Should Christians Pledge Allegiance to the Flag?
I’ve been corresponding with a good friend on the topic of whether or not a Christian would be in the right to oppose pledging allegiance to the American flag. We have a mutual friend who has expressed his opposition to the pledge, and the friend with whom I’m corresponding disagrees with such a stand. Here are some of the things I shared with him on the topic.
Dear “David,”
When they think of what it means to “pledge allegiance” to our country and its flag, some think of those millions of American “Christians” who put country before God. If not assigning one over the other, the mantra “God and Country” feels like placing them as equals in class.
The conflation of the status of God and country is called “Christian Nationalism.” Surprisingly, some people even like to call themselves Christian Nationalists. Though it’s not a monolithic club, in many cases the ideology of Christian Nationalism includes such things as their view of how America began and how they interpret so-called separation of “church and state.” Their voice is quite loud these days and has made a huge impact on the thinking of a lot of Americans.
For most people, taking the Pledge of Allegiance is simply a promise to be good citizens of the United States. And they do their best to be just that. Their version of good citizenship aligns with a biblical worldview of love and service to neighbors (near and afar). But one poll showed that only 13% of white evangelicals value their religious beliefs more than their nationality! To state the obvious, that leaves 87% who think more highly of their country of origin than their relationship with the God who put them here to begin with.
What’s worse, many of these people view the call to citizenship to include a possible violent overthrow of the current government. We saw this in technicolor on January 6 with people who were willing to overturn a presidential election by whatever means necessary!
Surely, one could pledge allegiance to the flag and country based on their personal understanding of what it means to them without aligning themselves with those who think more nationalistically. While it might wound the conscience of one and not another, some might refuse to take the pledge as it feels to them like it identifies them with those who put country before God (if God factors in at all). In such case, it boils down to personal conviction, like the issue in Corinth of eating meat offered to idols.
All that said, some people recoil at “allegiance” to a country or its flag as it feels like aligning with those moments in our recent history like January 6 where banners put an American flag next to a picture of Jesus or the signs that said: “Jesus is my Savior-Trump is my President” or “Jesus Saves, Trump Leads.” My personal favorite (Not!) is: “God has chosen him and is protecting him!” Of course, the worst scene that day was the noose they hung on gallows for Vice President Mike Pence. That’s the worst of Christian Nationalism.
I think a person can love their country and its flag without pledging allegiance to it. On the other hand, those elected to office or those in the military may need to take the pledge as ones whose task it is to defend the nation and its people. I would think it would actually be mandatory, since, if they were to join the “other team” it would be considered traitorous, not to mention the danger it would pose to our country.
Whether this clarifies or muddies the issue for you, “David,” I appreciate the opportunity to make me think through it a bit. And I’d be happy to hear more of your thoughts on the issue if you’re inclined. Any pushback would be appreciated.
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And I say the same to you, my readers. If you have some thoughts on the matter, one way or another, I’d be happy to hear them.
For a Deeper Dive here are a couple of previous posts of mine:
