In 1776, our nation’s founding fathers established the United States of America on the principled freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That’s why, on the Fourth of July each year, we celebrate the day these rights were affirmed in the Declaration of Independence. Moreover, this day symbolizes the wisdom of our forefathers in setting our country apart with a new concept of citizenship, which entails the duty to promote justice, peace, and equality for the good of all.
For over two centuries now, and throughout intense periods of war and conflict, Americans have fought tenaciously to protect our nation from enemies, cleanse it from injustices, and preserve our national spirit. Loyalty to the national project has evoked high statements of patriotism, such as Daniel Webster’s “I was born an American; I will live an American; I shall die an American!” or President John F. Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”
Given this backdrop, it seems wise to ask discerning questions about the proper relationship between patriotism and the church and, more to the point, between patriotism and the pastoral office.
What type of patriotism is appropriate for Christians?
To be loved, a country must not be perfectly lovely. No society—except the consummated kingdom of God—is flawless. Rather than perfection, therefore, a nation must merely have characteristics that evoke affection. Historically, citizens of every country have found aspects of their nation worth loving. Patriotism seems an almost universal impulse that crosses historical eras and civilizational divides. In the United States, one thinks of the Greatest Generation, who recognized our nation’s loveliness despite its flaws and gave their lives to defend it.
Christians should not resist the impulse toward a healthy patriotism. Indeed, God is the one who “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place” (Acts 17:26). He is the sovereign who commands us to respect and honor the authorities to whom such things are owed (Romans 13:1-7) and to pray for them regularly (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Moreover, the biblical command to love our neighbors implies also that we should cultivate appropriate honor and well-wishes for our fellow citizens.
As a pastor, I encourage my people toward proper patriotism, which involves an appropriate view of religion and politics, and of church and state.
Thus, as Americans, we should avoid the anti-Americanism that plagues so many of our culture’s institutions. We should care for our nation’s well-being, seek justice for our fellow citizens, and hope that they flourish. We should hold heartfelt admiration and sincere gratitude for the good that is found in our nation’s founding documents and ideals. We should ascribe significance to the nation as a whole rather than viewing it as a mere aggregate of isolated, self-interested individuals. By doing so, we practice a healthy patriotism.
Conversely, we should avoid the type of blind patriotism that glosses over grave historical injustices. In years past, some Christian commentators have posited a close analogy between biblical Israel and contemporary America and seem to view our Constitution as divinely inspired, our history as nearly spotless, and our destiny as the new covenant nation of God. This type of patriotism should be rejected as a form of idolatry that deifies our nation and christens its historical destiny.
That being said, it is abundantly clear that Christianity played a formative role in shaping our nation’s founding. It is impossible to conclude that America was founded as a purely secular state. We must reject claims that religion should have no place in the public square. Instead, let us recognize the Christian theological framework that fostered our principled pluralism, understanding that the Christian faith flourishes best without government support, on one hand, or government hostility, on the other hand. America was never meant to be theocratic but its freedoms are the happy consequence of a profoundly Christian theological framework applied to our founding documents and law.
Therefore, the challenge for Christians today is to cultivate in the younger generations a balanced admiration for our nation, appreciating its founding ideals and historic moral victories while admitting its historical flaws. By doing so, we teach them to love God and neighbor, embracing what God embraces and rejecting what God rejects.
How can the pastor’s office be appropriately patriotic?
If healthy patriotism is proper for Christians, what does its application look like for a pastor and his church? A pastor can fulfill his office patriotically by expounding a biblical view of government and politics, the church, and the relationship between the two. In particular, he must help his church avoid two temptations—the misguided view that the church isn’t political and the dangerous temptation to conflate church and state.
The Local Church as a Profoundly Political Assembly
The first error to avoid is the dangerously inaccurate view that Jesus’ ministry was apolitical. His message was profoundly and inescapably political. Jesus denounced rulers, announced the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, and led what seemed to be a political procession. When he declared that he would usher in the kingdom of God, nobody in their right mind imagined that he was speaking of some apolitical revival or evangelistic stadium crusade. No, he was staking claim to his lordship over all other lords and kingship over all other kings. And for these crimes, he died the death of a political insurrectionist.
