Memorial Day and the religious syncretism of the state
During my high school and college years and beyond, I thought about becoming a Catholic priest and made an effort to discern and pray about it over the course of those years.[1] Eventually I discovered that part of my vocation was to marry—Emily and I will celebrate our two-year anniversary this July—and so the presbyteral ordination option was closed. As I have reflected on how my religio-political views have evolved over the last ten years or so, however, I sometimes wonder what sort of trouble I would get into if I had been led to the Catholic priesthood.
Let me explain more fully what I mean. One of my academic interests has been to explore American Christianity’s tendency to unite itself with American civil religion, to seamlessly ally itself, knowingly or unknowingly, with the interests of the nation-state. Even the Roman Catholic Church, a church that should (in theory) have a greater consciousness of its transnational (‘catholic’) character, perpetually succumbs to this sort of syncretism when we do things like place American flags in our sanctuaries, when we sing the national anthem at Mass, and when we refer to American soldiers in our prayers as “our” troops.[2]
Beyond these fairly obvious examples lies an even greater, though largely unrecognized, danger in our inability to distinguish between the state’s mythology and holidays and the mythology and holidays of Christianity. Many Catholics see no problem with celebrating any and all of the state’s holidays, and sometimes we even celebrate special Masses on these days, such as Independence Day and Thanksgiving, in effect “baptizing” them and making them an unofficial part of the liturgical calendar.
Memorial Day, which we celebrate this coming Monday, is a great example. Last year on Memorial Day, I was making the drive home from a family gathering. The occasion for the gathering was, in fact, not Memorial Day per se, but for the birthday of two relatives. On the drive home, Emily and I passed a small country Baptist church and on the marquee was the question: “What will you do for Christ this Memorial Day?” Aside from the fact that the question makes absolutely no sense, I was irritated and almost stopped the car to take a digital picture of the sign because it was such a clear example of the sort of religious syncretism that exists in the United States. American Christians will even combine the mythology and holidays of Christianity and American civil religion even if the result is completely unintelligible nonsense.
Two years ago, on the Sunday before Memorial Day, a visiting priest was celebrating Mass at my parish in West Virginia. Near the end of Mass, before he processed out of the church he wanted, in light of the upcoming holiday, to honor the soldiers who “made the ultimate sacrifice for us.” All of this he said in front of a giant crucifix which, last time I checked, represents the “ultimate sacrifice” in which Christians believe and which, indeed, we had just celebrated in the Eucharistic action. As a fitting conclusion to the patriotic Mass, the congregation sang, not to Jesus, but to the country itself in the words of “America the Beautiful.”
We get into a really dangerous place when we start confusing our myths and our holidays. Memorial Day honors the memory of those who gave their lives serving the United States in its military, many of them making the “ultimate sacrifice” (in the state’s view) in service to the nation. That’s fine. The state needs holidays like this to support its grand narrative and mythology, just like any community of persons.[3] The Church, however, has its own “sort” of “Memorial Day.” In fact, our celebration of the Christian “Memorial Day” spans two days: All Saints Day and All Souls Day, November 1 and 2, respectively. These are the days that Christians celebrate the lives of those who have gone before us giving their lives specifically as followers of Christ, many of them making the ultimate sacrifice as martyrs on the way of the cross.
Independence Day, of course, celebrates the foundational acts of violence that founded this community of persons. The rhetoric that honors those who made the “ultimate sacrifice” is the same. A recent essay for Independence Day on the website of the Catholic Peace Fellowship reminded us,
[W]e are mistaken if we believe we have been set free by a bloody battle, a revolution in which thousands of people were killed over the course of eight years of violence.As Catholics, we remember and celebrate the One who sacrificed and died over 2000 years ago in order to give us our freedom. “For freedom, Christ has set us free,” Paul says in his letter to the Galatians (Gal 5:1). As followers of Christ, we know that we have already been set free, and therefore we have no need to construct a new freedom.
[...]
So why do Christians continue to wave the flag, proudly and boldly, every Fourth of July? Why are Christians often the ones cheering the loudest at each parade? Because we have bought into the myth upon which every nation rests: that a bloody sacrifice, performed in battle, is necessary for a nation’s founding.
For Christians, our foundation is built on Christ’s ultimate sacrifice of Death on the cross. His sacrifice, however, was a nonviolent one, as he accepted total suffering on Himself, and inflicted none on other human beings. In contrast, the sacrifice of a soldier, while still a sacrifice, is often done at the cost of others’ lives.
As the ultimate sacrifice has already been completed, we do not need to trump it. We do not need to come up with a better one. We need to participate in the sacrifice of Jesus in order to partake in His redemption. Participation in this sacrifice means carrying His cross with humility, without violence.
