Christian Nationalism and Missions: A Kingdom-First Perspective
Christian nationalism and missions can come into tension when devotion to country becomes intertwined with devotion to God. Patrick Nullens considers patriotism, nationalism, the kingdom of God, Christianity in public life, and the effect national identity can have on Christian witness across cultures.
- Christian loyalty to God’s kingdom must remain greater than loyalty to any nation.
- Christian faith can contribute to public life without becoming a tool of nationalism or political power.
- Nationalism can damage missions when the gospel becomes confused with American culture or national interests.
By Patrick Nullens
I’ll never forget my first trip to America. After landing in Chicago, I thought, It’s like the movies. I took a cab to a huge hotel. As most tired travelers do, I switched on the cheap television set. That was when I experienced my first cultural shock.
A well-dressed woman with giant artificial pink nails was resting her hands on a stack of postcards and praying for sick people. After reading each card, she prayed for each request, one by one. As she prayed eloquently and piously, a number for financial contributions flashed across the bottom of the screen.
I was stunned. Two drastically different worlds were blended in the blink of an eye: commercialism and prayer. This was my course in American Religion 101.
Religion seemed to be a very natural part of American culture. Personal Christianity was like Coca-Cola, the Statue of Liberty, Disneyland, and McDonald’s. We Europeans tend to whisper about religion, but Americans aren’t bothered to shout out their “personal faith.” Religion is like a sweet soda that you can combine with everything as long as it is edible, tasteful or . . . less tasteful.
Americans challenged all of my gastronomical borders. You can blend vanilla ice cream with Coca-Cola and call it a float. So why not blend religion with patriotism? After all, the founding fathers were devoted Christians and the puritan pillars of American society. Why should we be against being a Christian American nationalist?
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines nationalism as “a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing
