Difference between revisions of "Civil Religion" - New World Encyclopedia
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| − | The intended meaning of the term | + | The intended meaning of the term '''civil religion''' often varies according to whether one is a sociologist of religion or a professional political commentator. The following discussion includes both perspectives followed by a brief history of the concept. |
| + | |||
==Origin of term== | ==Origin of term== | ||
| − | [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] coined the term in chapter 8, book 4 of [[The Social Contract]], to describe what he regarded as the moral and spiritual foundation essential for any modern society. | + | [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] coined the term in chapter 8, book 4 of ''[[The Social Contract]],'' to describe what he regarded as the moral and spiritual foundation essential for any modern society. For Rousseau, civil religion was intended simply as a form of social cement, helping to unify the state by providing it with sacred authority. In his book, [[Rousseau]] outlines the simple dogmas of the civil religion: |
==Sociology of religion== | ==Sociology of religion== | ||
[[Image:National Cathedral.jpg|thumb|The [[Washington National Cathedral]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] is often used for state [[funeral]]s for political leaders.]] | [[Image:National Cathedral.jpg|thumb|The [[Washington National Cathedral]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] is often used for state [[funeral]]s for political leaders.]] | ||
| − | In the [[sociology of religion]], | + | In the [[sociology of religion]], "civil religion" is the [[folk religion]] of a [[nation]] or a [[politics|political]] [[culture]]. |
Civil religion stands somewhat above folk religion in its social and political status, since by definition it suffuses an entire society, or at least a segment of a society; and is often practised by [[leadership|leader]]s within that society. On the other hand, it is somewhat less than an [[establishment of religion]], since established churches have official [[clergy]] and a relatively fixed and formal relationship with the government that establishes them. Civil religion is usually practiced by political leaders who are laypeople and whose leadership is not specifically spiritual. | Civil religion stands somewhat above folk religion in its social and political status, since by definition it suffuses an entire society, or at least a segment of a society; and is often practised by [[leadership|leader]]s within that society. On the other hand, it is somewhat less than an [[establishment of religion]], since established churches have official [[clergy]] and a relatively fixed and formal relationship with the government that establishes them. Civil religion is usually practiced by political leaders who are laypeople and whose leadership is not specifically spiritual. | ||
===Examples=== | ===Examples=== | ||
| − | |||
Such civil religion encompasses such things as: | Such civil religion encompasses such things as: | ||
*the invocation of [[God]] in political speeches and public [[monument]]s; | *the invocation of [[God]] in political speeches and public [[monument]]s; | ||
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==Practical political philosophy== | ==Practical political philosophy== | ||
| − | Professional commentators on political and social matters writing in newspapers and magazines sometimes use the term | + | Professional commentators on political and social matters writing in newspapers and magazines sometimes use the term "civil religion" or "civic religion" to refer to [[ritual]] expressions of [[patriotism]] of a sort practiced in all countries, not always including religion in the conventional sense of the word. |
Among such practices are the following: | Among such practices are the following: | ||
| Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
==Relation between the two conceptions== | ==Relation between the two conceptions== | ||
| − | These two conceptions (sociological and political) of | + | These two conceptions (sociological and political) of civil religion substantially overlap. In Britain, where church and state are constitutionally joined, the monarch's coronation is an elaborate religious rite celebrated by the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]]. In France, secular ceremonies are separated from religious observances to a greater degree than in most countries. In the United States, a president being inaugurated is told by the Constitution to choose between saying [[oath of office|"I do solemnly swear..."]] (customarily followed by "so help me God," although those words are not Constitutionally required) and saying "I do solemnly affirm..." (in which latter case no mention of God would be expected). |
==History== | ==History== | ||
[[image:Arapacis.png|thumb|The ''[[Ara Pacis]]'', dedicated to Peace as a [[goddess]], embodied the civil religion of the [[Roman Empire]].]] | [[image:Arapacis.png|thumb|The ''[[Ara Pacis]]'', dedicated to Peace as a [[goddess]], embodied the civil religion of the [[Roman Empire]].]] | ||
| − | The first government to have an identifiable civil religion was the [[Roman Empire]], whose first Emperor [[Augustus]] officially attempted to revive the dutiful practice of Classical [[paganism]]. [[Greek religion|Greek]] and [[Roman religion]] were essentially local in character; the Roman Empire attempted to unite its disparate territories by inculcating an ideal of Roman piety, and by a [[syncretism|syncretistic]] identifying of the gods of conquered territories with the Greek and Roman [[Greek mythology|pantheon]]. | + | The first government to have an identifiable civil religion was the [[Roman Empire]], whose first Emperor [[Augustus]] officially attempted to revive the dutiful practice of Classical [[paganism]]. [[Greek religion|Greek]] and [[Roman religion]] were essentially local in character; the Roman Empire attempted to unite its disparate territories by inculcating an ideal of Roman piety, and by a [[syncretism|syncretistic]] identifying of the gods of conquered territories with the Greek and Roman [[Greek mythology|pantheon]]. In this campaign, Augustus erected monuments such as the ''[[Ara Pacis]]'', the Altar of Peace, showing the [[Roman Emperor|Emperor]] and his family worshipping the gods. He also encouraged the publication of works such as [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid|Æneid]]'', which depicted "pious [[Aeneas|Æneas]]," the [[legend]]ary ancestor of [[Rome]], as a role model for Roman religiosity. Roman historians such as [[Livy]] told tales of early Romans as morally improving stories of military prowess and civic virtue. The Roman civil religion later became centered on the person of the Emperor through the [[Imperial cult (Ancient Rome)|imperial cult]], the worship of the [[genius (mythology)|genius]] of the Emperor. |
