Kevin DeYoung has a thoughtful, balanced article on patriotism and the church:
5. All this leads to one final point: while patriotism can be good, the church is not a good place for patriotism.
We should pray for service men and women in our congregations. We should pray for the President. We should pray for the just cause to triumph over the evil one. We are not moral relativists. We do not believe just because all people are sinners and all nations are sinful that no person or no nation can be more righteous or more wicked than another. God may be on America’s side in some (not all) her endeavors.
But please think twice before putting on a Star Spangled gala in church this Sunday. I love to hear the national anthem and “God Bless America” and “My Country, Tis of Thee,” but not in church where the nations gather to worship the King of all peoples. I love to see the presentation of colors and salute our veterans, but these would be better at the Memorial Day parade or during a time of remembrance at the cemetery. Earthly worship should reflect the on-going worship in heaven. And while there are many Americans singing glorious songs to Jesus there, they are not singing songs about the glories of America. We must hold to the traditions of the Apostles in our worship, not the traditions of American history. The church should not ask of her people what is not required in Scripture. So how can we ask the Koreans and Chinese and Mexicans and South Africans in our churches to pledge allegiance to a flag that is not theirs? Are we gathered under the banner of Christ or another banner? Is the church of Jesus Christ–our Jewish Lord and Savior–for those draped in the red, white, and blue or for those washed in the blood of the Lamb?
May 27th, 2011 | 10:56 am
Earthly worship should reflect the on-going worship in heaven.
It does not merely “reflect” . . .
It is “part of.” The Divine Liturgy makes that much abundantly clear.
May 27th, 2011 | 10:57 am
Earthly worship should reflect the on-going worship in heaven.
It does not merely “reflect” . . .
It is “part of.” The Divine Liturgy makes that much abundantly clear.
May 27th, 2011 | 11:08 am
I wonder if the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” is off limits?
May 27th, 2011 | 12:32 pm
Well, I grew up on Air Force bases, so having flags in church seems perfectly fine to me. Of course, so does standing up for the national anthem before movies, and $2 haircuts…
May 27th, 2011 | 1:05 pm
@Brian – Army posts for me, but yes.
May 27th, 2011 | 2:34 pm
While Deyoung seems to be part of the time on the right track, he confuses or conflates patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism is a moral virtue which flows from the commandment to honor your father and mother. Indeed, a failure to be properly patriotic is a sin. We owe proper honor to our family, the church and to our homeland. The Church has always taught that we owe a duty of civil allegiance and love of our homeland. “Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor” 1 Pet. 2:17. “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. … For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. … Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.” Romans 13:1-5.
St. Thomas Aquinas linked our obligations to our parents and the fatherland (Summa Theologica, 2a, 2ae, Q. 101): “The principles (or origins) of our being and governing are our parents and our country, which have given us birth and nourishment. Consequently man is debtor chiefly to his parents and his country, after God. Wherefore, just as it belongs to religion to give worship to God, so does it belong to “pietas,” in the second place, to give worship to one’s parents and one’s country.”
This is not to say that everything which is called patriotism by the state is in fact such and is due honor. Nor that patriotism means we must ratify everything our country does no matter how wrong. With regard to the Chinese communist state’s usurpation of Church authority in the form of state controlled churches such as the “Catholic Patriotic Association”, the Pope in 1958 stated in Ad Apostolorum Principis: “For under an appearance of patriotism, which in reality is just a fraud, this association aims primarily at making Catholics gradually embrace the tenets of atheistic materialism, by which God Himself is denied and religious principles are rejected.”
While we owe a duty of allegiance to legitimate and properly constituted authority in our state, sometimes one’s love and duty to one’s country requires one to resist its control by improper authority, as Claus von Stauffenberg did to Hitler, set to film in Valkyrie. The film underplayed his deep Catholicism and the role that his Christian faith had on his, and others’, developing sense of patriotic obligation, showing only one scene of a meeting in a Church.
So Deyoung is theologically mistaken to say that God Bless America does not belong in Church. It does, and it is consistent with scripture and the entire two millennia of Christian Apostolic Tradition. Which is why, for example, the Knights of Columbus as Christian men have Patriotism as one of their four core principles and it is common and right to find national flags in churches.
May 27th, 2011 | 4:15 pm
I think I’m a pretty patriotic guy, but I don’t at all care for the common practice of displaying the US flag in church. My church does so, as do many others, but I think it’s just wrong. The church ought to reflect an understanding that our true citizenship is as members of the Kingdom of God.
