Although religious beliefs can inspire one to strive for national justice, "wrapping the flag with the cross" is problematic for this country, said a University of Pennsylvania professor, minister and author speaking at Cornell March 15.

"No religion has a particular right on the nation. ... No religious identity can exhaust the possibility of American citizenship," said the Rev. Michael Eric Dyson, the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities.

Dyson -- this year's Cornell United Religious Work's Fredrick C. Wood lecturer -- is also a radio show host, Baptist preacher and prolific author (including the recent book "Debating Race"). He spoke on "The Role of the Public Intellectual in Addressing Religious Nationalism" in Cornell's Sage Chapel.

According to Dyson, "Religious nationalism is the cloaking of national identities, ideals and ideas in the language of religious beliefs and faith, and using religion to justify and defend the state." And for the United States, he said, addressing religious nationalism is essential.

Once "our guy (or potentially woman) gets into office, then we feel that they resonate with our particular perspective," said Dyson. This resonance can be problematic, according to Dyson. "They begin to cloak their particular political beliefs in religious discourse and language as opposed to allowing some distance and some critical gaps between what they believe and [how] they behave politically and religiously."

Religious nationalism can also give a sense of exclusivity, according to Dyson. "People make arguments on behalf of [religious nationalism] of how God has blessed America. They take the song too seriously and too literally and exclusively. ... If God doesn't bless Iran, America's blessing ain't gonna be that deep."

Instead of directly linking religion with government, "at its best, religion should exist as a social institution which embodies the ideals … of their believers' aim, but also as a point of critical disjuncture with social practices and political behavior that is not just."

Martin Luther King Jr., for example, used his faith as inspiration for the pursuit of justice. "[He] didn't try to make this a Christian nation. He was a Christian preacher who used his religious faith to make this a just nation," said Dyson. "You never heard Martin Luther King Jr. stand up and talk about Jesus as a political reference for the reformation of American democracy. He talked about 'Is it just? Is it right? Is it good?' He talked about God's will, but in the broadest sense of that term."

He concluded, "If you're truly following the path of righteous self-reflection, ultimately, don't try to make it a Christian nation. Let's just make this a nation where love and justice prevails."

The Fredric C. Wood Lecture, established by Emma T. Wood and former Cornell trustee Frederick C. Wood in 1984, was intended to "bring scholars of innovative religious thought to campus."

Graduate student Anne Poduska is a writer intern at the Cornell Chronicle.