The question of how much devotion a Christian should have to their own nation is asked by Christians and non-Christians alike. From the Christian perspective, this question has other questions that emanate from it. The most important question, however, becomes what Christian values should a Christian push onto his/her unbelieving neighbors? Another important question is about how much credit should a Christian give to their nation for the blessings they have.
From the above issue of devotion to one's nation comes two terms whose concepts are fluid because they are dependent on the points that a speaker or writer wants to make. The first term is nationalism. The second term is patriotism. The problem here is that according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, they can, at least in part, the same definition (click here and there).
Last month, Thomas Kidd (click here for a bio) from the Gospel Coalition wrote an article in an attempt to distinguish the two concepts in terms of how it relates to the Christian. And so he wrote an article on how Christian Patriotism and Christian Nationalism compare to each other. And as was previously mentioned, the definitions of patriotism and nationalism were made in the context of the points Kidd wanted to make (click here for the article).
From the very beginning, Kidd seeks to take a balanced approach on Christian Patriotism and Christian Nationalism. This can immediately be seen in his labeling Christian Patriotism as being good in moderation and Christian Nationalism as being bad. For Christian Patriotism is good in moderation if it is defined as a biblicly mandated (at least by Romans 13) 'default support for one's nation.' But he also adds that 'intense patriotism' speaks to one being willing to sacrifice themselves for their nation.
Christian Nationalism in America, according to Kidd, is bad. For its working definition speaks of devotion to,either to America, the Republican Party, or a particular person. In any case, again, we have a term that is defined by the love one has for the nation or a particular object associated with the nation.
Kidd is also quick to remind us Christians that we are exiles on earth and that we should have a greater connection with believers from other nations than with unbelieving fellow Americans.
Kidd goes on to note how Christian nationalism, or even just nationalism, has been a cause for conflicts and wars. For example, there were the religious wars in Europe. And the Cold War has been framed by some Christians as a conflict between the Christian West, or Christian America, and the atheistic Soviet Union. The abortion issue catapulted the association of the Republican Party with Christian Nationalism. And as leftist criticism of America's past grew, so too did a 'God and country' mentality in Christian Nationalists.
Kidd then asks a pertinent question: When does patriotism become nationalism or what is good become bad? What is also being asked in that question is when does patriotism become a form of idolatry? One possible sign mentioned is when one's own nation, America for example, is considered to be a main player in redemptive history. Another indicator is when we Christianize past unbelieving heroes of the nation.
Kidd's article is good for what it says. But it leaves some major issues unaddressed. One such issue is to what extent, if any, should a Christian seek to impose Christian standards on one's own nation like America in order to make one's own nation more Christian? This issue has caused much unnecessary criticisms of the Gospel by unbelievers who took the 1st Amendment seriously as well as those who suffered abuse at the hands of overly zealous Christians.
We should also investigate how much Christian Nationalism contributes to racism both current and in the past. This is a pertinent question because, too many times, American Christianit has been also thought of as white Christianity because of the place of supremacy whites had over others in America.
But there is something missing here about the connections we all have as people. That missing ingredient arises earlier when we mentioned Kidd's view of how our connections with foreign Christians should exceed our connections with fellow American unbelievers. That missing something revolves around the question of whether we should we treat fellow Americans with greater preference to our fellow image bearers of God from other nations? Perhaps the answer to that question can become another indicator of whether our Christian Patriotism has morphed into a Christian Nationalism. Martin Luther King Jr talked about not regarding fellow image bearers of God as equals when he publicly came out against the Vietnam War.
- https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/christian-nationalism-patriotism/
- https://www.baylor.edu/history/index.php?id=7728
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