To Pledge Or Not To Pledge...

In response to my post on idols of the heart, my good friend who is in the "deep weird" (my translation - on the cutting edge of Christian radicalism *grin*), proposed the idea that American Christians should not recite the Pledge of Allegiance, because we should only pledge our allegiance to our Lord. To do so constitutes a form of idolatry. Now this was not a totally new concept to me, but I hadn't really given it much thought...until now. I decided to do a little research on the origin of the Pledge of Allegiance just to see what I would find.

The author of the pledge, Francis Bellamy (1855 - 1931), was a one-time American Baptist pastor, a prominent member of the Christian Socialist movement, a Free Mason, committee chairman of the National Education Association, and cousin to Edward Bellamy, author of the American socialist utopian novels, Looking Backward and Equality. So how are these aspects of his life relevant to the pledge?

"Francis Bellamy in his sermons and lectures and Edward Bellamy in his novels and articles described in detail how the middle class could create a planned economy with political, social and economic equality for all." (Baer, Dr. John, The Pledge of Allegiance) Bellamy's pledge, ("I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."), was first published in a September 1892 issue of The Youth's Companion, the leading family magazine in that day. The owner of the magazine, a member of Bellamy's congregation at the time he was pressured to resign, hired Francis as his assistant in the magazine's premium department. "In 1888, the Youth's Companion had begun a campaign to sell American flags to public schools as a premium to solicit subscriptions...The flag promotion was more than merely a business move; under their influence, the Youth's Companion became a fervent supporter of the schoolhouse flag movement, which aimed to place a flag above every school in the nation. By 1892, the magazine had sold American flags to approximately 26,000 schools. However, by this time the market was slowing for flags, but not yet saturated." (Wikipedia)

So what were these businessmen to do? Mount a marketing campaign using the anniversary of Christopher Columbus reaching the Americas as their springboard. The magazine promoted a national celebration to coincide with the World's Colombian Exposition. The new flag salute would be part of the Columbus Day celebration to be held in schools all over the United States. Bellamy took the idea to the National Education Association; they liked the idea and agreed to implement the program which was structured around a flag raising ceremony and Bellamy's pledge. The pledge was reportedly written to reflect the socialist utopian ideas in his cousin's popular novels. And the rest is history, as they say.

So, should Christians participate in the pledge to the American flag? According to Scripture, we are indeed instructed to obey and pray for those in authority over us, but I don't recall any verses about pledging ourselves to our country, especially as a result of a pretty slick marketing campaign intended to sell flags and promote a socialist agenda. I'd also like to say that, as I recall, whenever I have recited the Pledge of Allegiance, it was not because the flag or my country was an idol of my heart. There are serious and insidious idols that I must confess before the Lord, seeking His forgiveness. Comments are welcomed. :)