One of the challenges of history is knowing if what’s being relayed to you accurately reflects what happened. For history isn’t necessarily an accurate accounting of events—it’s the accounting of what happened from the vantage point of the party that most benefited. For instance, when I was growing up in Oklahoma, I learned in school about the Trail of Tears—the displacement and forced relocation of Native Americans between 1830-1850 at the hands of the U.S. government. However, the explanation of events would be very different according to who was recounting them. Someone sympathetic to the government’s viewpoint would talk about the agricultural and economic concerns that drove the decision … how this policy provided native peoples an opportunity to pursue happiness without interference from settlers that were pushing west and causing their numbers to dwindle. But if told from the perspective of the Indians, they’d talk about a government seizing their ancestral homelands and laying down laws that ravaged their way of life—about their relocation being a solution to the white man’s greed, expansionist impulses, and colonialism.
I point this out is because I’m convinced divergent understandings of the forces behind our nation’s founding lies at the heart of Christian nationalism. For this ideology flows out of a narrative surrounding the birth of our nation that says America was founded to be a “Christian nation”—that our forefathers crossed the ocean in hopes of establishing a country where Christianity would enjoy a favored status. As a result, Christianity is our default national culture and we’ll lose our national identity if we fail to preserve it. This is in contrast to the narrative that says America was founded by predominantly religious people who’d been profoundly shaped by Deism—the belief in a Supreme Being who put everything in motion but doesn’t interfere with the ongoing operation of the universe. This understanding coupled with the philosophy of John Locke and Enlightenment thinking motivated them to create not a Christian nation, but one where the values of liberty, justice, and equality would be foundational—one where all religion could flourish. They believed the best way to do that was to separate church and state. Their goal was not to create a nation where Christianity enjoyed a preferred status, but one where all religion could thrive without governmental interference.
If you play those divergent understandings out, you realize Christian nationalism can cause us to arrive at a place that undercuts the essence of true Christianity. So … how we can love and be patriotic and loyal to our country but not do it in a way that is at odds with our Christian faith? In doing that, I want to try to answer some simple questions as it relates to the difference between Christian nationalism and authentic Christianity.
What is Christian nationalism?
Christian nationalism is the belief that America is defined by Christianity and the government should take steps to keep it that way … that America is and must remain a “Christian nation” … that our country’s laws should be based upon the teachings of Christianity and any other source of grounding other than that is detrimental and destructive to her long-term well-being and must be resisted and opposed. Christian nationalists believe America is the “new Israel”—that God has raised her up, placed a divine calling upon her, and assigned her a preferred and providential place among the nations of the world. They have fused Christianity with our national culture in ways that tarnish the essence of authentic faith in Jesus. They are trying to bring about life change through cultural change rather than cultural change being the product of genuine life change. It is at odds with the message of the gospel and the teachings of Jesus.
Why is this a problem?
Religion and politics have never made good partners. We see this in the Persian Gulf in countries that have merged their politics with the Islamic faith—the harsh way they treat those who don’t fall in line. Any time we fuse our faith and our politics in an unhealthy way, we tend to relate to those who don’t believe as we think they should in harmful and hurtful ways. It’s like what happens when you mix manure and ice cream—the nature of the manure isn’t really affected by the presence of the ice cream, but the appeal of the ice cream takes a major hit! When we blend our religion and politics we typically try to implement a particular cultural ideology by force, and we tend to become authoritarian, dictatorial, and oppressive in how we relate to those who aren’t on the same wavelength as us. Folks who differ become enemies—a constituency to be put down … a faction to be subdued. And when that’s the case, we can’t express the love, acceptance, dignity, and respect that God calls those of us who avow the name of Jesus to demonstrate. We end up tainting his reputation and tarnishing his name.
How does authentic Christianity differ from Christian nationalism?
Christianity is a belief system based on the teaching and work of Jesus … a Jesus who said his agenda was to transform lives and build a kingdom that was not of this world. He made this point abundantly clear when he stood before, and was questioned by, Pilate. Because the kingdom Jesus came to establish is not of this world, it operates differently. Instead of being about the acquisition and exercise of power over others, His kingdom advances through the expression of love and the diligent demonstration of power “under others.” It advances by His people pouring themselves out and serving. Christian nationalism by contrast is an ideology focused primarily on the identity of our nation. It’s about the ongoing development and formation of our country according to a specific cultural template—one that, to be sure, calls attention to certain morals but seeks to regulate conduct through their imposition and enforcement.
I recently read about a group in Oklahoma called the Advisory Council on Founding Principles that is working with the state Superintendent of Schools on getting the Ten Commandments displayed in every public school classroom and prayer established. They’re convinced getting these changes implemented will lead to better educational outcomes, as Oklahoma schools typically rank very low in student achievement. This is an example of the pursuit of a particular cultural template that accompanies Christian nationalism. The proponents of these initiatives believe we’re at war and that training children in the virtues of faith in the public school classroom is the secret to safeguarding our freedom.