Indeed, although Jesus never ran for political office, led an army, or published public policy literature, his ministry was political in the deepest sense of the word: it revealed him as the true king of the world, the one who governs and affects all public affairs under the sun. As creator and savior of the world, his political authority relativizes every other political power. This is why Paul told the Philippian Christians that Jesus (not Caesar!) is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). Likewise, it is why Paul had to remind the Roman church that even though Jesus is the world’s highest and truest political authority, they nonetheless must give proper respect to the Roman government (Romans 13:1-7).
The pastor must help his church avoid two temptations—the misguided view that the church isn’t political and the dangerous temptation to conflate church and state.
Thus, it should be no surprise that God designed the local church service as a deeply and profoundly political exercise. The Sunday morning assembly nourishes Christians’ primary political identity—emissaries of the world’s rightful king—in very specific, divinely prescribed ways. As a pastor, when I administer the Lord’s Supper, I remind our people that the King died a sacrificial death on our behalf and will return one day to institute a kingdom of unbroken justice and peace. When I preach a sermon, I serve as a herald for the king and remind my people that the Bible’s story of the world transcends and relativizes every political party’s story of the world. When I adjourn in prayer, I am sending my people out into the world as ambassadors of King Jesus.
The Proper Separation of Church and State
The second error to avoid is the improper conflation of two divinely-ordained spheres of culture, “church” and “state.” Some people mistakenly want the state to intrude on the church’s jurisdiction; others want the church to intrude on the state’s jurisdiction. To help articulate what is proper for each realm, we turn to the great Dutch Reformed pastor and theologian, Abraham Kuyper.
Based on the Bible’s clear teaching that God created the universe through Jesus, Kuyper studied patterns in Scripture and history and concluded that God endowed the created world with various types of culture—art, science, politics, religion, and so forth. Just as he made different types of animals and vegetation, so he created various types of culture. Kuyper referred to them as “spheres” and showed how each sphere has its own reason for being (center) and limits to its jurisdiction (circumference). Each sphere operates directly under God’s lordship; thus, God doesn’t intend for any sphere to lord it over the other spheres. Therefore, God’s design for the cultural spheres serves as a kind of ontological system of checks and balances.
As a pastor, I encourage my people toward proper patriotism, which involves an appropriate view of religion and politics, and of church and state. The institutional church is a deeply, profoundly political assembly that declares that Jesus is the rightful king of the universe, while Caesar is not. Furthermore, when the church disperses, God’s people are to use their individual citizenship to promote a healthy public square in which the government and political actors work to achieve true public justice and flourishing for all.
What about preaching political viewpoints from the pulpit?
The question remains: should a pastor address politics from the pulpit? It’s an age-old question. Some Christians say that Christianity offers direct commands for modern political debates, and thus, the pastor should preach politics. Other Christians say that religion and politics should be kept separate, and thus, pastors should preach sermons without direct reference to matters of political debate. What should a pastor do? He should pray for wisdom and respect the following principle.
Pastors should not separate religion and politics. The separation of church and state envisioned by the Founders meant that the state should never interfere with the affairs of the church. They never meant for religion and politics to be separated. A person’s religion encompasses their most deeply-held beliefs and affections, and thus, naturally, it will radiate outward into their politics. Religion is deeply personal, therefore, but it is not private. One’s personal beliefs will radiate outward into one’s public life, and rightly so. Christians absolutely should draw upon biblical teaching to make wise and discerning decisions in the political sphere.
Conclusion
Pastors must practice a form of patriotism that harmonizes well with Christian values, emphasizing a responsible and reflective love for one’s country that acknowledges its imperfections while striving for societal betterment. Pastors, in their unique positions, can foster patriotism that is bounded by Christian doctrine and infused by Christian character, promoting a balanced perspective that upholds the nation’s ideals. Such an approach deepens the church’s understanding of biblical teachings in a political context, ensuring that the spiritual guidance from the pulpit uplifts and educates rather than divides. This balanced patriotism advocates for a nuanced recognition of the country’s history and aspirations, encouraging a collective effort towards a more just society, fully aligned with the Christian mandate to love and serve both God and neighbor.
Dr. Robert J. Pacienza is the senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (Fort Lauderdale, FL), the CEO/president of Coral Ridge Ministries, and the founder of the Institute for Faith and Culture.
Read the other articles in our Perspectives on Patriotism series here:
Patriotism and the Minority Experience
Patriotism and American Presbyterian History
Perspectives on Patriotism: A New Series from byFaith