Christians have their own liturgical calendar that marks time and significant events differently than the state. Our “Independence Day” as Christians is the Triduum, where we celebrate the freedom that comes from sharing in Christ’s death and resurrection. Just as Americans celebrate their pride of citizenship on the fourth of July, Christians celebrate their citizenship in another Kingdom on the feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Church year.
The American narrative also features the holiday of Thanksgiving, a feast which seems to mirror the basic prayerful posture of Christian life, that of thankfulness. While giving thanks is certainly the heart of Christian life, it is important to reflect on the content of our thankfulness, and a closer look at the national holiday, with its connections to genocide and imperialism, should give Christian residents of the empire pause. Is the traditional celebration of Thanksgiving—with its focus on overeating, football, and pre-Christmas hype—really necessary for Catholics considering the Church’s ongoing focus of eucharist, the gathering of the Lord’s Supper, which some Christians celebrate weekly, or even daily?
Should not Christians at least consider resisting American holidays as a way of resisting the American mythology, the metanarrative that, as Catholic theologian William Cavanaugh says, serves as an “alternative soteriology” to the Church’s story of salvation history?[4] Should we not look for opportunites to subvert the holidays of the empire in which we find ourselves, reminding ourselves of and drawing attention to the ways in which these holidays, as part of American mythology, try to shape our loyalties and practices according to the ideals of the nation-state?
When I speak or write this way, I am often asked if I am advocating a Catholic type of separatism or sectarianism. The answer is no; I am not suggesting a withdrawal from the world. Such a suggestion would deny the mission of the Church for the world. On the other hand, I don’t think the careless syncretism of patriotic Christianity is the only alternative to sectarianism. I think we need a healthy, Catholic suspicion of alternative metanaratives to our own, an ability to clearly understand the differences between the two, and the courage to let that test our celebrations and our social ethics as Catholic Christians.
This affirmation of the distinctiveness of the Church and its practices is not lost on most Catholics when it comes to sexual and reproductive issues. With the exception of those Catholics who believe the Church must “get with the times” and update its sexual and reproductive ethics to match the dominant values of American society, most Catholics understand that our commitment to Christ entails the following of a different ethic when it comes to sexuality and the dignity of human life. Many Catholics do not even have a problem endorsing a “sectarian” view when it comes to holidays, at least when it is discussed from the opposite direction. Note the “battle for Christmas” debates that have occurred over the last couple of years, or the concern shown when non-Christians celebrate Easter. When it comes to these discussions, many Christians have no problem whatsoever making the “sectarian” separation between holidays that are “ours” and holidays that are “theirs.”
I know that, had I become a priest, I would not have been able to celebrate Memorial Day or Independence Day Masses in good conscience. And I know that, as a result, I would run into congregational resistance and be reviled by my “good, patriotic” churchgoers. But, I would remind them, the days are not on the liturgical calendar for, as much as we tend to forget, they are not part of our Christian story of salvation. The ministry of the priesthood, like the ministry of ecclesially-committed theologians, is to proclaim the Gospel, the Church’s alternative story of salvation. It is a story that exposes the lie of imperial mythologies and narratives through the distinctive life of citizens of an empire not of this world, the history-spanning community of “resident aliens” within the belly of the world’s empires.[5]
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[1] This is a revised version of a post from last year, adding some thoughts in response to some of the comments I received. It has been cross-posted at www.vox-nova.com. The image above is from the website www.psalters.com.
[2] The point here, of course, is not that we should stop praying for soldiers. The point is that in the context of liturgy, words like “we” and “our” refer to our collective identify as the Body of Christ and not to our collective identity as U.S. Americans.
[3] Cf. Carolyn Marvin and David W. Ingle, Blood Sacrifice and the Nation: Totem Rituals and the American Flag (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999). For a shorter article which nicely summarizes the book, see their “Blood Sacrifice and the Nation: Revisiting Civil Religion,” in Journal of the American Academy of Religion 64 (Winter 1996): 767-780.
[4] William T. Cavanaugh, Theopolitical Imagination: Discovering the Liturgy as a Political Act in an Age of Global Consumerism (London: T & T Clark).
Bravo!
Amen, amen.
I recently saw a church marquis that read “Knights of Columbus – Support Our Troops – Freedom is Never Free!”
Anyway, well done. I’m with you 100%.
Good stuff, man.
You offer a nice alternative, not only to Christian syncretism with the state’s soteriological narrative, but also to Anabaptist-type separatism. Btw, what is the source of your Christian anarchy stencil? Is it copyrighted? If it is permissible to be used by others, of whom should attribution be made?
Thanks, all.
