Nationalism is a philosophy of prioritizing the health and mythos of a nation to be superior to that of the identities and beliefs of the individual. In the United States the concept of nationalism is often intersected with a default belief that nationalistic pride in the USA is also connected to a pride of being free to live your life however you see fit; but that is rarely what is seen in practice.
In nearly all instances of US nationalistic pride we have seen clear identity politics used to declare who is and is not a “good citizen” of the country through arbitrary lenses of identity, expression, and politics. Those who identify with nationalistic pride to be “American” are often assuming the term to only be understood to apply to citizens of the United States born within our borders, often dismisses immigrants as not being “true Americans” unless they have fully assimilated away from their country/culture of origin, and typically default to viewing an American to be white, cisgender, heterosexual, Christian, and capitalistic; though no one would expressly say it this way. The experience of non-white folks in the US enlightens us to the reality of this situation and the struggle that many have when being asked “where are [they] from” and whether they “speak English” without an accent that denotes foreign upbringing.
Nationalism connected with a sense of Christian identity in the United States is a result of the 1954 edit to the Pledge of Allegiance that added the phrase “Under God” to the recitation that was and is still used to indoctrinate children into fidelity to our nations flag. This indoctrination to the flag includes the closing remark and sentiment of “liberty and justice for all” but combined with a subtextual mythos of the US being a White dominated Christian nation the inclusion of “all” does not include non-Christians and depending on the internal lens may not include non-White folks as well. Racism and heritage to slavery policies is still a debated issue in the cultural South and is one of worthy discourse when notating the use of the Confederate Flag for any official office, state, or public representation of a people.
Focusing on the concept of identity politics and Christian Nationalism, it is important to understand that a nation consecrated as a “Christian Nation” would be one for which non-Christians are second class citizens by default and for which determination of what is an acceptable form of Christianity could even develop (Catholics vs. Protestants for example). Exclusion of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hinduists, Taoists, Shintoists, Pagans, Wiccans, Zoroastrians, mystics & other traditions would rob us of a diverse body of culture that allows for perpetual growth and challenge to each and every one of us regarding what spirituality means to us and what spiritual practices work for ourselves, communities, and families.
Darling Mental Health therefore takes a political stand to state that Christian Nationalism is not a healthy form of societal organization and the risks to individual freedoms that arise when a nation adopts a rigid expectation of religious identities is robbing its citizens of the right to individual exploration and discovery in how we may relate to divinity. No nation that wishes to demonstrate equality, justice, and fairness to all within its borders can therefore be restrictive of religious identity or connect religious identity/heritage with citizenship or privilege.
Furthermore, we believe that categorical support and understanding of politics as “us vs. them” or any other form of party politic exclusivity results in stunted understanding of the policies being developed and has allowed for rampant corruption and misdirection of what is essential and healthy for a nation to cultivate freedom, liberty, and justice for all. In our pursuit of happiness, each and every one of us must feel free to separate from an identity assigned to us so that we may authentically understand who we can be and what we can do to help our fellow man cultivate a world where it is realized that all people are equal members of our one human family. No conditions.
