@Carson, I share each of your concerns.
This concern in particular I believe poses significant danger to believers:
As Philippians 3:20 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” So too, as Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place,” (John 18:36).
Our hope is in the coming of the kingdom of God in its fullness. Confusing that kingdom with any earthly kingdom can cause us to misplace our hope, resulting in great harm to us and to others.
My other primary concern would be as you shared here:
Further, I am concerned that, in an officially Christian country, that the actions politicians take in the name of God might not represent the character of Christ. I want to be quite clear about who Christ is, how he lived, and what he taught.
It is the body of believers who are meant to be Christ’s witnesses in the world, not any particular nation. Since no nation could be entirely composed of Christians, I would worry that a country which calls itself Christian would fail to accurately represent Christ to the world, particularly since there are likely to be many who do not believe that would compose the governing of body of a nation. I think there is an added danger too that such nations or movements may be more likely to misappropriate promises made to Israel and falsely claim such promises for their own nation.
I do think it is honorable and faithful for Christians in leadership to work toward governance that honors the wisdom and justice of God. Though what that looks like may be difficult to discern as well given what Paul says in 1 Cor 5:12-13 (or read the whole chapter for more context).
@alison, thank you for sharing your perspective from the historical impacts you’ve experienced.
I think the concerns I have exist for me even when such a declaration has the best of intentions. Yet, as your examples illustrate, such intentions are often not the primary drive. With any movement toward making Christianity a national religion, I would want the motives to be examined carefully to make sure that it wasn’t just a disguise for harm as @carson talks about in his Golden Hammer post.
I understand the heart of wanting to represent Christ through all means at one’s disposal; I’m just skeptical that making Christianity an official national religion could accomplish that purpose well. Though the quotes @jimmy shared do seem quite positive from the time of Constantine. So, despite my concerns, more research on historical movements and their impacts I think would be really helpful in shaping my thoughts on the topic.
I’m thankful for all that you all have shared so far and I’m excited to hear more perspectives.