David, the image is a patch that is sold by the radical Christian band Psalters. I borrowed the image from their website: http://www.psalters.com/. I don’t think they would mind people using it as long as credit is given, which is why I felt okay with using it and crediting them in the footnotes of my post.
This is a great collection of thoughts. The wife and I were in church this sunday and I was waiting for mention of Pentecost, but it seemed to be over-shadowed by Memorial day. Thanks for posting this.
Oops. I should have read the footnotes. Thanks.
And I love the Psalters, and have been to their website; I don’t know how I missed the patches.
Good post thanks – the same merging of religion and nationalism happens here in New Zealand every 25 April on ANZAC Day.
The reason that a specifically “American” approach to religion arose is because the democratic claims of Europe were not sufficient to secure true liberty to its citizens in over 2,000 years of purported Catholic social values. We would like to retain our right to believe as we wish, and not to be under the thumb of either a priest or the state. The notion that Memorial Day is some state worship holiday is inconceivably silly given the experiences of the average citizen. The influence of American enlightened republicanism has had more effect on the daily lives of citizens of the nations of the world than the Roman Catholic church can hope to claim. Yes, there are many Catholics. The reason that many of them live even under the guise of personal liberty is not due to the influence of this church. In fact, even today it works hard to keep its followers in the reigns. Mussolini would be proud. I, for one, do not need a priest to secure my Christianity. Nor do I need one church’s hierarchy. Nor do I need unthinking “intellectuals” working hard to advance the cause of fascism in the United States of America.
In addition, your notion that Thanksgiving is related to “genocide and imperialism” is heavily influenced by your public middle school textbooks, likely the last reading you did on the subject. It is not the opinion of the nation’s leading historians of the events. Please consult “New Worlds for All” by Colin Galloway for a much more thoughtful and primary-source based treatment. I also recommend David Hackett Fischer’s “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “Washington’s Crossing” to remove your gross Howard Zinnish misrepresentations of the American Revolution. If only you had chosen the priesthood. Your poor children.
The notion that Memorial Day is some state worship holiday is inconceivably silly given the experiences of the average citizen.
Perhaps it only seems “silly” because the average citizen is oblivious. I certainly was for years.
I, for one, do not need a priest to secure my Christianity. Nor do I need one church’s hierarchy. Nor do I need unthinking “intellectuals†working hard to advance the cause of fascism in the United States of America.
Yep, you seem quite happy staying put solidly in the individualist American religion with some nice Catholic sprinkles on top.
In addition, your notion that Thanksgiving is related to “genocide and imperialism†is heavily influenced by your public middle school textbooks, likely the last reading you did on the subject.
I went to Catholic school all my life. And we definitely didn’t discuss genocide or imperialism.
If “Treedom” (???) thinks that Memorial Day isn’t a “state worship holiday,” I invite him to conduct this little experiment: burn an American flag publicly next year on that day, or perhaps better, on Independence Day. The reactions of most people will be much the same as though Catholics were watching someone stomp on a piece of Eucharistic bread: horror, outrage, followed by an attempt to stop the person from continuing. The flag, in other words, is treated with all the reverence due a sacramental object, and there’s nothing worse tha you can do in sacramental terms than defile a species of the sacrament.
As for Treedom’s aversion to mentioning genocide and imperialism, there are millions of Indians, Africans, Filipinos, Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, Dominicans, Hondurans, Salvadorans, Vietnamese, and Iraqis who might beg to differ—that is, if they hadn’t been slaughtered. Oh, I’m sorry, all that is just propaganda from the Enormous Middle School Conspiracy.
M – Don’t worry, I think your children will be lovely and brilliant, whether they eat Thanksgiving Tofurkey or not.
Speaking of children, I need to talk to you about Radical Catholic Mom’s post on Vox Nova about ectopic pregnancies. I’ve been disturbed for days.
Great points in your post about the battle for Christmas and Easter.
I really appreciated your thoughts, as always. The disconnect between unexamined habits and attitudes, and eyes renewed by the radical ‘good news’ of God’s inbreaking kingdom is a challenge for all followers of Jesus, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum. Michael, keep up the good work.
“Perhaps it only seems “silly†because the average citizen is oblivious. I certainly was for years.”
And here we have the root of the problem – the belief that the average citizen, to be distinguished from the goodly graduate student who voraciously gobbles up every tidbit of professorial propaganda, is a moron. Average people are idiots – what they need is thoughtful members of the self-anointed and dubious intelligentsia deciding what they should do and think. Reminds me of a discussion I had some years ago with Fred Ahl of Cornell, who told of how his graduate students were so eager to immerse themselves in secondary sources that he literally had to go to the library and check them all out so they would be forced to think for themselves. We need these disaffected and unappreciated scholars to run the state for us, so that when the new fascists arise, they can proclaim like Martin Heidegger, “We all owe our allegiance to the Nazi state” and retreat to their cloisters while stormtroopers are putting their pistols to our children’s heads in the public square. By working to eradicate American libertarianism, you are unwittingly aiding the rise of a truly homicidal state, and you will regret it, no matter what you say now in your naive blog.
