Post by addisona on May 26, 2022 2:35:32 GMT
What’s the difference between Christian nationalism and healthy patriotism?
Recent events including the Buffalo shootings and the leaked Supreme Court decision on abortion have rekindled conversation about “white nationalism” and “Christian nationalism.” It’s becoming more common to see all the words combined into “white Christian nationalism” and even used interchangeably with “white supremacy.”
In all this, it’s often taken for granted that people should know what’s being talked about, even though definitions are hardly ever given. What exactly is being referenced by these terms? And what’s the difference between a patriotic attachment to one’s country that is healthy and something else — and how do you know when you’ve shifted into that place?
Millions of Americans have a deep love for their country, including many who are not religious. And among people of faith, it’s a fairly common belief that God has blessed America throughout its history and used the country in ways that bless the world. Similar convictions have been shared by virtually every American president over the years, on both sides of the political spectrum.
Yet there’s a growing sense in public discourse that the “blessings” in America’s past and present are actually worrisome “privilege” and that talk of American exceptionalism is inherently prideful, and a bad thing. In this narrative, America’s influence and wealth is ill-begotten, and more deserving of anguish and shame than gratitude.
In “How nationalism Can Destroy a Nation,” Kenyon College professor Lewis Hyde argues that attempts to consolidate national identity too often obscure other meaningful demographic differences that should not be forgotten. Yet in “The Virtue of nationalism,” by contrast, Israeli-American political theorist Yoram Hazony makes the case that nationalism is a “safeguard of liberty” in the world today by uniquely providing “the collective right of a free people to rule themselves” and a national identity based not on race or biological sameness, but on “bonds of mutual loyalty.”
More than competing views of nationalism alone, I suspect we may be talking about two very different things. Although there are plenty of nuances, there are at least three signs that a healthy love of God and country may have turned into something else, reflecting instead a grievance-based nationalism.
1. Casting opponents as dangerous enemies. Can people love our country in different ways, and hold very different ideas about what it needs?
Healthy patriotism says yes; unhealthy nationalism says no and goes even farther: If someone doesn’t share my view of what’s best, they’re clearly a threat to the country.
2. A total fusion of religion and politics. Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was “not of this world.” Yet his followers have been encouraged to pray, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” So it’s only understandable that modern disciples feel a nudge to get involved in many civic issues of the day.
That’s a good thing, as is sharing the gospel message openly in the public square. But when distinctions between politics and religion dissolve completely, other challenges arise.
3. Aggressive public engagement driven by anger and fear. Of course, there are good reasons to be frustrated and concerned about America today. Yet it’s easy in our hyperpolarized atmosphere to get worked up to a boiling point — goaded by incessant digital content seemingly designed to invoke outrage or panic.
Whether or not we allow darker emotions — such as rage and contempt — into our political engagement matters a lot.
www.deseret.com/2022/5/23/23131412/perspective-whats-the-difference-between-christian-nationalism-and-healthy-patriotism-supremacy
Recent events including the Buffalo shootings and the leaked Supreme Court decision on abortion have rekindled conversation about “white nationalism” and “Christian nationalism.” It’s becoming more common to see all the words combined into “white Christian nationalism” and even used interchangeably with “white supremacy.”
In all this, it’s often taken for granted that people should know what’s being talked about, even though definitions are hardly ever given. What exactly is being referenced by these terms? And what’s the difference between a patriotic attachment to one’s country that is healthy and something else — and how do you know when you’ve shifted into that place?
Millions of Americans have a deep love for their country, including many who are not religious. And among people of faith, it’s a fairly common belief that God has blessed America throughout its history and used the country in ways that bless the world. Similar convictions have been shared by virtually every American president over the years, on both sides of the political spectrum.
Yet there’s a growing sense in public discourse that the “blessings” in America’s past and present are actually worrisome “privilege” and that talk of American exceptionalism is inherently prideful, and a bad thing. In this narrative, America’s influence and wealth is ill-begotten, and more deserving of anguish and shame than gratitude.
In “How nationalism Can Destroy a Nation,” Kenyon College professor Lewis Hyde argues that attempts to consolidate national identity too often obscure other meaningful demographic differences that should not be forgotten. Yet in “The Virtue of nationalism,” by contrast, Israeli-American political theorist Yoram Hazony makes the case that nationalism is a “safeguard of liberty” in the world today by uniquely providing “the collective right of a free people to rule themselves” and a national identity based not on race or biological sameness, but on “bonds of mutual loyalty.”
More than competing views of nationalism alone, I suspect we may be talking about two very different things. Although there are plenty of nuances, there are at least three signs that a healthy love of God and country may have turned into something else, reflecting instead a grievance-based nationalism.
1. Casting opponents as dangerous enemies. Can people love our country in different ways, and hold very different ideas about what it needs?
Healthy patriotism says yes; unhealthy nationalism says no and goes even farther: If someone doesn’t share my view of what’s best, they’re clearly a threat to the country.
2. A total fusion of religion and politics. Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was “not of this world.” Yet his followers have been encouraged to pray, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” So it’s only understandable that modern disciples feel a nudge to get involved in many civic issues of the day.
That’s a good thing, as is sharing the gospel message openly in the public square. But when distinctions between politics and religion dissolve completely, other challenges arise.
3. Aggressive public engagement driven by anger and fear. Of course, there are good reasons to be frustrated and concerned about America today. Yet it’s easy in our hyperpolarized atmosphere to get worked up to a boiling point — goaded by incessant digital content seemingly designed to invoke outrage or panic.
Whether or not we allow darker emotions — such as rage and contempt — into our political engagement matters a lot.
www.deseret.com/2022/5/23/23131412/perspective-whats-the-difference-between-christian-nationalism-and-healthy-patriotism-supremacy