Culture Wars
Christianity and Country
by Jimmy Hopper
As the 4th of July approached, I saw again church signs and even billboards that indicated that the worship of God in certain churches has been changed to a “patrotic celebration” advertising all the fervor for country associated with that particular endeavor. Last Saturday, I read an editorial column in the Tuscaloosa News from Cary McMullen, who writes a religion column for the Lakeland , Fla. paper that is syndicated throughout the country that addresses this tendency. While Mr. McMullen and I don’t always agree, I have found him to be an excellent, often perceptive observer of religion in America. However, this is a column in which he and I agree totally in every respect (except he is probably more lenient toward it than I.) The link is here. http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20070630/NEWS/70629010/1005/SPORTS0106
Posted by Jimmy Hopper at July 3, 2007 11:34 AM
I agree with Jimmy and Mr. McMullen that patriotism and church are entirely too intertwined in the minds of most American Christians.
The only quibble I have with Mr. McMullen’s piece is the definition he gives to American exceptionalism. He defines it as the belief that America “ha[s] a special place — even a sacred place — in history, that we are God’s chosen people.”
I have a secular understanding of that term - namely, that the US is a unique and uniquely great country in the history of the world. In my view, this is almost indisputable - America is exceptional. The problem for the church is WHY it’s exceptional.
I’ve lived in Germany. One is German by being born to German parents. It’s ethnic. Their word for this is “Volk.” I once had a discussion with a very nice, educated German lady about our separation of church and state. She found it completely unnecessary for her country, because, she said, Germans are a “Christlichen Volk” - a Christian people.
You’re an American, on the other hand, not because of your race, but because you or one of your forefathers bought into the idea of what America is or was - be it a refuge from religious or political persecution, a place to prosper economically, a place to escape war or famine - whatever. Folks like that, of whatever race, religion, or nationality, can be American because of what they believe about government, not because of bloodlines. America is based on ideas, not ethnicities. In human history, that concept is unique and radical.
Moreover, especially in the 20th century, the US has been the champion of its ideas about self governance, representative democracy, and market- based economic liberalism throughout the world. Consider the countries we conquered in WWII. We paid to rebuild them, set up (basically) free markets and democratic institutions, and left them to govern themselves. This is NOT the course of your typical conquest of nations in world history (think: Roman Empire).
Now, I don’t mean to suggest that this has been done perfectly or consistently. However, the US is unique in what it is, and in spreading its values throughout the world for the better. To this extent, I believe in American exceptionalism.
I do NOT believe that this exceptionalism is a reward from God for righteousness or faithfulness. Rather, it is a gracious blessing to people who do not deserve it, which makes it all the sweeter to me.