The Neutrality Myth
“There is no such thing as neutrality in politics; there is only the pretense of it by those who serve the strongest side. The man who tries to be neutral is the man who is bribed by both parties to say nothing.” said G. K. Chesterton when debating politicians.
Should the government of a nation remain religiously neutral? This is a hot and controversial topic in modern society. Many Christians’ preeminent concerns for a country with a bias towards a religion are fueled by the past history of the Roman and Anglo-Saxon empires. Both these nations enforced a religion on their people. In England's case it was the Church of England, and Rome, its pagan beliefs. These concerns have some validity, in that, at the time, those who disagreed with the nation’s beliefs were heavily persecuted. But, without common morals a country sinks into the natural sinful state of humanity, total depravity. Neutrality is secularism, and secularism is indifference to, rejection, or the exclusion of God (Merriam Webster Dictionary). To put it very plainly, Temporality and Christianity are at odds with each other, and religious neutrality in the state is a myth.
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other” (Mathew 6:24) We must choose between God or the world, there is no middle ground. Really, when we are making the nation neutral, we are making it Godless. A Godless nation is as good as a fallen nation.
All true logic, common sense, love, and beauty come from God. When God is cut out of the nation, those wonderful attributes are lost. It is like cutting off the blood circulation that is needed to keep the body moving. Laws make no sense, because morals are not applicable if there is no higher deity to set the standard. The Greeks sought to reason and Philosophize, trying to understand morality and right and wrong, but their nation failed. They had no real substance to work with. Without God, it falls apart, because all logic and reason is based in God. Beauty and love, apart from God, become an ugly lust. Before the fall of the Roman Empire, the pagan Romans were completely given over to their lusts and pleasures. They acted similarly to what is described in Romans 1:25-26 “Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions” (ESV) Without a higher standard of morality, given by God, they were consumed by their flesh. This is a sobering example of a fallen nation.
Even though there have been circumstances where a national religion has gone wrong, it would still be better to face those challenges than to let a nation become immoral. Instead Christian must fight to protect the Christian values that God has set in place, and not try to disconnect our sovereign creator from the leadership and laws of our country.
Works Cited
Kirk, Russel. “We Cannot Separate Christian Morals and the Rule of Law.” Imprimis, vol. 12, no. 4, April 198. Imprimis.hillsdale.edu, https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/we-cannot-separate-christian-morals-and-the-rule-of-law/. Accessed 16 October 2025.
Moore, Roy S. “Putting God Back in the Public Square.” Imprimis, vol. 28, no. 8, August 1999, p. 12. Imprimis.hillsdale.edu, https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/putting-god-back-in-the-public-square/. Accessed 16 October 2025.
“SECULARISM Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secularism. Accessed 17 October 2025.
