Should Christians Be Patriotic? What the Bible Says

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This year, Americans will celebrate 250 years as a nation. Though we are a young nation compared to many others in the world, it is a significant milestone for this experiment in human government. Benjamin Franklin, the elder statesman of the Founding Fathers, is said to have once remarked when asked what he and his colleagues were creating, “A republic, if you can keep it.” We have kept it for two and a half centuries so far, and we pray that the freedoms we enjoy will continue for our children and grandchildren.

But celebration of these freedoms raises a question: How should Christians think about patriotism? In my book, I define patriotism as “love of country as manifested in loyalty, service to, and giving honor to one’s country.”¹ Does this sentiment align with faithful spiritual practice? Or is it at odds with a life devoted to Christ?

In this article, I offer four considerations to answer this question.

1. Love is not always a binary choice
2. Love of country is essential for Christian exiles
3. Love of country is an expression of gratitude
4. Love of country is limited
Conclusion
Resources for further reflection

1. Love is not always a binary choice

Jesus did say to his disciples, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Was Jesus saying that his followers should abandon every other earthly and familial allegiance in order to follow him?

To the contrary, in Matthew 15:1–9 Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who abandoned the care of their parents through a loophole in which they dedicated that money to the temple instead. This violated the law of God, which says that children should “honor their father and mother” (Exod 20:12; cf. Eph 6:1–4). Jesus didn’t come to get rid of this good law but to fulfill it (Matt 5:17). Jesus himself, as he was dying on the cross for the sins of his people, took time to ensure that his mother’s welfare would be cared for by his best friend, John (John 19:26). What’s more, we are told in 1 Timothy 5:8 that to not care for our families is a sign that we have “denied the faith and are acting worse than an unbeliever.”

So clearly Jesus wasn’t saying that our loves, our allegiances, or our commitments are always binary, one versus the other. Jesus, instead, is talking about ordering our loves (ordo amoris). In Matthew 6:33, for instance, he urges his disciples to “seek first the kingdom of God” and “all these things will be provided for you” (emphasis added). These lesser commitments should not be the object of worship, but they do matter, as Jesus asserts in the surrounding context of Matthew 6.

This same principle should shape how we think about loving our country. If we love God well, we will love every other commitment in its proper way. In 1 Peter 2:17, we are told to “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor.” This implies a hierarchy, an ordering. We only fear God, but we are to honor those whom God has sovereignly allowed to be put in power (Rom 13).

The fourth-century Church Father Augustine wrote that

living a just and holy life requires one to be capable of an objective and impartial evaluation of things; to love things, that is to say, in the right order, so that you do not love what is not to be loved, or fail to love what is to be loved, or have a greater love for what should be loved less, or an equal love for things that should be loved less or more, or a lesser or greater love for things that should be loved equally.²

Tim Keller is also helpful:

Don’t love anything less; instead learn to love God more, and you will love other things with far more satisfaction. You won’t overprotect them, you won’t over expect things from them. You won’t be constantly furious with them for not being what you hoped. Don’t stifle passionate love for anything; rather, redirect your greatest love toward God by loving him with your whole heart and loving him for himself, and not just for what he can give you. Then, and only then, does the contentment start to come.³

Consider the way we handle our other, lesser allegiances. In 2002, I stood at the altar of my Baptist church in the Chicago suburbs, nervously fidgeting while the pastor guided me through a set of commitments. I vowed—pledged allegiance—to Angela Sullivan. What the pastor didn’t say was that I had to choose between loving God and loving my soon-to-be wife. Instead, he said if we both put God first—if God was our highest allegiance—every other commitment would have its proper place.

If, for instance, I worshiped my wife, I would be expecting things from her that only God could provide. If I idolized my children, I would be a poor father, making demands of them and holding expectations that would crush them.

But if I love my wife and children in the proper ordering under my love for God, then I will love them in a proper way. It’s the same with our love of country. Patriotism becomes disordered only when we place it above our affection for God.

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2. Love of country is essential for Christian exiles

Around 600 BC, Nebuchadnezzar conquered the people of Judah and took them captive to Babylon (Jer 20–29; 2 Kgs 24) in fulfillment of God’s prophecy against their idolatry and apostasy (Isa 39:5–7). Everything they knew—their country, their customs, their language, their roots—was gone. They found themselves in a strange land with very little agency or influence.

False prophets lied to them, telling them this sojourn would be short: Soon they’d escape this situation and have their nation restored. But Jeremiah came along and delivered both bad news and good news. The bad news was that they would be in Babylon for a while. Their children would grow up there. The good news was that God had a plan for them in exile.

This is the full context of that verse we often plaster on coffee mugs and calendars: “I know the plans I have for you …” (Jer 29:11). Jeremiah’s words were not a promise that you would find a convenient parking spot at Costco. They were a word God spoke to his people in the middle of one of the darkest chapters of their history.

