In light of the upcoming election, there has been a heated debate around the topic of Christian Nationalism. Christian Nationalism is the deliberate enforcement of religious beliefs through legislation. For example, if a law was passed in which every citizen of a country had to give 10% of their income to a church, that would be an expression of Christian Nationalism. The most obvious example in play today is the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has led to individual states enforcing some level of abortion ban. The reason this is Christian Nationalism is that those enforcing these laws believe that being ‘pro-life’ is a Christian stance. There are plenty of believers who disagree, but that’s by the by, as the laws are passed and enforced because of religious belief.
The counter-argument to Christian Nationalism is the legally enforced separation of church and state – a position passionately held by the Founding Fathers, and in particular Thomas Jefferson and James Maddison, the latter of whom wrote a letter in 1803, objecting to the use of government land for churches:
“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.”
Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists in 1802, reflecting the same core passion:
“I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.” (Jefferson to Danbury Baptists, January 1, 1802)
Perhaps the most important achievement of Jefferson’s life was legislating against religious abuse in Virginia, leading to the adoption of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786. He believed that ‘to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical’. In other words, forcing a religious agenda on a diverse populace is tyranny, and this surely applies to the many abortion bans currently in place.
What about the Pledge of Allegiance?
The Pledge of Allegiance is not fundamentally American. It was written in 1892 by the socialist minister Francis Bellamy and was published as a template for use in any nation that chose to adopt it (ushistory.org, July 4, 1995). Contrary to the ideas propagated by Christian Nationalism, the original pledge made no mention of God:
“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
In 1954, President Eisenhower asked Congress to add the words “under God” in response to the Communist threat of the day – i.e. to further a political agenda.
The addition of ‘under God’ has been used to argue for Christian Nationalism, based on the assumption that the US is a fundamentally Christian nation whose citizens have a shared faith. Many might wish this were the case, but it simply is not, and the passing of laws shaped by religious ideology is tyrannical to people of other faiths, agnostics, and atheists. Frankly, Christian Nationalism is a betrayal of the Founding Fathers and of the very essence of the country’s origins and political values.
If my people, who are called by my name…
How many times have you sat in church and heard 2 Chronicles 7:14 quoted or sung as a prayer for your nation?
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
This promise was made to the Jewish people under the entirely conditional Sinai Covenant – if you do this, I’ll bless you; if you don’t, you’re cursed. For Christians, this covenant was superseded by the Covenant of Christ, which is unconditional. In other words, the specific promise made in this verse no longer applies.
Under the Old Covenant, God promised to protect Hebrew territory and bless them as a nation if they obeyed his laws, including welcoming the stranger and treating them as natural-born citizens of the land. He promised them prosperity, whether that be through the flourishing of their crops or anything else. He promised to stop arrows, protect from pestilence, and much more. In summary, the promises of God under the Old Covenant were for physical protection of an actual Earthly territory in a period of war-torn, tribal conflict.
The New Covenant offers an entirely different and far superior set of promises that are spiritual in nature (love, joy, and peace, for starters) rather than physical or practical. These promises are for the establishment of an eternal kingdom that is not of this world, nor defined by borders. When Jesus was questioned by Pilate, he made it abundantly clear that his kingdom is neither defended nor expanded through the use of force. John 18:36,
Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.’
Understanding this, any attempt to establish a Christian nation through the force of either violence or politics is a betrayal of Christ and the Kingdom of God. These Old Covenant promises about the healing of a nation simply cannot apply to any modern-day country. They cannot mean that if we pray enough and turn our country from its secular ways, God will bless, heal, and restore your it, and yet if you put that verse into Google you get a flood of images like the one featured in this article. This is Christian Nationalism at work once more, deceiving and making fools of people who are meant to follow Jesus.
I want to be clear – Christian Nationalism is a betrayal of the Founding Fathers, of the core principles and values of the USA, of the Kingdom of God, and of Christ himself. When you go to the voting booth this week and decide which box to check, I invite you to ask yourself if you’re really comfortable voting for what Thomas Jefferson would have seen as tyranny. Separation of church and state is the only American way to go.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In