May 27th, 2011 | 4:41 pm
“Battle Hymn of the Republic” was written by a unitarian. You have to wonder which God or god is being invoked there.
May 27th, 2011 | 5:49 pm
Though the thought at first sight is admirable but
fail to take into account that God may not be as finicky as those professed to be his worshipers.
It was indeed a centurion that profess faith in Jesus during his ministry, another at his crucifixion,and still another in Peter’s baptizing Cornelius. This men remained warriors and grace was with them.To deny this is to suggest that the Church of Christ is a fearful institution rather one that calls to all in every situation and not afraid that patriotism is honored in Church
with other human activities.
May 27th, 2011 | 9:56 pm
it is common and right to find national flags in churches.
In the United States, perhaps. It is not so in at least two countries I have visited abroad (Italy and Russia). Indeed, my Russian Orthodox wife finds objectionable the presence of an American flag in the sanctuary — not merely in the church, but in the sanctuary.
May 27th, 2011 | 9:58 pm
In fact, Yahoo! is my friend: http://ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/ZFLAGS.HTM
May 28th, 2011 | 7:08 am
“So how can we ask the Koreans and Chinese and Mexicans and South Africans in our churches to pledge allegiance to a flag that is not theirs?”
Perhaps they could express thanks to God that they are in a country where they don’t have to worry about armed thugs smashing through the doors of the Church, and could also pray for the souls of those who died to keep it that way?
May 28th, 2011 | 11:05 am
I live in the West of Scotland and I spend a fair amount of time in France on business and I have always been very struck by the contrasting attitudes to patriotism in the church.
In France, the churches celebrated the sesqui-millenium of the baptism of Clovis in 1996 with great fervour, passionate enthusiasm and not a little pageantry. The flag of the Republic did not figure very prominently; “Ralliement” remains controversial in some Catholic circles, although the Mass of Reparation on 21 January for the “parricide” of Louis XVI is less common than it was 50 years ago.
More generally, I wish I had a Euro for every time I have heard the phrase, “the eldest daughter of the Church” from the pulpit, or references to the divine mission of Saint Jeanne d‘Arc. The festivals of local saints are usually great occasions.
In the West of Scotland, where the Catholic population is overwhelmingly of Irish extraction, one is more likely to see the Irish Tricolour displayed in processions than the national flag (either of them, but that’s another story). St Andrew’s day is a poor relative of St Patrick’s and even our ancient local saints are hardly mentioned. The sense is one of an exiled and embattled community.
Now, of the two, I prefer the French attitude; French Catholics have the ability to keep attachment to the French nation and its Christian legacy quite separate from their feelings towards the French Republic.
May 28th, 2011 | 2:24 pm
Amen @Brian. I’m an Air Force brat and retired Navy. I, too, remember standing for the national anthem before the movie. (I also remember the national anthem being played at TV signoff.) Having flags around me has been a very real part of my entire life.
I don’t have a problem singing patriotic hymns in church and I don’t think it detracts from the worship for our Lord. I believe religion and patriotism go hand in hand. It is possible to go too far, especially when it comes to criticizing our elected officials or national policies, but expressing love of country in a house of worship makes me feel spiritual and blessed that God put me on earth in America.
May 28th, 2011 | 3:49 pm
The most prominent element of American Patriotism is War. Mark Twain had a good take on it:
http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/making/warprayer.html
Keep the implied violence that has been attached to the American flag outside the sanctuary.
May 29th, 2011 | 3:50 am
I feel that patriotism in church is important, the article seems to ignore other cultures and doesn’t realize that in other countries they probably are not worried about being patriotic in church. Of course you are going to ask your god, whatever god you worship, to bless the place you live and the people around you. Just because we are happy to be where we are doesn’t mean we’re sitting around saying “So glad we’re here instead of this exact place.” I do not understand why someone would be offended about going to church and hearing someone say “God Bless America” and I think that this proves that people will over react to anything. Religion should teach us important lessons, such as being proud of who you are and where you live.
May 29th, 2011 | 10:44 am
While very important errors were and will continue to be made “attached to the American flag,” the statement that “The most prominent element of American Patriotism is War.” seems absurdly exaggerated.
All things wrongly done notwithstanding, the most prominent element of American Patriotism was, at least until now, ability to self-criticize and self-correct according to basic moral concepts which were our inheritance from the best of Western tradition – Hebrew, Greek, Roman, Christian.
