Can We Be Patriotic in a Post-Christian America?

When I was growing up, my church had a huge Fourth of July celebration. The church service featured hymns like “God Bless America,” honoring service members, and a sermon about how our founders created a nation like no other based on their belief in God. I felt truly blessed to be in a nation where we were free, unlike so many others.

But today, it’s easy to feel more ambivalent about such celebrations. Can we really ask God to bless America when so much of the culture is in open opposition to the Bible? Can we sing “God Bless America” mere days after the end of “Pride month”?

For the answer, we can look at the earliest Christians in pagan Rome. Slavery, infanticide, idol worship, and all sorts of sexual sin were not just allowed but institutionalized. The new converts to Christianity in that culture had to apply their faith in a culture that was utterly opposed to their faith, to the point of sometimes being martyred. The New Testament’s civic instructions to Christians in the pagan culture of the day still apply to us.

Pray for Your Leaders

First of all, then, I exhort that petitions and prayers, requests and thanksgivings, be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1–4)

God is the ultimate authority even over those in political power, so prayer is a powerful tool in the believer’s arsenal. Note that a goal of these prayers is that we can live out our faith in tranquility. God wants all people to be saved, so the witness of Christians living godly lives and praying publicly for leaders, for instance in church services, could even be a positive witness that opens the door for a fuller gospel proclamation.

Submission to Proper Authority

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist have been appointed by God (Romans 13:1)

But Peter and the apostles answered and said, “We must obey God rather than man.” (Acts 5:29 ESV)

Even an ungodly government has some good functions as part of God’s common grace to the world. Insofar as we can obey the government without disobeying God, we should. In governments like America’s, citizens have the right to shape government and determine the boundaries of its authority through voting. Christians do have the right to recognize when a government oversteps those boundaries and act according to our consciences and through proper legal channels, even when an overt biblical teaching isn’t being violated by the government, because our founding fathers and documents recognized that individual liberties exist and set up “checks and balances” for that very reason.

The overarching principle is this: Who has God given authority to in this matter? Is it for us to determine according to our conscience, has God delegated it to the government (which we should obey), or has God reserved it for himself alone? We should recognize the proper sphere of authority and act accordingly.

Civic Engagement

Christians are not called to withdraw from government but to be salt and light in all the areas where God gives us an opportunity.

One fascinating example of early Christian civic contribution has been discovered by archaeologists. Romans 16:23 mentions a believer named Erastus, who was the city treasurer. An inscription in Corinth was uncovered in Corinth from around AD 50, which reads, “Erastus in return for his aedileship laid [the pavement] at his own expense.” In essence, the same person who Paul referenced in his letter was memorialized in the inscription for his patronage of that public work. And the Latin aedile is roughly equivalent to the Greek translated “city treasurer.”

Many churches help their communities with services such as food banks, and some surveys have shown that Christians give more to charity and volunteer more than non-Christians.1 While these sorts of generosity don’t replace proclaiming the gospel, we have more credibility when people can see that we live our lives differently because of our faith.

Look Forward to the New Heavens and Earth!

Christians are under the kingship of Jesus first and foremost, but that does not negate the responsibilities of our earthly citizenship. We can make a difference in our own sphere of influence by being faithful where God gives us opportunities, and if every Christian did that, think how any country would change! And we should also remember to pray for and aid, where possible, our brethren worldwide as they seek to influence their culture, sometimes under severe persecution.

We can still pray for God to bless America, but we should specifically pray for God to turn Americans’ hearts back to him and to recognize his authority in all the areas where the culture has increasingly rejected him.