slavery in the country, something that was originally permitted by the Constitution. The US is one of very few countries that only have a single Constitution. Most countries acknowledge that their Constitutions are flawed and therefore work on new ones. Instead, the US chooses to add amendments to theirs which, while they might solve the problem, the original text continues to be obsolete.

One of the most important aspects of any institutionalized religion are its symbols and rituals. It is no different in the United States. One of the most important symbols of the country is its flag. Adopted on June 14, 1777, the design has remained mostly the same throughout the centuries, with the addition of stars to the blue field. The flag, besides being the symbol of the country, is also an important part of the country’s identity. It is so important and respected in fact that there is even a proper way to discard a flag. “1. The flag should be folded in its customary manner. / 2. It is important that the fire be fairly large and of sufficient intensity to ensure complete burning of the flag. / 3. Place the flag on the fire. / 4. The individual(s) can come to attention, salute the flag, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and have a brief period of silent reflection. / 5. After the flag is completely consumed, the fire should then be safely extinguished and the ashes buried. / 6. Please make sure you are conforming to local/state fire codes or ordinances” (“Flag Etiquette”). Such a strong love towards a symbol clearly consists of a religious devotion. Patriotic people’s feeling towards the flag is the same in nature as a religious person’s worship of its religion’s symbol. However, all the countries in the world have a flag and a proper way to discard it. Does that mean that all countries in the world have a religious devotion towards their country? Absolutely not. Although all countries have a flag, not all of them have citizens that respect their national symbol. A “Civil Religion,” as defined by the author Robert N. Bellah, isn’t present throughout all nations, consequently the religious devotion towards a country’s symbols doesn’t necessarily exist. Besides that, American politics do something that is very unique: “They want to purify America. They want American to be true to its ideals. They want to save our souls.” (Novak 267). This notion of preserving the true American ideals is what sparks devotion in many people. There are other important rituals for all countries, such as the playing of the National Anthem, but we can see the devotion in some Americans that are particularly overly emotional during the “Star Spangled Banner.” Usually during major sports events, some athletes can be seen shedding a tear with their hand over their chest while listening to the anthem in a state of trance. We can also see this at religious sites, when people are praying.

Ultimately, determining whether or not American patriotism is in nature just as religious devotion can be quite challenging. From the evidence that we see, it is possible to reach the conclusion that, indeed, American patriotism is, in nature, just like religious devotion. However, when reading Plato again this conclusion doesn’t seem as obvious: “Is your wisdom such as not to realize that your country is to be honored more than your mother, your father, and all the ancestors, that is more to be revered and more sacred, and that it counts for more among the gods and sensible men, that you must worship it, yield to it, and placate its anger more than your father’s?” (Plato 51b). In essence, every kind of patriotism is just like religious devotion, whether it being American, Swedish or Chinese. The difference between America and the other countries, as Novak points out in “America as Religion” is the religious approach to politics, meaning the stance towards the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the National Flag and other American symbols: “if we don’t learn how to deal with our religious approaches to politics and see through our various religious pretenses in politics, we are never going to be able to communicate in ordinary everyday discourse” (Novak 267).

Works Cited

Abate, Frank R., and Elizabeth Jewell. The New Oxford American Dictionary. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.

Bellah, Robert N. Beyond Belief: Essays on Religion in a Post-Traditionalist World. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991, p. 168

“Flag Etiquette.” , Flag Disposal, and Federal Flag Code. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.

Novak, Michael. “IV America As Religion.” Religious Education 71.3 (2006): 260–67. Taylor and Francis. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

Plato. “Crito.” Five Dialogues. Trans. G. M. A. Grube. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub., 2002. 45–57. Print.

“The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription.” National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2016.

The New Jerusalem Bible. Henry Wansbrough, gen. ed. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Print.