America celebrated its Bicentennial in 1976. Lessons were learned, and Rebecca de Schweinitz at the Deseret News reminds her readers: “Recognizing the nation’s religious diversity and acknowledging its flaws are not at odds with a unifying commemoration.”
As
the country approaches the 250 anniversary of the Revolution, Americans are
increasingly divided over what they are celebrating. Some advance a
triumphalist narrative of a providential nation, virtually perfect at its
founding and rooted in a singular religious identity, while others, who see
value in confronting the country’s struggles, are case as at odds with the
patriotic project. Fifty years ago, during the 1976 bicentennial, many American
religious communities wrestled with similar tensions. They celebrated, but they
also reflected, confessed and organized, treating the bicentennial less as an
occasion for patriotic display than as an opportunity for democratic practice,
grounded in diverse expressions of faith and lived out in families,
congregations and communities. That moment offers no simple blueprint, but it
points to ward practices – cooperation across difference, moral
self-examination and active participation – that remain essential now.
Religious freedom as a shared stewardship
At
the national level, religious leaders made clear that the bicentennial could
not be claimed by any single tradition. Initiatives like Project FORWARD ’76 (“Freedom
of Religion Will Advance Real Democracy”) brought together Catholic,
Protestant, Jewish, Latter-day Saint and other groups in a shared endeavor.
Their goal was not a unified religious interpretation of America but something
more foundational: a democracy strengthened by the moral vision of people.
The
structure of such efforts mattered. Rather than competing for cultural
influence, religious groups cooperated. They exchanged resources, sponsored
research and encouraged congregations to explore how religious liberty and
democratic life are intertwined. Religious diversity was treated as a strength
to learn from and safeguard, not a problem to solve….
Gratitude and repentance in the work of patriotism
Some
of the most meaningful Bicentennial work of Project FORWARD ’76 happened in
local congregations. Churches did not simply drape sanctuaries in flags. Many
reinterpreted national symbols through a moral and theological lens.
In
one Lutheran resource, “Stars, Stripes, and Crosses,” the American flag became
a framework for reflection. The stars pointed to aspiration, the ideals of
liberty and equality. The stripes represented suffering and contradiction, the
ways those ideals had been tested or betrayed. The cross stood as a moral measure,
reminding believers that no nation, however, noble its founding, is beyond
judgment.
This
was neither spectacle nor cynicism. It was an effort to tell the truth.
Patriotism meant loving one’s country enough to see it clearly and to work to
improve it. That spirit shaped worship itself. Bicentennial services blended
gratitude with introspection, patriotic hymns alongside prayers that named
national failures like racism, inequality, exclusion and violence.
In
doing so, faith communities practiced a form of moral speech linking faith to
public responsibility. They affirmed that devotion to God does not require
silence abut injustice, and that love of country can include a call to
repentance.
Remembering in ways that widen belonging
Congregations
also turned to history as a lived, shared experience rather than a distant
narrative. Programming featured oral histories, archival work and intergenerational
storytelling: Young people interviewed older members about migration, work, worship
and community-building; families shared photographs and artifacts; “Do you
remember?” evenings gathered neighbors to share memories.
These
efforts connected individuals to a larger, generous story and invited them to
see themselves within an ongoing national project shaped by religious
commitments. They also strengthened relationships across generations and
fostered belonging rooted in faith and community.
Importantly,
these efforts did not simply reinforce exceptionalist narratives. Many congregations
included Native American perspectives, inviting Indigenous speakers,
integrating Native histories and confronting the consequences of colonization.
The bicentennial became an occasion to ask how a nation founded on liberty
could also be a site of dispossession.
This
widened perspective did not weaken national identity. It made commemorations
more honest, meaningful and demanding of people of faith.
Service as patriotic and covenant responsibility
For
many religious communities, the most authentic way to mark the bicentennial was
not ceremony but service. Congregations organized hunger walks, planted
community gardens, supported food banks and engaged in tutoring programs,
prison outreach and advocacy. Such efforts pushed people of faith to wrestle
with harder questions about poverty, justice and what the nation’s ideals
required in practice.
In
this context, voluntarism became more than a civic virtue; it was a religious
obligation tied to national purpose. To celebrate the nation’s founding was to
take responsibility for its unfinished work….
Creating democracy together
Perhaps
most strikingly, bicentennial programming treated democracy as something to be
learned and practiced. Congregants of all ages and denominations studied their
communities, listened to neighbors, engaged public officials, and contributed
to local reform efforts.
Politics
was not presented as distant or inherently corrupt, but as a domain where moral
agency mattered – a place individuals could act on their values to serve the
common good. Underlying this was a broader conviction that democracy depends on
participation, on citizens willing to listen, learn, deliberate and act in
alignment with their moral convictions.
Religious
communities helped cultivate positive civic habits, serving as schools of moral
and ethical citizenship where people practiced cooperation, developed empathy
and linked principles with action.
A nation as shared work: Faith, humility and the more
perfect union.
Looking
back, the bicentennial era approach contrasts with contemporary currents that
more tightly link religious and national identity in exclusionary ways. Where
earlier efforts stressed pluralism and honest reflection, today’s rhetoric can
narrow belonging, dismiss critique and favor symbolic affirmation over lived
engagement. These differences are not merely political; they reflect deeper
questions about how faith relates to democracy.
In
1976, many religious communities saw their role as strengthening democratic
life through dialogue, accountability and bridge-building – work requiring
humility and openness to complexity. It also required a particular
understanding of belonging. The nation was not a possession to defend but a
project to shape, a shared endeavor inviting both gratitude and responsibility.
Recovering
that approach does not mean returning to the 1970s. That era had its own
limitations. But the habits it cultivated remain relevant. It showed that
commemoration can be more than celebration. It can be a time for reflection,
learning and recommitment.
It
showed that patriotism can include critique, and that such critique – grounded in
love and responsibility – can strengthen the nation. Moreover, it underscored
that religious communities can play a vital role in democratic life by
fostering participation, cooperation, moral clarity and care for others.
As
the United States approaches another anniversary, the question before us is not
simply how to celebrate. It is how to do so in ways that sustain a healthy
democracy.
The
bicentennial offers one answer. It calls us to turn memory into action, widen
the circle of voices and measure our national life not only by our ideals but
also by how faithfully we live them.
If
we take that lesson seriously, celebration itself can become an act of faith –
one that binds us more closely to one another and to the enduring work of
building a more perfect union.
Rebecca
de Schweinitz claims that Americans need to act with faith. One of the ways
that we can act with faith is to turn to the God of this land, even Jesus
Christ.
As part
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ observance of the America
250 commemoration, the First Presidency is holding a special unified fast on
Sunday, July 5, 2026 – the day after the United States’ 250th
anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The
purpose of the fast is to express gratitude for religious liberty as well as to
pray for religious freedom to be strengthened throughout the world. Fasting is
more than going without food; it is also praying to express gratitude for
blessings as well as to ask for help. Everyone is encouraged to join Latter-day
Saints in this special fast.
