Patriotism and Christian Faith: An Uneasy Tension
The relationship between patriotism toward one’s nation and being a follower of Jesus. There are those who almost equate being a good citizen with being a Christian. Others try to separate them as much as possible, telling church members not to run for political office or even to vote.
We must remember that much of this emerges to reactions against the legacy of state churches. I am a Baptist and Baptists strongly hold to the separation of church and state.
But even once you accept the separation of church and state, can a follower of Jesus be a patriotic citizen of their nation?
There are examples of people who hold patriotism and Christianity very closely. While not holding to a state church model, they do see a strong alignment between citizenship and church membership.
One sign of this may be the role of a national flag in a sanctuary. Is there a flag on the platform? Is it draped on the cross? Is it off in a corner? Is it not only missing but unwelcome in the church building?
The Apostle Paul wrote: “But our citizenship is in heaven.” (Philippians 3:20) Some have seen in this a rejection of any loyalty to earthly nations.
One thing to keep in mind is that Paul was not above taking advantage of his rights as a Roman citizen.
“They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” (Acts 16:37)
Not only that, Paul also said: ““I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city.” (Acts 21:39)
Paul apparently didn’t see his heavenly citizenship as contradicting his citizenship of Rome or Tarsus. They were two different kinds of citizenship.
I will admit that I am uncomfortable when national patriotism gets too intermingled with Christian faith. It has shown itself to be destructive in the past and in the present.
I am a Canadian and I am a proud Canadian. While not without its problems and unfortunate history, I think Canada is a great place to live.I also don’t see this has being in conflict with my heavenly citizenship.
See: Can a Nation Be Christian?
It is not even that they are a kind of dual-citizenship. They are on completely different levels. My expectations as a citizen of Canada and a citizen of heaven are very different. If they ever came into conflict, my heavenly citizenship would win out.
I am active in my Canadian citizenship through paying taxes and voting. Heaven has much more of a call on my life. I expect that being a citizen of heaven will make me a better citizen of Canada. But I will not mix up the two.
We need to remember Jesus’ words: “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew22:21) Just make sure to know what is God’s and what is Caesar’s. It is when we blur those lines that we don’t know which is which that we get into trouble.
