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Recent polls indicate that feelings of patriotism are at an all-time low in the United States. This is especially the case for younger Americans, who are less likely than their older counterparts to describe themselves as patriotic, and less inclined to participate in displays of patriotism. On one hand this is nothing new: According to a Pew Research Center study, the generational divide has played a role in whether a person identifies as patriotic since at least 2003. And, as Sara Pequeño pointed out in an article for USA Today, boomers who call themselves patriots today were once “protesting the Vietnam War by marching in the streets and burning American flags.”
This also comes at a time when religious affiliation is on the wane. And the discussion around patriotism in the United States is tangled up in ideas about faith, God, and divine will. For instance, one PRRI poll found that 44% of people surveyed think God has granted the United States a special role in human history.
But is this what patriotism means? How should people of faith think about their obligations to their country?
On this episode of Glad You Asked, the hosts talk to religion scholar and public intellectual Dr. Lewis Brogdon, who was recently appointed executive director of JustFaith Ministries. Brogdon has also served in leadership and teaching roles in various academic institutions, and is a regular contributor to a number of publications and the author of several books, most recently The Gospel Beyond the Grave: Toward a Black Theology of Hope (Wipf and Stock Publishers).
You can learn more about this topic, and read some of Brogdon’s work, in these links:
- “True patriotism is about building bridges, not walls,” by Mark Shea
- “Teach kids the complicated truth about American heroes,” by Kathleen Bonnette
- “Any religion allied with nationalism is dangerous,” by Stephen Schneck
- “Christians Can Be Bad Neighbors? Reflections on Luke 10:25-37 and My Visit to the United Nations,” by Lewis Brogdon
- “Can justice movements lose their soul?” by Lewis Brogdon
- “Why most bow,” by Lewis Brogdon
