Pietas Civilis: On the Virtue of Patriotism

Patriotism is a subject that is often talked about in the news and has become rather controversial, sometimes upheld as an absolute duty owed to one’s country, and conversely derided as a misguided blind trust arbitrarily attached to a certain geographical location. These two competing understandings of patriotism shape the common perception of the word. However, the Church adheres to a third understanding that offers a more comprehensive view of the proper place of patriotism when considered in the context of piety.

Piety is indeed the central word a Christian must take into account when considering the right place afforded to any good. Piety in its common usage refers to the proper humble gratitude owed to God for his blessings—a gratitude that rightly corresponds to God’s grace. Likewise, piety in a civil sense can be thought of in a similar, albeit lesser, respect: this being the gracious love owed to the gift of our homeland. Like our birth, which is freely given by God, one’s place of birth is a gift from God. It is a gift because gifts are things given not out of choice on the part of the recipient, but out of love on the part of the giver. In this respect, a lack of gratitude towards one’s country is a failure in humility, a certain pride where someone believes that everything they have is from themselves, not from another. Humility, then, is a critical Christian understanding, that one’s life is owed to others- first to God, and then to family. Ultimately everything falls into place: friendships, associations, and yes, nation.

However, it is necessary to distinguish this proper Catholic view from various false views of patriotism. The Catholic perception of patriotism is expressed in the Catechism as, “The love and service of one’s country follow from the duty of gratitude and belong to the order of charity” (CCC 2239). Charity, or love, is the primary virtue that affords patriotism the respect it deserves. Patriotism in this respect, like all goods, is good insofar as it points to God, who as the Good itself is the only proper candidate to be considered the highest good, that which makes what is potentially good, actually good, and that which orders all contingent goods. As C.S. Lewis said, “There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him.” Several false views of patriotism either hold it as the highest good itself, or deny that it is a virtue at all. Understood in its right context, patriotism is both virtuous and desirable, but should never be upheld as the infallible absolute moral principle. If patriotism acts in accordance with its proper place of charity and gratitude, then it is right and just. But if it acts against the moral law, then it becomes a corruption of its intended role and not only destroys the good it is meant to protect, but destroys itself.

Practically speaking, the role of patriotism can be answered by common experience; we all recognize that our lives are most directly ordered to things that are most immediate to us, and thus we owe a greater degree of thanksgiving depending on where these goods fall in this hierarchy. All good comes from God, and then proceeding from this fact, our lives are most immediately formed by our families, and then other structures like our neighborhood, parish, etc. One’s nation too plays a large part in forming us and thus contributes by providing us a part of our character—our very being, which is certainly a gift. Therefore, just as respect is given to family and friends, we must also respect our nation. The nation is not merely the government or polity of a given area, but a certain people living in agreement with the past, present, and future generations that dwell within and define it- a social entity that is not abstract, but real and living. This civil piety manifests in respect to the customs that organize and give life to one’s nation (insofar as they do not act in spite of what is good). Scripture makes this point clear: “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set” (Prov. 22:28). Therefore, for us living today, we must heed this calling to observe the virtue of piety by not pretending that our life is entirely our own, but by recognizing that what we have has been given to us. This does not merely apply to patriotism, but to any blessing we receive from others, or from God. Goodness can only come with humility, and selfishness with pride. Patriotism is good, but only God is God.

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