Proud To Be an American

As we have left our annual celebration of Independence Day in the rear-view mirror, I think it's important that we consider what it means to be a Christian living in America: how we are to regard our country and how we can be faithful citizens in the Kingdom of God while recognizing that God has placed us in the United States for His purpose. I think of the words of the apostle Paul in Acts 17:
24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25 Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'

At the end of June, there was an article that ran at the Newsweek website.  It reported:

Only 58 percent of Americans reported feeling very or extremely proud of their country, according to a Gallup poll conducted from June 2 to June 19. That's the lowest point since 2001, when the pollster began asking the question in its surveys.

The article went on to say:

That drop is largely fueled by Gen Z voters, only 41 percent of whom said they are proud to be an American in an average of polls from 2021 to 2025. This compares to 58 percent of millennials, 71 percent of Gen X, 75 percent of baby boomers and 83 percent of the Silent Generation.

The article quotes Jeffrey M. Jones of Gallup, who said, "At the beginning of the 21st century, U.S. adults were nearly unanimous in saying they were extremely or very proud to be Americans. But that national unity has eroded over the past 25 years due to a combination of political and generational changes." And, that's a problem, according to Costas Panagopoulos of Northeastern University, who stated: "It's quite worrying in part because America is what it is because of our ability historically to come together as a nation to solve national and even global problems. And if we cannot unite as a country to do that around our identity as Americans, it is problematic."

The same day, FoxNews.com published not only a story about the Gallup poll, but an article about its own Fox News poll - interestingly enough, the headline result was identical. The article stated:

Fifty-eight percent say they are proud of the country. That’s up 13 percentage points since June 2024 and the highest since 2011 when a record 69% were proud. By contrast, 41% are not proud. The survey was completed before recent events in the Middle East, including U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and President Donald Trump brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

80% of white evangelical Christians indicated that they were proud of their country. 

Pollster Daron Shaw noted: "Although pride in the U.S.A. seems like it should be above partisan wrangling, that’s only partially borne out by the data..."  

The Fox poll also found:

A 68% majority of voters also agrees the U.S. is the best country in the world to live in (30% disagree). While that’s roughly where sentiment has been for the last four years, it doesn’t match the 8 in 10 who felt the same in 2015 (83%) and 2011 (84%) when the question was first asked.

But over 8 out of 10 expressed concern over the country's future. 

Two surveys, same results, different reference points on the major headline: almost 6 out of 10 people are proud to be Americans. 

Believers in Christ are not citizens of this world - we are part of a heavenly Kingdom.  And, where our Kingdom mentality intersects with the earthly kingdoms, nations of the world, we can find room for God to work in our lives.

So, we can recognize that we have been placed here by God.  And, we can rejoice in our God-ordained location. I believe He wants us to be good stewards of our role as residents of this nation, as well as our state, county, and city, if that's applicable.  It is certainly appropriate for Christians to express love for and even gratitude for our country, but we must always remember to love God first. 

Because of the calling placed on our lives, we have opportunities to serve the Lord in civic life.  We can certainly pray for our nation and pray for its leaders.  We can remember the Biblical principles upon which our nation was founded, including freedom to practice our faith, and we can be thankful.

And, out of that thankfulness, we can look for ways to be salt and light, to integrate the principles to which we adhere into the direction of the political sphere.  We can vote according to the dictates of our conscience, informed by the Scripture, and exercise our Christian and civic duty to select candidates who best reflect our deeply held beliefs.  We can reach out to lawmakers and those involved in the realm of policy in order to influence their decisions, and pray that they would receive and exercise godly wisdom.  We can be devoted to bring our heavenly citizenship into our earthly activities.