By Dr. James Spencer for TOWNHALL
Is there a place for religion in government? It depends on who you ask. In Neighborly Faith’s 2023 study titled “Christian Nationalism: A New Approach,” one of the widest gaps between those classified as Christian Nationalist (CN) “adherents” and those identified as “Zealous Separationists” involved differing perspectives on the statement “Religion has no place in government.” More than 50 percent of CN adherents strongly disagreed with the statement, while approximately 75 percent of Separationists strongly agreed with it.
So, what role does religion, particularly Christianity, play in American government? To answer that question, we need to acknowledge that the Church and state are distinct. The Church is the community of Jews and non-Jews united in Christ called to point to and glorify the Triune God (Eph 2:11-22; 1 Pet 2:9). The state is a provisional set of governing authorities appointed by God to exercise judgment and maintain order (Rom 13:1-7). Biblically, the Church and state are distinct. They have separate functions though, at times, overlapping concerns. Christians must allow both to exercise their unique, God-given roles. However, when we distinguish Church and state, we will quickly recognize that we are dealing with two political bodies and two religions.
World religions (e.g., Christianity, Islam, Judaism) make theological claims. What we often overlook are the theological claims made by civil authorities. Such claims are often used to justify the actions of the state and to inspire adherence to the mandates of the state. This civil religion is not neutral. While the civil religion of the United States allows for the free exercise of other religions, that does not mean the religious claims of American civil religion are aligned with the claims of all other religions.
While some scholars, including sociologist Robert Bellah, suggest that American civil religion was not intended to replace Christianity, they neglect the complete allegiance to God called for in Scripture (Deut 6:4-5; Matt 22:34-40). We are to have no other gods besides Him (Exodus 20:3; Deut 5:7). Suggesting that American civil religion is compatible with Christianity rejects Christianity’s exclusive claims. Suggesting that American civil religion is Christianity is similarly problematic because it collapses the distinction between the Church and state. Whereas Christian theology calls the Church to point to and glorify the Triune God, the state’s theology serves the interests of the state. From a Christian perspective, we need to recognize that the god of civil religion is, at best, like the unknown God of the Athenians (Acts 17:22-34) and, at worst, like Jeroboam’s golden calves (1 Kgs 12:25-33).