A prominent newspaper not in any way connected with conservative thought recently quoted a Japanese man whose town had been severely damaged by the recent tsunami. “Where are the Americans?” he asked, rightly so in view of the history of American aid and assistance throughout the world. That is, its generosity, its abundance, and its imperfect but intended good will.
“God mend thine every flaw” wrote Katherine Bates, and I pray that we will receive God-given help in mending what is wrong while never, ever forgetting what is right and good.
May 29th, 2011 | 11:24 am
The most prominent element of American patriotism is love of freedom. If the flag implies violence to you then you need to examine your own soul….
May 30th, 2011 | 11:22 pm
Patriotism at it’s best is an emotional attachment to one’s homeland, not to it’s martial and governmental symbols.
The American realm is notable for it’s aggressive foreign policy (with the semi-blasphemous assertion that invasion can make foreigners free, when only salvation can do that), it’s promotion of abortion, and it’s hesitance to do the thing that Paul praised the Romans for in 1 Corinthians 13: maintain internal order and punish violent crime. When we praise the flag, we are praising a system that truly does bear the sword for no reason, and worse, turns it on innocents at the slightest provocation.
May 31st, 2011 | 4:20 am
patriotism in church is good and important
May 31st, 2011 | 12:27 pm
The Divine Liturgy contains the troparion:
O Lord, save Thy people,
and bless thine inheritance!
Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians
over their adversaries,
and by virtue of Thy cross,
preserve Thy habitation!
Wikipedia tells me that
So patriotism in church would seem to have a precedent, to say the least.
May 31st, 2011 | 8:50 pm
For those who hate their nation, any praise of the nation in church is too much. For those of us who believe that America has provided a bulwark of freedom for not only itself but much of the world, and thus preserved freedom of worship for much of the world’s people, singing songs as part of Sunday worship which see a divine role for America in the world is an affirmation of God’s action in history. America committed “violence” during World War II, but it was far less than the ongoing violence that would have occurred if Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan had been allowed to continue with their rape of captive nations. I speak as an American of Japanese ancestry born in Japan.
That affirmation is made in the Declaration of Independence, which invokes the Creator as the source of human rights. It is made in the two speeches by Lincoln that adorn the interior of his monument, when he prayed that “this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom”.
That affirmation is made in the national anthem: “Blessed with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must when our cause it is just, and this be our motto: In God is Our Trust.”
It is made in other patriotic hymns, such as The Star Spangled Banner: “America, America, God mend thine every flaw. Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.”
As for the Battle Hymn of the Republic, it concludes with the refrain, “In the beuty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, with a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me. As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, while God is marching on.”
Does the critic who hates the “violence” associated with the American flag also hate the violence that ended the ongoing personal violence of slavery?
Different churches can surely take different attitudes about the appropriateness of mixing patriotism with their Sunday worship, and we Americans can choose which denomination we wish to join, whether one that eschews loyalty to nation as an inherent conflict with loyalty to god (such as Jehovah’s witnesses), or one that finds mutual support between the American ideal of freedom and the worship of a God who wishes us to be free to worship Him. Maybe it is important for churches which have not made up their minds on this issue to have a debate along the lines of the blog which prompted this discussion. However, for many of our churches, the decision was made long ago that America has been, despite its examples of religious discrimination and even persecution, the most hospitable home to religious freedom in the modern world. For those who believe God works in the history of mankind, this role for America as a source of religious freedom is not fortuitous, but ordained.
May 31st, 2011 | 10:01 pm
Matt: “The American realm is notable for it’s aggressive foreign policy (with the semi-blasphemous assertion that invasion can make foreigners free, when only salvation can do that)” Ask someone living in France or the Phillipines in June 1944 if they would have preferred an American ‘invasion’ or persist under Nazi/Japanese rule. The Jews released from Dachau by American forces in 1945 would certainly beg to differ with your analysis that U.S, forces failed to make them “free.” But heck, you’d know better than a holocaust survivor.
“When we praise the flag, we are praising a system that truly does bear the sword for no reason, and worse, turns it on innocents at the slightest provocation” Who are these innocents? Saddam? Qaddafi? Hitler? Tojo? Kim il Sung? Noreiga? Ho Chi Minh? Yes, innocents all…. I’m wowed by your brilliant analysis of the international arena and America’s nefarious role within that arena.
June 2nd, 2011 | 12:05 am
Kevin DeYoung’s piece was not about anyone’s foreign policy perceptions but about the ‘banner’ under which we worship. Though a former Marine, as a Christian above all, I wholeheartedly appreciate his points.
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