A plainspoken case against turning national identity into a sacred cause—and against using Christianity as a path to power.
How faith gets twisted into power
Nationalism is not patriotism turned up louder. Patriotism can love a country while telling the truth about it. Nationalism treats the nation as supreme, divides the world into insiders and outsiders, and measures human worth by identity, birthplace, or tribe. That collides with America’s promise of freedom and equal rights—and with the heart of the Christian faith.
Nationalism vs. the American Idea
America’s promise is not that one group gets to rule everyone else. It is that all people are created equal and should live under equal law. The country has often failed that ideal, but the ideal still matters. Nationalism pulls the other way. It says some people count more than others, some belong more fully than others, and rights can be sorted by identity. That is not freedom. It is favoritism with a flag.
Once that mindset takes hold, equal rights become fragile. Freedom becomes something reserved for the “right” people instead of protected for everyone. The question shifts from “How do we defend every person’s dignity?” to “Who stays on top?” A healthy love of country can inspire gratitude, sacrifice, and service. Nationalism demands loyalty at the expense of truth, compassion, and justice. It does not simply love a nation. It makes the nation an idol.
When Christianity Gets Mixed with Nationalism
That is why mixing Christianity with nationalism is so dangerous. Jesus called His followers to love their neighbors, care for the vulnerable, and reject the lure of status and power (Matthew 22:39; Mark 10:42-45). Christian nationalism often does the opposite. It asks not, “How can we serve?” but “How can we control?” It turns faith into a political brand and the church into a voting bloc. At that point, Christianity starts looking less like discipleship and more like a campaign strategy.
Jesus never told His followers to seize power so they could force belief on others. He said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). Paul reminded believers that their deepest citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Those verses do not call Christians to withdraw from public life. They do make one thing clear: the kingdom of God is bigger than any nation, party, or flag. When Christianity is used mainly to win power, it stops sounding like good news and starts sounding like control.
What Paul’s Message in Athens Means in Plain Language
In Acts 17, Paul speaks to people in Athens who do not know the God of Israel. He does not begin with religious jargon. He begins with creation, life, breath, and the human search for meaning (Acts 17:22-25). He even uses their altar “To the Unknown God” as a bridge to the truth. Paul meets people where they are without softening his message. That is persuasion without domination.
Then Paul makes a statement that destroys every claim of ethnic or national superiority: God “made from one man every nation” (Acts 17:26). In plain language, we are one human family. No nation is more human than another. No race stands closer to God by bloodline. Paul says elsewhere, “There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). That is the opposite of nationalist pride. It is a vision of equal dignity under one Creator.
The Bible does speak about God guiding the history of nations and giving Israel a particular place in His larger story (Deuteronomy 32:8). But that is not a license for arrogance or holy tribalism. The whole earth belongs to God, and His saving purpose reaches all nations (Psalm 24:1; Matthew 28:19). Even when Scripture speaks of particular peoples and places, the larger message is universal: God is Lord over all, and His mercy is not confined by borders.
That is why nationalism is such a bad bargain for Christians. It offers the thrill of belonging, the rush of superiority, and the illusion of strength. But it cannot produce what the gospel requires: love rooted in truth. The gospel tears down the walls people build to rank one another (Ephesians 2:14). Nationalism rebuilds those walls and paints them in sacred colors. One calls us to humility, repentance, reconciliation, and love. The other feeds suspicion, rivalry, and pride.
Why This Matters Now
This matters now because we are living through deep division, rising distrust, and growing pressure to sort people into “real Americans” and everyone else. You can see it in current fights over religion and public institutions—for example, recent efforts to require the Ten Commandments in public-school classrooms. Supporters may call that a return to values, but many families hear something else: the government favoring one religious tradition over others. And when the government favors one faith, religious freedom weakens for everyone else by turning freedom of belief into pressure to conform. Wrapped in Christian language, that mindset can make exclusion sound righteous and unequal treatment sound moral. That is bad for democracy, bad for the church, and bad for our neighbors.
A Better Way Forward
If America is going to honor its highest ideals, it must defend freedom and equal rights for everyone—not just the powerful or culturally dominant. And if Christians want to be faithful to Jesus, they must refuse to confuse the kingdom of God with the ambitions of any nation. The church is at its best when it speaks truth to power, loves across lines of difference, and remembers that every human being bears God-given worth. We are one human family. No one has the right to mistreat, dominate, or look down on another person because of race, nationality, language, or background (Acts 17:26; Leviticus 19:33-34). A decent society and a faithful church both begin there.
Minister A Francine Green, May 2026
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Bibliography Sources
The Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. References used in the essay include Matthew 22:39; Mark 10:42-45; John 18:36; Acts 17:22-26; Philippians 3:20; Galatians 3:28; Deuteronomy 32:8; Psalm 24:1; Matthew 28:19; Ephesians 2:14; and Leviticus 19:33-34.
Gorski, Philip S., and Samuel L. Perry. The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
Whitehead, Andrew L., and Samuel L. Perry. Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States. Updated ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
Miller, Paul D. The Religion of American Greatness: What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2024.