But here’s the deal. At its heart Christianity is about personal transformation—it’s about individual life change—and any cultural change is an offshoot or byproduct of that. These groups have the agenda of trying to impose a specific ideology and cultural framework on society and, as the name of the group from Oklahoma states, it flows out of the narrative they’ve embraced surrounding the founding of our country. In fact, one of the Oklahoma group’s organizers went so far as to call the separation of church and state a “false narrative that needs to be changed.” What they believe about how we came to be has impacted what they’re doing.
What ends up happening far too often is those who don’t get on board and comply are treated as either second-class citizens or, worse, enemies—a notion that thoroughly flies in the face of the gospel. So instead of providing the world with a compelling, captivating, and radically different way of life with love at the heart, Christian nationalism presents the world with a counterfeit imitation of a faith that’s been whitewashed and obscured and tries to force something on them. Instead of trying to persuade people by a winsome lifestyle, we end up trying to strong-arm and use force on them instead. People don’t come away with an accurate picture of what Jesus is like and what faith in Him is really about.
God is no longer in the nation building business. The old covenant has been fulfilled. It has been completed and brought to a close with the work of Jesus. God is now building a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation who are connected because of their mutual commitment to Him. And he seeks to do it not through the political process but through the power of love. When our love of country supersedes our love for the people in our country, we are off mission. God’s means of social transformation is not through getting the right people put into office and the right laws passed. God’s means of social transformation is through individual lives being transformed by His grace to where we live a life that is so winsome, compelling, and attractive that it arrests the attention of the world and causes them to take notice.
Perhaps the best way to describe the difference between Christianity and Christian nationalism is the difference between being a Christian American and an American Christian. We have two loyalties—one to our Heavenly Father and one to our country. But one of those allegiances must be primary. One must take precedence over the other. When we’re an authentic Christian, our devotion to Jesus will always assume priority over our allegiance to our country. But to the Christian nationalist, those two loyalties have become conflated to where allegiance to country is how we demonstrate our commitment to God. And to many people outside the faith, the association of those two things has caused them to hear the news of Jesus only as American news or capitalistic news and not as good news. And they want nothing to do with it.
What does the Bible say should be the nature of our relationship to our country?
Perhaps this is best addressed by the apostle Peter. In both of his epistles, he greets those to whom he’s writing as “exiles”. An exile is someone who lives as a resident in a foreign land. They may know the language, have a job, and have settled down to a degree, but at the end of the day they belong to another realm and answer to a different sovereign. This is what the apostle Paul is calling us to in Philippians 3:20 when he says “our citizenship is in heaven.” As followers of Jesus our primary allegiance is not of this world. Our foremost commitment is to the kingdom Jesus alluded to when questioned by Pilate.
What’s the difference between legitimate patriotism and Christian nationalism?
Patriotism is a sentiment—a feeling of pride, appreciation, and love for our country. It’s what motivates us stand, remove our hat, and place our hand over our heart when the national anthem is played. It’s what compels us to attend a July 4 parade and wave a flag or clap and express our gratitude to groups of veterans as they walk by. But nationalism is a muddled belief system that mixes celebration of nation with worship of God. Patriotism is motivated by gratitude, love, and generates a positive vibe. Nationalism is protectionist, isolationist, and insular. Patriotism brings folks together; nationalism drives them apart. Patriotism expresses appreciation and fondness for our country; nationalism makes such a preference exclusionary and a demand of discipleship.
How can we be appropriately patriotic and Christian without being nationalistic?
I’m not saying we shouldn’t vote our values or that religion should play no part in public life. As followers of Jesus, I believe we should strive to be the best citizens we can … informed and enlightened people who vote their God-informed conscience whenever they have the opportunity. But we should also be aware that (1) no candidate or political party is going to fully represent and embrace the values of the Kingdom of God, and (2) people who confess allegiance and devotion to the same Lord may see the world a bit differently and exercise their God-informed conscience in a way to where they reach a different conclusion and vote differently. And that’s OK—they’re still our brother or sister and we’re to love them unconditionally.
While it’s perfectly fine to love our country and appreciate the blessings we enjoy because we have the good fortune of living within her borders, we must put our faith filter in front of our political filter or our national filter. And we should engage with a clear understanding that the transformation and change we seek as followers of Jesus is not going to come through the political process but only as a result of the grace of God working in people’s lives. We should live with the agenda not of trying to “save America”, but with the hope of trying to reach and rescue Americans … and Canadians … and Mexicans … and Guatemalans … and Costa Ricans … and Nicaraguans … and Salvadorans … and Panamanians … and Venezuelans … and Ecuadorians … and people from each and every nation with the good news of the transforming grace of God.