"Of Faith and Flags: When Government Begins to Feel Like God"

Caught Between Altars: A visual reflection on how government and religion intersect in devotion, identity, and power.

Introduction: A Soldier, A Christian, and A Citizen

As someone who has stood in uniform and saluted the flag, and who now bows in reverence before God, I’ve come to a sobering realization: the lines between what we worship and what we obey are becoming increasingly blurred.

I don’t say this to condemn, but to reflect—because I still believe in civic duty. I pay taxes. I vote. I serve my community. But when I look around and see people following governments and ideologies with the same zeal as religion, I can’t help but ask: Have our governments become our gods?

The answer is complicated. This isn’t about Democrat or Republican, conservative or progressive. This is about what we, as people, have started to believe, follow, and defend—with our mouths, our money, and sometimes, our lives.

The Behavioral Mirror: Religion and Government in Action

By definition, religion and government are distinct:

• Religion is spiritual, moral, eternal.

• Government is structural, legal, temporal.

But in action, they look strikingly similar.

Both ask for allegiance.

Both enforce consequences.

Both offer identity and meaning.

Both shape moral narratives.

Both inspire people to die—or kill—for a cause.

When people say they’re willing to "die for their country" or "stand for the movement no matter what," what exactly are they standing in?

Because devotion, blind or otherwise, doesn't always wear a cross. Sometimes it flies a flag, wears a badge, holds a microphone, or controls a courtroom.

Sacred Scripts and Secular Codes

In churches, we are guided by scripture. In courtrooms, by law. But people don’t always distinguish between the two.

In both spaces:

• There are rituals (prayers or pledges).

• There are symbols (crosses or flags).

• There are leaders (pastors or presidents).

• There are judgments (sin or treason).

• There is faith—not always in God, but in governance.

When belief in political ideology becomes unquestionable, it functions as religion. When rights are dictated not by conscience, but by what the state allows, we trade divine morality for legal permission.

The Role of Proximity: Who Gets Cared For and Who Gets Ignored

This is where my reflection sharpens.

I’ve seen how people are taken care of based on proximity to power—not principle. And this, too, mirrors corrupted religion. Just as church leaders in history gave indulgences to the wealthy, modern systems reward access over equity.

• Some people get care. Others get silence.

• Some get justice. Others get bureaucracy.

• Some get forgiveness. Others get condemnation.

It’s not because they’re more deserving—but because they’re closer to the people who decide.

This isn't just political. It's personal. And it begs the question: If God declares all lives valuable, why does the government protect some like idols and treat others like statistics?

Living in the World, But Not of It

As a follower of Christ, I live in tension.

I’m told to honor authority (Romans 13), yet also to discern when that authority contradicts righteousness (Acts 5:29). Jesus Himself said, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21)—implying that not everything belongs to government, even if it demands it.

But today, many act as if Caesar owns everything. Morality. Identity. Loyalty. Even truth.

And while I can’t withdraw from society, I refuse to be consumed by it. That’s the tension of faith: being present without being possessed.

Extremism: A Failure of Understanding, Not Just Belief

If knowledge were enough, we wouldn’t have extremism. But knowledge isn’t understanding. And understanding doesn’t always become action.

We see extremism on every side:

• In those who idolize political leaders.

• In those who demonize dissent.

• In those who spiritualize their movements but strip them of grace.

They may wear different colors, wave different signs, or quote different texts—but the passion is the same. It’s a fire without a filter.

And both governments and religions have been guilty of stoking that fire when it serves their power.

Confirmation Bias, False Gods, and Righteous Resistance

Our society is saturated in confirmation bias—people believing what they want, then finding institutions to support that belief. It doesn’t matter if it’s true. It only matters if it feels good, feels right, or affirms their tribe.

So we now worship what works for us, not what is righteous.

That’s how government becomes god. That’s how political identity replaces moral clarity. And that’s how good people do nothing, because they’re afraid to say that both sides might be wrong.

Or that maybe, just maybe, no system was ever meant to save us.

Closing Reflection: Choosing Conviction Over Comfort

This isn’t a condemnation. It’s a call to observe more honestly.

I don’t write this from a place of superiority—but from discomfort. From a place where my lived experience as a Soldier, a citizen, a believer, and a Black man tells me that something is off.

We’ve given our allegiance to systems that ask for everything—but offer very little in return unless we already belong.

We’ve traded reverence for reaction. We’ve mistaken law for love. And we’ve forgotten that just because something is legal or popular doesn't mean it's righteous.

So I challenge you, as I challenge myself:

• Don’t worship the state.

• Don’t idolize the movement.

• Don’t confuse power with purpose.

• And don’t let your convictions die in silence because the culture tells you to choose a side.

Truth doesn’t require a majority.It requires courage.

And that, my brothers and sisters, is something no flag, party, or platform can manufacture.

Sources and Related Readings

• Augustine, City of God (5th Century) — On the relationship between earthly kingdoms and the Kingdom of God

• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail — On civil disobedience and divine justice

• Reinhold Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society — On how individuals behave differently within systems

• Niebuhr, Reinhold. (1952). The Irony of American History. Charles Scribner’s Sons.

• The Holy Bible – Matthew 22:21, Romans 13, Acts 5:29

• Yuval Levin, The Great Debate – On ideology replacing moral philosophy

• Stanley Hauerwas, Resident Aliens – On being faithful Christians in a post-Christian world

#FaithAndGovernment #ChristianReflection #CivilDisobedience #PowerAndProximity #SocialObservation #BeyondPolitics #GovernmentVsGod