For decades, the month of June has focussed on the theme of self-expression and individual identity. However, there is a growing movement that seeks to reorient our hearts and minds toward something more enduring than self—namely, fidelity to God, family, and country. These are values that have historically served as the bedrock of our nation.
The concept of Fidelity Month was first proposed four years ago by Dr. Robert P. George, an accomplished professor at Princeton University. It was born out of a sobering realization that America was losing interest in virtues and institutions that once made us strong. George pointed to a 2023 Wall Street Journal/NORPAC poll that tell a troubling story of decline. Only 39% of Americans say religion is very important; only 30% value having children as very important; a mere 27% prioritize community involvement; and only 38% express that patriotism is very important.
When we see such low value placed on the things that lead to individual and national flourishing, it is clear that we need a course correction. Fidelity Month is that correction. It is an intentional effort to elevate and celebrate faith in God, the importance of family, the strength of our communities, and a healthy patriotism.
Earlier this week I was asked to comment about “Pride Month” in two interviews. I was somewhat reluctant because Fidelity Month is primarily defined by what it is for, rather than what it is against. The goal of Fidelity Month is to reinvigorate fading ideals, not to be antagonistic or force anyone to agree with them. Yet, there is stark contrast between Fidelity and “Pride Month”. While pride is often celebrated as a virtue in modern culture, it has traditionally been understood as one of the seven deadly sins. Pride in its worst sense is fundamentally self-centered. And celebrating the self as the central reality of life doesn’t end well for practitioners or their communities.
In contrast, fidelity is other-centered and self-giving. It honors other relationships above self, the Creator who made us, the spouse with whom we’ve joined for a lifelong journey, the children we raise, and the community we raise them in. Thus, Fidelity Month is an opportunity rededicate ourselves to these ideals.
Even though Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear recently declared June to be Pride Month for the Commonwealth, the Kentucky State Senate passed SR 148 on March 24, which designated June as Fidelity Month. These two actions represent a dueling vision of what leads to flourishing. Kentucky’s robust resolution passed unanimously and was perhaps the first in the nation. (West Virginia acknowledged it in simple terms last year).
Beshear’s vision appears to be in the minority of his gubernatorial counterparts in our region. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Indiana Gov. Mike Braun both proclaimed June as “Nuclear Family Month,” for their respective states. Gov. Braun’s June 1 proclamation said “The nuclear family, consisting of one husband, one wife, and any biological, adopted, or fostered children, is God’s design for the family structure and has been the foundation of society since the creation of the world.” On May 29, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a Fidelity Month proclamation stating that “cultivating fidelity to God, family, community, and country contributes to human flourishing and supports a healthy, stable, well-ordered society, and practices that encourage virtue, commitment, responsibility, and shared moral foundations strengthen both individuals and their communities.”
Fidelity Month is an invitation to everyone—regardless of their background—to celebrate the sources of good we all share in common. It is grounded in gratitude instead of grievance; foundational truths instead of fleeting desires; and hopeful unity instead of fearful division. After all, values of faith, family, community, and country are always worth celebrating.