God-fearing Americans: Patriotism’s Weird Relationship with Faith

Independence Day is one of the most fun days of the year in America. Searing heat aside, it’s an awesome way to celebrate what makes this country great. There are a lot of things that make our country wonderful. Our national parks, our history of innovation, and the abundant rights given to us by our Constitution. However, so many times, patriotism and pride in our country gets muddled or flat-out distorted by other beliefs that we hold dearly. This is the case when it comes to faith and patriotism.

I first want to be clear. I’m very proud to be an American, and I’m grateful to be an American. I hold the utmost respect and honor for those who have fought for, and died for, our country and the people that inhabit it. That being said, my reverence and respect for something doesn’t mean I turn a blind eye to its shortcomings. On the contrary, I think my respect and reverence requires me to turn a critical eye to what I value. If you care about or for something, you want it to be the best it can possibly be. I highly value my faith and citizenship. It’s why I went to seminary, and it’s why I hold our elected officials to a higher standard than others.

That care can be distorted, though. I may want it to be the best, but is my opinion of what is best right for everyone? Let me give you an example. A white man’s version of America at its best will be different from a white woman’s, or Hispanic man’s, or black woman’s version. How do we know when America is at its best? How do we define what it means to be patriotic?

This question gets further muddled or distorted when we factor in a person’s religion. Too often times, people’s faiths and patriotism are intertwined. When they are intertwined, both faith and patriotism get distorted and warped. They’re not as effective if they are symbiotic. It’s like shampoo and conditioner 2-in-1 bottles. They’re not as effective as separate shampoo and conditioner treatments (Didn’t think you’d get grooming tips in a post about patriotism, huh?).

So what does it look like when religion and politics intertwine? Well it looks something like this: Two years ago, First Baptist Church of Dallas and its pastor, Robert Jeffress, premiered a new worship hymn entitled, “Make America Great Again”. You can read about it here. This story is a couple of years old, but I’d never read the lyrics to the “hymn” until doing research for this post. Here are the lyrics of that song:

Make America great again
Lift the torch of freedom all across the land
Step into the future joining hand in hand
And make America great again
Yes make America great again.

Americans from ev’ry corner of this blessed land
Come together with one voice
Help us take a stand
Following the vision to make her proud and grand
And make America great again
Make America great again

Like the mighty eagle that is rising on the wind
Soaring t’ward our destiny
Hearts and voices blend
With a mighty melody oh let the song begin
And make America great again
Make America great again

Each and every state
Make America great again
Make America great again

This isn’t a bad song if it was sung in the context of a civic celebration. This song, though, is in the CCLI database, which is a catalog of Christian songs for licensing purposes. Take some time to see if there are any references to God or Christianity in that song. Did you find any? That’s because they’re aren’t any. Not a single reference to God, but in the writer’s eyes, a great America means God is moving. This song should not be sung in a church. This song is one of the most toxic examples of what political scientists call “civic religion”.

Civic, or civil religion is a philosophy that dates back to the nineteenth century. It focuses on a equating religious fervor or imagery with love of one’s country. A classic phrase that embodies civic religion is “God Bless America”. It lifts documents like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence to an almost sacred level. Love and devotion to one’s country is great. Worship of one’s country, though, is dangerous. To use the Ten Commandments, it’s idol worship. Plain and simple.

When we elevate devotion to one’s country to a religious level, our view of our country gets distorted. We see it as infallible. We see the authority that is given to the people in charge of it as divinely-ordained. The actions of the government and the country can’t be challenged. This day and age, that would be incredibly hard to do. Right now, we have refugee kids separated from their parents in detention centers without soap or beds, due to immigration policies set by our current president. African-American people are gunned down by police in this country because they’re seen first as a threat, and not as human beings. People can lose their jobs or homes because of who they love or how they identify. That’s why it’s hard for many LGBTQ people to be patriotic.

It’s hard to be supportive of a country that just allowed you to marry who you wanted to only four years ago, or won’t allow your trans siblings to serve in the military, or that allows companies to discriminate against you under the guise of their religion. That’s where faith comes into civic religion as well. More often times than not, that religion is Christianity. Civic religion is oftentimes not just practiced on its own, but practiced in conjunction with faith in God through Jesus Christ. It’s why the song, “Make America Great Again” was written by a former music minister and performed at First Baptist Church of Dallas. Patriotism and piety are not strangers to each other in this country.

One of the biggest problems I always had when it came to working in churches was when I had to hold my tongue every time someone, usually much older than me, would complain that the American flag wasn’t in the sanctuary. They revered the American flag and what it stood for as much as the cross and what it stood for. I wanted to tell them, “It’s a sanctuary, not the VFW!” The two should not co-mingle. My levels of patriotism are not as high as them.

The only way it could be better is if Jesus was holding a baseball in one hand, and a slice of apple pie in another.

A majority of the country is rejecting the idea of being super patriotic, too. A new poll by Gallup shows the lowest level of patriotism in the United States since they started measuring that metric in 2001. Only 45% of Americans are extremely proud to be Americans. But when you dig in deeper to these numbers, it shows who exactly is proud to be an American.

If you’re over 65 years old, and a Republican, chances are you’re going to be extremely proud to be an American. However, if you’re a woman, or under 50, or anything but conservative/Republican, chances are you’re not going to be super excited about being an American. (You can read more about the study here). Those stats aren’t surprising if you look at the demographics of the 116th and current United States Congress.

76 percent of Congress is male, despite the fact that the country is majority female, 88 percent is Christian, 78 percent is white, despite the percentage of non-white Americans is double than what is currently represented in Congress(according to Pew research), and the average age of a person in Congress is somewhere in the 40s or 50s, which is the lowest it’s been since the 1950s! The people that are most proud to be Americans are proud because they’re the ones in charge. That needs to change.

This video below shows the unbelievable way we can look at who we are as Americans. It’s important because it highlights the VAST diversity that the US possesses.

People that don’t look like me, think like me, love like me, or identify like me need to feel as much a part of this country as I do. If this country, and its people does not do that, it is my right as an American to hold a mirror up to its injustices and hypocrisies. That also means calling out people who use their faith as a shield or excuse to justify their questionable decisions. The more we check ourselves and the roots of our patriotism, the better patriots we’ll be. The author and poet James Baldwin, who later emigrated to France to escape the injustices he received as a gay black man said this:

“I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”

I am proud to be an American. This country has done amazing things to promote freedom, justice, liberty, and safety. However, I know that this country has a lot of faults it needs to deal with. It has to deal with deep-seeded and generational racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, among other things. These things won’t be solved overnight. However, I believe change can come.

I am proud to be a Christian. I am grateful that I have a relationship with God and in Jesus Christ. I’m grateful for the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. However, I’m aware of the harm, violence, and death that have been doled out in the name of God. However, I believe change can come.

I am proud to be a gay man. I am grateful to love who I am, and by embracing my sexuality I have come to know who I am more, and how the world works. However, I know that gay culture at times can be incredibly shallow, toxic, and harmful. However, I believe change can come.

I am proud to be all three of these things. We don’t need to make America great again. It is already great, but we can make it better. Let’s make America empathetic, daring, conscientious, and a respected leader in the free world again. That starts with bringing everyone to the table, including the people who don’t look or think like you. For this 4th of July, let’s embrace everything that this country has to offer! Stay safe and have fun today!