Americanism

A few weeks ago, I posted on "Patriotism from the Pulpit," sharing a Busted Halo article. A friend commented on the question of placing flags in spaces of worship (specifically, next to the altar at the front of the church. He commented:

...[I]t might exclude non-theists from America. We hear so often that one has to be religious to be a good american. Your own article holds up as an example an organization founded on the idea that "being Catholic could make you a better American." Then vice president Bush took it a step farther when he said "No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." It seems to me that all the symbolic associations between the country and the christian god contribute to that kind of prejudice. Do you have any thoughts on that?

If you haven't read the article, I'd recommend doing just that to hear the original line of thought. Here are some of my thoughts on this, organized as best as I can.

Before one can answer the question, "Does being Catholic [or Christian, monotheistic, religious, etc] make you a better American?", one has to answer the question, "What does it mean to be a good American?" This question of course can cause endless debate and I am fairly certain that no two people would answer it the same way. However, for a working definition I propose:

Being a good American means having a loyalty to and a love of the United States. It means having the common good of the nation as a priority (although not necessarily the top priority). It means a commitment to serve and preserve our nation while striving to make it a better place for all.

That statement contains a lot of vague language, but I think it will suffice for my discussion. Also, for clarity of language, I am going to use the term "patriot" to refer to a "good American" from here on out, mostly because I don't want to imply that only people in the US are Americans -- there's more to these two continents than our nation.

Now that all that is out of the way... Does being a Catholic make someone a better patriot? Can an atheist be a patriot? In my own life, being a Catholic has had two effects on me that might have an impact on my patriotism. First, being Catholic means I strive to be a better person. It is what keeps me honest, makes me work hard, motivates me to care for others, and in general is responsible for the "good" things about me. These qualities, I believe, make me a better patriot.

Second, and in my mind more important, being a Catholic gives me a sense of the importance of the common good. As a Catholic, I am a member of a universal Church, who stresses the unity of all her members. I know that my good and my neighbor's good are bound together and that I am, in a mysterious but real way, one with others. This idea makes me predisposed to see other people as part of a "we" rather than a "they." Thus, seeking the common good of the nation makes sense to me. As does improving my country -- because whatever my country does affects not only my life but my conscience.

[N.B.: These are ideals to which I strive and where my faith leads me. I do all of this very imperfectly.]

So. Along these lines of logic, being a Catholic does make me a better patriot. Those two ideas are intrinsic to Catholicism, so in this way, being a Catholic should make one a patriot. I can't speak for other religions, since I don't know any well enough.

Now for the second part of the question: Can an atheist be a patriot? According to my working definition of a patriot, the two are in no way, shape, or form mutually exclusive. I pose this question: Can an atheist seek the common good as a priority and seek to effect real, positive change in his country? I see no reason why not. As long as a person can conceptualize the good of others and seek it as a good, I see nothing to prevent that person from being a patriot. As long as a person can find reason to serve and improve the fellow human beings who occupy this nation, it doesn't matter if that person believes in God.

One final question: Does being a patriot make someone more "American," any more a citizen of this nation? Does failing to be a patriot make someone less of a citizen?