But we should listen to God’s instructions for how they were to live while in Babylon: They were to seek the “well-being” or “welfare” of this city where they were exiled. The word here שָׁלוֹם (shalom) implies not merely the absence of conflict but holistic completeness. Consider what God was asking Israel to do here. The exiles were not only to survive Babylon; God called them to put down deep roots and actively work to improve the very nation that had conquered them.

Christians in America are not in the same situation as ancient Israel, but we are called “strangers and exiles” (1 Pet 2:11; Heb 11:13). We are citizens first of the kingdom of God (Phil 3:20). In many ways, the culture around us, even in America, seems foreign and at odds with the way of Christ (Jas 4:4).

Yet our status as exiles doesn’t mean we disengage from our temporary, earthly homes. In fact, Jeremiah’s words to God’s people can and should resonate with us. We should seek the welfare of the places where we live.

It is impossible to pursue the shalom of a nation we actively hate or loathe. Patriotism is not just acceptable but a Christian duty.

This can involve many things, but at the very least, it necessitates love for our nation. It is impossible to pursue the shalom of a nation we actively hate or loathe. This is why I believe patriotism is not just acceptable for a Christian but, properly ordered, is a Christian duty. Richard John Neuhaus went so far as to say it’s “a species of piety.”⁴

3. Love of country is an expression of gratitude

One of the most important postures for a Christian is gratitude. Hundreds of times in both the Old and New Testaments, we are commanded to give thanks. First Thessalonians says it is “the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess 5:18). Romans 1 makes the case that a lack of thankfulness was at the heart of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God (Rom 1:21).

Patriotism is, at its heart, a lifting of our hearts toward God in gratitude for the place where he has sovereignly called us (Acts 17:26). Though America is far from perfect, it has given us much for which to thank God, including many freedoms and much prosperity. We have agency and influence that few people in human history have enjoyed.

G. K. Chesterton observed that patriotism allows us to practice the Christian virtues up close:

The fundamental spiritual advantage of patriotism and such sentiments is this: that by means of it all things are loved adequately, because all things are loved individually … Patriotism begins the praise of the world at the nearest thing, instead of beginning it at the most distant, and thus it insures what is, perhaps, the most essential of all earthly considerations, that nothing upon earth shall go without its due appreciation.⁵

Scripture tells us that we practice our love of God by loving others, especially those whom God has put nearest to us (1 John 4:20). So patriotism allows us to reflect God’s love for the world (John 3:16) by loving those close to us, including the culture, history, and traditions of our nation.

It is easy to grow indifferent to those things that are most familiar. We take our spouses, our children, our churches, and our friends for granted because they are all we happen to see—and what we see are their flaws. The same can happen with our country.

In my classes at Southwestern, I often teach immigrants and the children of immigrants. I’m regularly amazed at their love of America. Why? Because it’s not as familiar to them. Many have escaped totalitarian regimes or have heard their parents talk about the difficult conditions in the nations they have fled. America, to them, seems free and prosperous, a land of opportunity. This perspective facilitates a gratitude we can all learn from.

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4. Love of country is limited

If we rightly order our loves, then we can love our country in the best possible way. Our citizenship in the kingdom of heaven reminds us that as good as America is, it is nothing compared to the future God plans for us in “that city whose builder and maker is God” (Heb 11:10 KJV).

This perspective injects some realism into our politics, helping us resist the futility and frustration of utopianism and allowing us to endure setbacks in the public square and elsewhere. It empowers us to see our neighbors as people to be loved, as sinners in the same need of grace as we are.

What’s more, a properly ordered patriotism resists looking at history through either a shaded or a jaded lens. When we worship America, we will tell our story in ways that whitewash the dark and difficult parts of our history. On the other hand, one can grow cynical, seeing the American project as irredeemably bad, as if our national sins are the only story to tell.

A right love of country helps us learn and tell the American story the way Scripture often tells the story of its flawed characters. Consider how Psalm 78 walks through Israel’s history, both narrating Israel’s sins and recounting her triumphs through God’s rescuing power.

Genuine love of country should motivate us to speak up and speak out when we believe leaders or movements or laws are unjust and unwise.

This posture helps us separate patriotism from blind loyalty to a particular leader or administration. Patriotism does not mean we defend policies that are bad. In fact, genuine love of country should motivate us to speak up and speak out when we believe leaders or movements or laws are unjust and unwise. Chesterton is right. “‘My country, right or wrong,’ is something no patriot would think of saying.”⁶

Conclusion

As your family gathers this year to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, remember that loving the good things God has given you—including our country—is a proper Christian response.

As you pray for America’s future, pray that God will raise up faithful Christian citizens to share the good news of the gospel and love their neighbors as themselves. For it is through the faithful and courageous faith of God’s people that nations are blessed.

Share your thoughts

Does the Bible support patriotism? Join us in the Word by Word group to share your thoughts.

Resources for further reflection

Darling, Daniel. In Defense of Christian Patriotism: Equipping Believers for Political Theology, Civic Duty, and Love of Nation. Broadside Books, 2025.
Neuhaus, Richard John. The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America. Eerdmans, 1984.