Welcome to Part 5 of our Celebrating Religious Freedom Series!

This fifth installment is by Rev. Dr. Meredith Holladay, Associate Pastor for Spiritual Formation at First Baptist Church, Lawrence, Kansas. Meredith is a graduate of Baylor University and completed the Religion, Politics and Society doctoral program, where she wrote her dissertation on theology and popular music.

by Meredith Holladay

We tend to create a lot of idols out of our symbols.

A significant line of our Radical Reformation heritage is decidedly iconoclastic: holding that images, art, visual representations have no business decorating the church, especially not the sanctuary. Instead, we rely on scripture alone, and the word of God is written on our hearts, not decorating our walls.

And yet.

There is no neutral decision, though, when it comes to aesthetics. Even the choice against decoration communicates something about theology, ideology, priority. Our architecture, placement of liturgical elements (pulpits, lecterns, baptisteries, choir lofts, banners) and other symbols (or lack thereof) communicate—sometimes loudly and sometimes subtly—but all the same, quite powerfully, what we believe and what kind of space we are in.

In general, as Baptists, I believe we could call on our religious and theological symbols a little more than we are wont to do. We could use a little more intentional decoration, design and artistry.

As Baptists, we also hold (at least in theory, if not always in practice) fast to the principle of religious liberty. Religious liberty for all. Religious liberty, which means we are citizens first—(and perhaps only?)—of God’s kingdom, not the kingdom or principality or state of any man-made structure.  Our Baptist heritage also calls on us to emphasize and proclaim, proudly, freedom—freedom of conscience, of religion, from coercion. Our worship space should clearly and intentionally communicate these theological and biblical foundational freedoms.

And yet.

Proud as we are of this heritage proclaiming freedom, we tend to forget this when it comes to the symbol of our national flag.

It is not uncommon in American sanctuaries to find the flag of the United States prominently displayed (yes, often alongside the Christian flag). The US flag is so ubiquitous it often blends in among the liturgical colors and stained glass.  So ubiquitous, most see its presence as a rather innocuous “given.”

How innocuous is this symbol, though?

Ask any pastor who has dared remove the flag without comment or explanation, and you’ll understand how fraught its presence in the sanctuary is. Remove or change up other symbols, and you likely won’t receive near the same emotional reaction as moving the American flag.

Again, no symbol, no architectural or decorative decision is ever value-neutral. Even subtle messages must be taken seriously and critically evaluated. A flag, which represents a specific nation-state, should receive at least the same level of thought, conversation, even debate, as carpet color, seating type, sound systems and flower arrangements.

Some key questions to reflect on in thinking about the significance of the US flag in our sanctuaries include: What does placing a flag—national, state, Christian—say about what we believe about the Gospel and our identity as Kingdom people?

Would we be willing to put a flag of a corporation or university housed in our town, which employs a significant portion of the church or town population?

Why or why not?

What does the flag communicate about our ultimate citizenship? What are we trying to communicate with a flag, and do we really want to communicate that message?

Would a non-US citizen feel more or less welcome if the flag is one of the first, or most prominent symbols in the sanctuary?

Is the flag the best way to communicate hospitality, grace and love (even alongside the stained-glass windows and liturgical banners)? Without clear explanation (which is impossible to ensure all people interpret all symbols uniformly), might the flag’s presence be interpreted in ways beyond what we intend?

Where does the flag stand and what does its placement communicate, even subtly?

The fact that the US flag reserves such an emotional place points out the problematic nature of putting it in the sanctuary in the first place. The sanctuary is a place of worship. It ought to be an inclusive place where all are welcome.

The Gospels call us to preach the name of Jesus to every tribe, tongue and nation. We recognize that we are most fully representing the Kingdom of God we are among brothers and sisters who do not look just like us.  Our allegiance is first to God and God’s Kingdom.

If this is the truth, if we really believed this, then the US flag would have no place in our worship space.

Our sanctuaries ought to be that: sanctuary from fear, injustice, oppression. They should be places where God’s love, grace and liberation are both preached and practiced. This especially means being intentional about the symbols we include.

For every person who feels a great deal of pride in seeing the flag, there are others who are reminded of colonialism, imperialism, or perhaps reminded of their own homeland, from which they are alienated. We preach that all are welcome in God’s Kingdom. We preach that God has created all of us as equal and loved children. God’s Kingdom holds no other nation’s flag as prerequisite for membership, welcome or allegiance.

May our sanctuaries reflect wholly this Gospel of inclusion and love.

Editor’s note: What do you think? Do you have a different take on this topic? If you are a Cooperative Baptist, send us your response to aweaver@thefellowship.info and we will post it here at CBFBlog.com. We welcome the conversation!