by Johnny Zokovitch
Anyone paying attention is aware of the way that many of our political leaders are conflating their understanding of Christianity with their embrace of American patriotism. The result is a brand of Christian nationalism that bears little resemblance to the person of Jesus and the message of the gospel. We see it most poignantly in events like the recent “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving” and the efforts of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to offer religious justifications for everything from the Iran war to the remaking of the US Armed Forces. A great deal of time and energy is spent cataloging and criticizing (rightly) the way that Christian nationalism is playing out at the highest levels of our government.
What is less publicized, but perhaps more insidious, is the way that Christian nationalism is permeating our churches at the local level. A recent worship experience at a Catholic Church in the US I visited earlier this month offered a case in point.
As I sat in the pew waiting for the liturgy to begin, I leafed through the bulletin. The bulletin itself was 16 pages long (!) covering all the things you typically find in a bulletin – Mass intentions, office hours, a reflection on the Gospel reading – and a few things that showcase the confusion and ambiguity that seems all too prevalent in our churches when they try to navigate the waters of faith and patriotism.
For instance, on back to back pages were two featured ads. The first was a plea to “pray for peace” with a short quote from Pope Francis and a dove superimposed over the Earth. Facing this ad on the next page was a larger one for a “Memorial Day Tribute Book,” where parishioners were invited to add the names of their loved ones who died in service to our nation. The names would then be read at the Masses of the Memorial Day weekend. The language of the ad included the typical appeal to how so many have died for our freedoms, with special emphasis placed on how their sacrifice was for “our freedom to gather and worship today.”
Most glaring, though, was the quote at the top of the ad, attributed to the author Claudia Pemberton: “America without her soldiers would be like God without His angels.” The quote itself is problematic on numerous levels – equating God and the United States, etc. – but what I found more distressing is how this ad typifies the subtle way that nationalism is blended with our faith, how it blurs the line between the two. And that someone – the pastor? – either didn’t raise a flag about it or otherwise isn’t concerned about the slippery way that Christian nationalism is infiltrating our worship.
Additionally, the church was promoting a program called “Into the Breach,” described as a “call to battle for ALL Catholic men, urging them to embrace masculine virtues in a world at crisis.” The program was inspired by former Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, and the video promoting it traffics in traditional images of masculinity that overlap with the appeal of Christian nationalism, identifying physical strength with spiritual power (images of men working out and lifting weights, playing football) and promoting the US military as an example of answering “the call to battle” (the video features soldiers jumping out of a helicopter, wielding weapons, etc.)
The Christian nationalism inherent in the bulletin made its way into Mass as well, primarily in the prayers for the faithful for “our” soldiers at war.
But, and this I think is the most frustrating part, such messaging was juxtaposed with our closing song, “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace,” an adaptation of the Peace Prayer of St. Francis, as well as several other overtures on the importance of peace by the presider. One can forgive the pew-occupying Catholic for not quite understanding where the Church stands on war and peace when we’re receiving such mixed messages.
The all-out embrace of Christian nationalism within the Trump administration is bad enough. Seeing the way it trickles down to our local churches, achieving validation from pastoral leaders who are trusted by the faithful to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, might end up being the greater danger.
Johnny Zokovitch is the former executive director of Pax Christi USA. He currently serves on the board of the Pax Christi International Fund for Peace and is in pastoral leadership at St. Cronan Catholic Church in St. Louis. Read more from Johnny at https://johnnyzokovitch.substack.com/ and sign up there to receive his articles directly to your email inbox.
The above essay by Johnny Zokovitch should be read closely because it alerts us to a real sickness within Holy Mother Church, Christian Nationalism, that has been developing for some time now and that has the potential to metastasize and sabotage our faith, especially the faith of children and adolescents. Yes, I too head the accolades and prayers for whom our parish referred to as our fallen defenders of freedom at the Memorial Day Mass last weekend and quietly prayed for them, not as military heroes, but as victims who were overwhelmingly working-class youths who spent their lives or mangled their bodies and minds for the cynical politicians from both major parties who are on the take from corporate donors for whom war is a source of corporate profit and personal richness. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Holy Spirit, through Pope Leo and his MAGNÍFICA HUMANITAS, reaffirms what Pax Christi and others have steadfastly proclaimed: NO TO WAR, including the cynically called Just War. The blowback on this statement has been fast and firm in Catholic, not to mention, Evangelical, groups and we should not expect that at Mass this weekend or the next any deep discussion of the encyclical and what it says about war will happen. I will find a vastly more meaningful discussion of Leo’s view on war in discussion groups with my mostly agnostic academic colleagues. Wish Johnny could preside those discussions.
David-Ross Gerling, PhD