❤️ Valentine’s Day: From Sacred To Secular

Valentine’s Day: A time for love, romance, and an overpriced racket of chocolates and wilted grocery-store roses. What was once a religious feast day to honor St. Valentine has been entirely secularized—hollowed out, repackaged, and resold to us by capitalism. It’s much like modern Evangelicalism, which has turned faith into a brand, a political identity, and a business model. But before you roll your eyes at this Hallmarkification of yet another sacred day, let’s talk about a different kind of sellout: Evangelical Christianity.

The Fall of Evangelicalism into Nationalism

Yes, much like Valentine’s Day, Evangelicalism started as something religious and meaningful. But over time, it became less about faith and more about political influence—eventually morphing into the Christian Nationalist movement we see today. It was about faith, sacrifice, and (allegedly) following the teachings of Jesus. Now? It’s a cultural movement wrapped in a red, white, and blue bow, where the gospel has been replaced by talking points from Fox News and the cross has been traded for a MAGA hat.

St. Valentine: The Patron Saint of Rebellion

So let’s talk about St. Valentine—because his story is the kind Evangelicals should love. He was a religious rebel, performing illegal Christian marriages under the nose of the Roman Empire, and he was executed for it. He defied corrupt authority because he believed in something greater. St. Valentine supposedly healed a blind girl before his death, and he performed marriages despite the empire forbidding them, believing love transcended the state’s authority. Evangelicals, on the other hand, refuse to see their own hypocrisy—even with both eyes wide open. Meanwhile, today’s Evangelicals have somehow convinced themselves they’re being persecuted because their barista wrote ‘Chris’ instead of ‘Christ’ on their Starbucks cup—or because other people have the audacity to live in ways that don’t require their approval. Quite the downgrade.

Valentine’s rebellion was about love in the truest sense—defying unjust laws, standing for the marginalized, and refusing to bow to power. Contrast that with modern Christian Nationalists, who have gleefully wedded themselves to the state, pushing an authoritarian brand of faith that demands loyalty above all else. Instead of challenging corrupt rulers, Christian Nationalists prop them up, treating political power as a divine right. Instead of defending the persecuted, they target them. Instead of love, they peddle fear. Valentine married people in secret because love was worth the risk. Today’s Evangelicals obsess over who shouldn’t be married instead of who needs love the most.

If Valentine were alive today, he’d probably be calling out the hypocrisy of Christian Nationalists who weaponize faith for control while screaming ‘persecution’ every time society no longer caters to their demands or fragile sense of morality. He’d see through the performative piety and call it what it is: a hollowed-out faith, drained of meaning, weaponized for control. Valentine lost his head for his faith. Evangelicals lose their minds when they can’t force their faith on others.

Reclaiming Faith Through Rebellion

Here’s the irony: MAGA Christians do love a good rebellion story—so long as it aligns with their agenda (cough Jan. 6 insurrection cough). They love talking about standing strong against the “secular world.” But the second someone challenges their political stranglehold, suddenly rebellion is a sin.

So maybe, just maybe, the lesson from St. Valentine isn’t just about love—it’s about rebellion. Real rebellion. Not the culture-war cosplay of the Evangelical Right, but the kind that actually challenges power, confronts corruption, and defends the vulnerable. If there’s anything left of faith worth saving, it won’t be found in church pews lined with power-hungry sycophants. It’ll be found in the rebels—the ones who dare to love, to stand, and to defy.

Happy Valentine’s Day. Now go love—and if necessary, rebel. ❤️