The Fourth of July is my husband’s favorite holiday. He makes sure we have our flag correctly displayed, and decorates our front yard with an appropriate amount of red, white and blue. We find a good spot to watch fireworks, making sure to “ooh” and “aah” at all the right times. And it’s just not the Fourth of July in the Ketcham household if we don’t watch the musical “1776.”
All in all, the day is one of great joy and celebration. I find it difficult to not be swept up in love for my country in the midst of it all. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines patriotism as “love for or devotion to one’s country,” and on this day, patriotism runs deep within my soul.
But I have to admit that this year the Fourth of July hits a little differently. My heart grieves as I see this country — founded, formed and built by immigrants — rounding up and deporting even those who are legal residents. My heart grieves as I fear for the safety of our armed forces, as the possibility of another war looms over the Middle East. My heart grieves as I see people amassing fortunes while exploiting the workers who serve them.
As Christians, we can be patriotic. We can love our country; we can be proud of our country; we can be grateful that we live in our country. As Jim Wallis said in his book, God’s Politics: A New Vision for Faith and Politics in America: “Patriotism means loving your country and its best ideals, enough even to oppose it when it is grievously wrong.” As Christians, we are called to examine how best to live out our patriotism. Some of us may choose to contact our elected leaders. Some of us may choose civil disobedience to demand our country live up to its best ideals.
What we don’t do is put our love and devotion of country over and above our love and devotion for God. Nor do we assume that every other person in this country believes the same way that we do, because that is Christian nationalism.
Christian nationalism is the belief that Christianity should be privileged since our country was founded by Christians. But while the founders were Christian, and a majority of Americans still identify as Christian today, Christianity is not the declared religion of this country. It runs counter to the First Amendment, which states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free expression thereof.” This means that our government cannot mandate a national religion, and that — while we are free to believe whatever we believe — we cannot demand that others conform to the same belief system.
Christian nationalism is a perversion and a threat to democracy. It runs counter to all that we hold dear. It places us over and above others, rather than serving them. Christian nationalism is something Christians should run from and fight against, not embrace.
So this year, as we go to cookouts, watch fireworks and listen to Sousa marches with hands upon our hearts, may our patriotism continue to run deep, and may we continue to call out and condemn Christian nationalism in all its variations.
— Pastor Kelley
