When you hear the word “idolatry,” what comes to mind? Do you think of young singers competing on national television for a recording contract and the fleeting adoration of millions of pop music fans? Are you reminded of the scene from The Ten Commandments with Edward G. Robinson standing in front of a golden calf?

Idolatry, as defined by Webster, is “the worship of a physical object as a god” or “immoderate attachment or devotion to something”–and that isn’t a good thing. In fact, the very first commandment given to Moses on Mt. Sinai addresses the sin of idolatry: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3).

Many American Christians, however, have fallen victim to idolatry of one form or another. For some, their idol may be money. For others, it may be mindless entertainment. But the form I would like to focus on is statism.

Statism, simply put, is worship of the state (i.e., government), and in this country the federal government reigns supreme. No Christian will acknowledge that he or she worships the state, but that is in a sense what’s happening, if even on a subconscious level.

Symptoms of this were evident during the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. Many Christian voters saw George W. Bush not as the “lesser of two evils,” but as one who was chosen by God as “the right man at the right time for the right purpose.” Sure, he wasn’t the paragon of conservatism some had hoped for, but he was a professing Christian, and that alone meant that we owed him our devotion.

Then, of course, there was the outpouring of Christian support for the war in Iraq. Despite the fact that Saddam Hussein never once attacked us and posed no threat to our security, evangelicals from all across the fruited plain cried out for blood. The state had been exalted to such a lofty position that those Christians who dared to speak out against the war on moral and constitutional grounds were considered anti-American at best, treasonous at worst.

In an attempt to drum up as much support as possible for military action against Hussein, “conservative” publications and websites ran countless articles that tried to equate the Christian worldview with American foreign policy. We also heard from religious leaders like Jerry Falwell who tried to convince us that “God is pro-war” and that one of the duties of the church “is to stop the spread of evil, even at the cost of human lives.”

So, George W. Bush, a man chosen by God, was simply doing his Christian duty when he invaded Iraq. We therefore have no right to question his actions or motives. It’s as if the Old Testament example of King Saul no longer has any significance for us today.

But statism goes beyond the issue of war; it has infected our stance on domestic policies as well. Thanks to the steadfast loyalty of the evangelical community, the state has enjoyed uninhibited growth over the last few years. Christians cheered (and proceeded to profit financially from) the Bush administration’s faith-based initiatives. They praised increases in education spending and continue to back the state’s acquisition of more police powers without question.

There is more subtle evidence of statism, such as the prevalence of the American flag (the flag of the federal government) in our culture. Most high school, college and professional athletes have the American flag displayed somewhere on their uniforms, and “The Star Spangled Banner” is sung before every game. “Conservative” politicians are pushing for laws requiring school children to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, a statist creed penned by an unabashed socialist. Constitutional amendments have been proposed to protect the American flag from what the government defines as desecration. What’s more, just about every evangelical church in the country has the American flag displayed prominently in its sanctuary.

One small step we could take in combating the cancer of statism is to start eliminating the things that distract us from our duty as Christians. William Inboden, in a 2004 article, wrote how his pastor removed the American flag from the church sanctuary entirely:

Reared in a small town in the verdant rolling hills of the Bluegrass State, he is as red-blooded an American as you will find, possessed of a deep and abiding love for his country. He will with gratitude and pride salute the flag when given occasion to do so. So why remove it from the sanctuary? Most simply, he wanted to brook no confusion that the church offers its worship only to Christ–and not to America. More deeply, he saw the flag’s prominence in the pulpit, even its very presence in the sanctuary, as potentially obscuring the distinction between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of man. He sought to make sure that there was no confusion over his primary calling and our primary identity.

In many respects, “Old Glory” symbolizes our idolization of the state. But this is not to say that flying the American flag or looking upon one with a sense of patriotism is idolatry. Inboden continues:

No doubt some, perhaps even many, congregations keep a flag in their church while also keeping a clear understanding of the distinction between the church and the world. Nevertheless, the pervasiveness of pulpit flags should give us pause. Especially because they serve as just one visible manifestation of a deeper problem: the frequent confusion of civil religion with biblical Christianity.

While it is certainly a good thing for Christians to be patriotic and get involved in the decisions that affect our nation, we must understand that it is not our goal to bring about spiritual and cultural change politically or militarily. Actually, that approach is counter-productive. In the Roman Empire, for example, Christianity had much more of an impact during the reigns of the pagan Caesars–especially during times of relentless persecution–than it did when it was legalized and endorsed by the Emperor Constantine.

As Christians, we must remember that our primary citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), not in the United States. The body of Christ includes believers from all nations (Gal. 3:28), not just America. Our primary calling is to be living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1), not loyal Americans. We should boast in the cross (Gal. 6:14), not in the flag. We should be more concerned with fighting against the spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:11-12) than against Third-World dictators.

American Christians today seem to have forgotten where their duties lie. According to scripture, it is impossible for us to serve two masters (Matt. 6:24), so why should we expect Christ to share his throne with the state?