To be an American is to be deeply concerned with freedom. I have a vivid memory of attending a town Fourth of July celebration as a child and hearing a recording of Lee Greenwood singing, “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free,” while the fireworks burst overhead. Even today I cannot hear that line in the Battle Hymn of the Republic without a little lump in my throat: “As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.” Freedom, and its near-synonym liberty, shows up everywhere in the canon of American civic texts: in the Declaration of Independence, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” old war posters, patriotic songs, and protest anthems.

Freedom is central to American ideals and to the Christian faith, but there is danger in confusing the two.