Faith and Flags

Do American Flags Belong in the Sanctuary?

I had the opportunity to attend a two-and-a-half-day Black Church leadership intensive designed to serve as a place for reflection and reenergizing for the work ahead. I was honored to be invited, and it was only when I arrived that I understood how much I needed this space.

During our time together, the subject of the American flag came up, as it is a prominent fixture in many of our sanctuaries. Listening to the discussion took me back to a time when I had a brief conversation after service with someone who noticed that we do not have the American flag in the sanctuary during our worship services. He wanted to know why and wondered aloud if I had a problem with the flag. I assured him that I do not have a problem with the flag, but I do not think flags should have a place in our sanctuaries. Then the kicker—he said to me, “It’s because of that flag that you have the freedom to worship the way you do in this country.”

I again reaffirmed to him that I did not have anything against the flag, but do have a problem with it being in worship. First, I said, your position that the reason why I can worship the way I do is because of the flag is wrong, because I would like to think that I would still worship the God I serve even if it were illegal. A government or state institution does not dictate my worship or belief, and it is not supported or affirmed by my allegiance to any state symbol, i.e., the flag. Surely, the only reason why you worship the way you do is not that the state allows you to, but because of your personal beliefs in Jesus, or I would like to think so.

Second, the flag is a symbol of the state, and we must remember, for Christians, our allegiance is to Jesus and not any state or government institution. In short, having a flag in your sanctuary is blasphemous and idolatrous. Now, I know this is hard for you and many folks to grasp because the state and God are so intertwined that it is hard to determine which is which. For you, the flag makes sense in sanctuaries because by showing allegiance to this “great” country, we in turn celebrate God. God and country go hand in hand, and whatever the state does, God approves. However, when we look at our own faith history, the state executed the man we affirm as “Lord” because that man would show only allegiance to God.

Jesus’ execution (yes, execution) was not something as special as we make it out to be, simply because when the state “lifted him up,” there were at least two more executions going on at the same time. Moreover, despite our resurrection theologies, if we believe that those who executed Jesus had in mind that he was to “rise on the third day and redeem humankind back unto God,” we are sadly mistaken. They thought that in executing Jesus, they were getting rid of a problem.

After I shared this with him, he paused for a moment, actually agreed with some of my positions, and openly confessed that he never “thought of it that way before.” I thanked him for the conversation, and by talking this out, it helped me formulate my own thoughts about this as well, and now I am more resolute than ever that flags do not belong in our sanctuaries.