“Yep, you seem quite happy staying put solidly in the individualist American religion with some nice Catholic sprinkles on top.”
I couldn’t have put it better myself. Except I would save the sprinkles for the priests so that they don’t gall at all the lies and arrogance they must stomach. You must set yourself free, they do not possess one ounce more authority or autonomy than YOU DO.
Are you reading the books I recommended?
Ah the trolls continue to stop by with greater frequency. This is always nice.
Guessing by your comments that maybe you’re not even Catholic or Christian. Care to let us know where you are coming from? You know, other than the “libertarian” part? Is Christianity part of your frame of reference?
We need these disaffected and unappreciated scholars to run the state for us
Maybe you didn’t catch the “anarchist” part, but I truly have no interest in this sort of thing.
By working to eradicate American libertarianism, you are unwittingly aiding the rise of a truly homicidal state, and you will regret it, no matter what you say now in your naive blog.
I’m working to “eradicate American libertarianism”? Because I think Christians should be more conscious of civil religion? This pacifist is “aiding the rise of a truly homicidal state”? Do forgive me if I seem confused. Care to lay out the blueprint for me?
You also must forgive me for not getting to those tasty reads you recommended. Are those secondary sources or what?
“It is no shame to be an intellectual… What is important is this: At whose orders, in whose service, does one stand? On whose side are we?†– Georges Casalis
Your posts display some obvious insecurities about your education or lack thereof – once again, have you read anything on the topics you so glibly treated? I will refrain from further personal asides lest you crack like a walnut and assault some poor aged veteran recently returned from visiting the grave of his fallen comrade on this most indoctrinating of state holy-days.
“Nothing appeals to intellectuals more than the feeling that they represent ‘the people’. Nothing, as a rule, is further from the truth.”
-Paul Johnson
“An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows.” -Dwight D. Eisenhower
Treedom,
Grow a pair. If you like irony, leave the ad hominem arguments out of it. Stick to substance. Quoting a sepo ‘statesman’ against “intellectuals” betrays the magnitude of your misreading of the issues. Quoting the state to argue for its significance??? Honestly. Doesn’t a flaw in the logic appear to you????
Robo.
It always amazes me how completely so called “libertarians” and “patriotic” Americans seem to miss the fact that the founding fathers believed standing armies and worship of the government was fundamentally dangerous to democracy and human liberty.
Your posts display some obvious insecurities about your education or lack thereof…
How so? Please be gentle.
Once again, have you read anything on the topics you so glibly treated?
“Once again”? I don’t think you asked me this before. Anyway, yes I have read a good amount on these topics. I footnoted a couple. It’s not hard to figure out what tradition I am reading, thinking, and writing from.
I will refrain from further personal asides lest you crack like a walnut and assault some poor aged veteran recently returned from visiting the grave of his fallen comrade on this most indoctrinating of state holy-days.
I don’t plan on cracking and/or assaulting you or anyone else.
Robo and Zach – Hello.
the myth upon which every nation rests: that a bloody sacrifice, performed in battle, is necessary for a nation’s founding.
Thanks for this post – as an Australian, there are some of the same tendencies, though not nearly as pronounced as in some parts of the US. I found this line in particular to be interesting, since Australia was founded by a vote rather than a battle – or so we tell ourselves. However, the importance of the glorification of Australia’s somewhat disasterous role in WWI for our national identity and the spilled blood of our original inhabitants both belie this claim.
Memorial Day is a national holiday when the country takes the time to honor those who have died in its protection. There are similar holidays in many countries. I fail to see where asking God to bless those who have died to protect our freedom is in anyway anti-Catholic. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
In general The Church is not tasked with the physical protection of liberty. That is the duty of the state, but it is a duty which allows the Church to perform her duties.
Scott…the problem isn’t that they’re willing to lay down their own lives, but rather than they are willing to lay down others lives. Do we have any evidence that Jesus, the Apostles, the Fathers or the Saints have done or condoned any such thing?
Happy independence-from-state-idolatry day.
A quality I admire in proclaimers of the gospel is an actual understanding of the gospel. You, sir, would have been a fine priest. Thanks for your Memorial Day post.
I agree with the other Nathan :) Oh, and it’s perfectly fine to ban trolls.