For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? (Matthew 5:46-47)
Here’s a quiz: What do Word and Way, a Baptist publication in existence since 1896, the Florida Council of Churches, the non-denominational Evangelical movement called Red Letter Christians, Baptist News Global, a publication tracing its beginning to 1828, Christianity Today, a magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham, Jesuit Fr. James Martin, editor of the Jesuit magazine America, the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry have in common?
They are among the very many church leaders and church publications who are urgently calling on all faithful Christians to speak out against, and pray for an end to, Christian Nationalism, and who are urging all priests and pastors to preach and pray about it.
Especially on this 4th of July weekend, it is critically important both for our faith and for our country that we, as Christians, understand the difference between patriotism and Christian nationalism. Simply put, patriotism is love for one’s country. We have affection for the United States; we’re grateful for its ideals and all the good things about it, past and present; we give thanks for all those who have sacrificed for those ideals and our freedoms. We celebrate our achievements, and that’s good and appropriate. And, as Christians, we also know that, as St. Paul said to the Philippians in chapter three, we have dual citizenship—we are also citizens of God’s kingdom. We know that no earthly institution can ever be perfect, even as we hear Jesus tell us in today’s reading we are called to be perfect. So, as Christians, we make a distinction between the ideals of our history and heritage, and the times we have failed and are failing to live up to them, and we acknowledge that there are always improvements we can make. In other words, we know that each of us and all human endeavors and institutions are tainted by sin, and just as we pray for forgiveness for our own sins, we pray for forgiveness for the sins of our nation. Most importantly, we acknowledge that God demands we not make an idol out of some idealized version of our history and heritage that was never true for everyone.
Quoting Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the ELCA: “Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy…It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation. We reject this damaging political ideology and invite our Christian brothers and sisters to join us in opposing this threat to our faith and to our nation. As Christians, we are bound to Christ, not by citizenship, but by faith.”
Here are some further distinctions, from the organization Faithful America:
Christian nationalism is a political ideology that claims America was founded to be – and should remain – a so-called “Christian nation,” despite the clear intent of the Constitution to separate church and state and to honor religious liberty for all.
Christian nationalism merges our religious and civic identities, proclaiming that only conservative Christians are true Americans—excluding mainline Christians like us, Black Christians, Hispanic Christians, and a host of other denominations, and non-Christians.
A major goal of Christian nationalism in the U.S. is to seize complete power by any means necessary, including violence. I remind us all that Jesus refused political authority when tempted by Satan in the wilderness, at his betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane, and even as he died on the Cross.
Despite 3,000 years of our Scripture’s commandments to love and welcome those who are strangers and are not part of our own “clan” or “tribe,” Christian Nationalism adherents advocate for oppressive legislation—rooted in non-biblical, far-right religious beliefs—that strips away equal rights for the LGBTQ community, non-Christians, women, people of color, immigrants… (More than 540 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year.)
Christian Nationalist leaders have publicly declared that America should have only “one religion” (theirs) and are proudly antisemitic and Islamophobic. Christian nationalism poses a threat to the heart of democracy and to the religious freedom of America’s non-Christians.
Unholy, anti-democracy Christian nationalism is not Christian, and every church should reject it as heresy and sin. Throughout history, people have used the name of Christianity to sell a political agenda that is not biblical. Christian nationalism is a political ideology, not a religion, and it hijacks our faith by distorting and abusing religious imagery for the purpose of seizing power.
By falsely making Jesus appear to be a power-hungry hate monger who only protects white, conservative, straight Christian men, Christian nationalism doesn’t just attack democracy and equal rights. It also drives people away from the church, giving us Christians multiple pressing reasons to respond. We must side with vulnerable communities, and we must reclaim our own identity and our own prophetic voice.
Here’s a quote from Episcopal Priest Nathan Empsall, Faithful America executive director: “Where Christian nationalism spreads lies, Jesus says the truth shall set us free. Where Christian nationalism incites political violence, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. And where Christian nationalism spreads division and hatred [and fear], Jesus calls us to include and love our neighbors—without exception, [and to fear not.]”
Just a few days ago, a Christian Nationalist group stood outside a synagogue in Georgia during their Sabbath worship service, and during their children’s summer camp, waving Nazi flags, shouting antisemitic epithets, and hanging a life-sized doll in effigy from a street sign. My friends, I ask you to pause and picture that outside our own Vacation Bible School… Antisemitic violence, perpetrated by those calling themselves Christians, is up 400% since 2013.
The Scripture readings we heard today are the ones in our Lectionary for use on the 4th of July. They are not some new, “woke” liberal propaganda—they are simply the Gospel Message: care for the orphan and widow…welcome and love the stranger…love your enemies. And they were selected 100 years ago for the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, to be read for this national Independence Day celebration. They give us our mandate as Christians and form the framework for our diverse and vibrant democracy.
In her recent opening remarks to the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council, the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of the House of Deputies, said, “This violent and exclusionary movement is on the rise in the United States, and those of us who believe that God is calling us toward a very different vision, toward the Beloved Community, we have a special responsibility to stand against it. If we will not tell the world that it is not Christianity, then who will?”
My prayer for us all this week is that as we give thanks for the blessings of our country, we will work to tell and show the world what true Christianity is, and we’ll pray and live out the words of today’s Collect: Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will. Amen.