| − | The phrase "civil religion" was first discussed extensively by [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] in ''The Social Contract''. | + | The phrase "civil religion" was first discussed extensively by [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] in ''''The Social Contract''''. Rousseau defined "civil religion" as a group of religious beliefs he believed to be universal, and which he believed governments had a right to uphold and maintain: belief in a [[deity]], belief in an [[afterlife]] in which [[virtue]] is rewarded and vice punished; and belief in [[freedom of religion|religious tolerance]]. Beyond that, Rousseau affirmed that individuals' religious opinions should be beyond the reach of governments. |
| − | In the 1950s and 1960s, scholars such as [[Martin E. Marty]] and [[Robert N. Bellah]] studied civil religion as a cultural phenomenon, attempting to identify the actual tenets of civil religion in the [[United States of America]], or to study civil religion as a phenomenon of [[cultural anthropology]]. Within this | + | In the 1950s and 1960s, scholars such as [[Martin E. Marty]] and [[Robert N. Bellah]] studied civil religion as a cultural phenomenon, attempting to identify the actual tenets of civil religion in the [[United States of America]], or to study civil religion as a phenomenon of [[cultural anthropology]]. Within this context, Marty wrote that Americans approved of "religion in general" without being particularly concerned about the content of that faith, and attempted to distinguish "[[priest]]ly" and "[[prophet]]ic" roles within the practice of American civil religion, which he preferred to call the ''public theology''. Bellah wrote that civil religion was "an institutionalized collection of sacred beliefs about the American nation." Bellah identified the [[American Revolution]], the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], and the [[American Civil Rights Movement|Civil Rights Movement]] as three decisive historical events that impacted the content and imagery of civil religion in the United States. |
==Issues== | ==Issues== | ||
[[Image:ChristianFlagEtc CovenantPresbyterianLongBeach20050213 CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg|thumb|The [[Christian flag]] displayed alongside the flag of the [[United States|USA]] next to the pulpit in a church in California. Note the eagle and cross finials on the flag poles.]] | [[Image:ChristianFlagEtc CovenantPresbyterianLongBeach20050213 CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg|thumb|The [[Christian flag]] displayed alongside the flag of the [[United States|USA]] next to the pulpit in a church in California. Note the eagle and cross finials on the flag poles.]] | ||
| − | Within the contexts of the [[monotheism|monotheistic]], [[prophet]]ic, [[revelation|revealed]] faiths, civil religion can be problematic from a [[theology|theological]] perspective. | + | Within the contexts of the [[monotheism|monotheistic]], [[prophet]]ic, [[revelation|revealed]] faiths, civil religion can be problematic from a [[theology|theological]] perspective. Being identified with a political culture and a leadership [[hierarchy]] of an existing society, civil religion can interfere with the prophetic mission of a religious faith. It is hard to make civil religion a platform for rebuking the [[sin]]s of a people or its institutions, because civil religion exists to make them seem [[sacred]] in themselves. |
| − | The [[United States of America]], while a group of British [[colony|colonies]], was settled in part by religious [[dissenter]]s from the established [[Church of England]], who desired a civil society founded on a different religious vision. | + | The [[United States of America]], while a group of British [[colony|colonies]], was settled in part by religious [[dissenter]]s from the established [[Church of England]], who desired a civil society founded on a different religious vision. Consequently, there has never been a National Church in the United States and individual state churches have not existed in the United States since the early [[nineteenth century]]. Religious denominations compete with one another for allegiance in the public square. These facts have made public displays of religious piety by political leaders important to a large sector of the population; lacking an established church, they need public assurance of those leaders' religious beliefs. |
| − | This assertive civil religion of | + | This assertive civil religion of [[America]] is an occasional cause of political friction between the United States and its allies in [[Europe]], where (the literally religious form of) civil religion is often relatively muted. In the United States, civil religion is often invoked under the name of "[[Judeo-Christian]] tradition," a phrase originally intended to be maximally inclusive of the several [[monotheism]]s practiced in the United States, assuming that these faiths all [[worship]] the same God and share the same values. This assumption tends to dilute the essence of both [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]]; recognition of this fact, and the increasing religious diversity of the United States, make this phrase less heard now than it once was, though it is far from extinct. |
| + | |||
| + | Some scholars have argued that the American flag can be seen as a main [[totem]] of a national cult.<ref>Marvin and Ingle (1996), [http://www.asc.upenn.edu/USR/fcm/jaar.htm]</ref> Arguing against mob violence and lynching, Abraham Lincoln declared in his 1838 Lyceum speech that the Constitution and the laws of the United States ought to become the "political religion" of each American..<ref>Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois January 27, 1838 [http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm]</ref> | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
| Line 65: | Line 67: | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
| + | *Bellah, Robert N. ''The Broken Covenant: American Civil Religion in Time of Trial'', University of Chicago Press, 1992. ISBN 978-0226041995 | ||
| + | *Bellah, Robert N., & Hammond, Phillip E.'' Varieties of Civil Religion'', Harper San Francisco, 1982. ISBN 978-0060607692 | ||
| + | *Kessler, Sanford. ''Tocqueville's Civil Religion: American Christianity and the Prospects for Freedom'', State University of New York Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0791419304 | ||
| + | *Shanks, Andrew, & Bridges, Alta. ''Civil Society, Civil Religion'', Blackwell Publishing Limited, 1995. ISBN 978-0631197584 | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
[[Category:philosophy and religion]] | [[Category:philosophy and religion]] | ||
{{Credit|146115697}} | {{Credit|146115697}} | ||
Revision as of 18:39, 4 October 2007
The intended meaning of the term civil religion often varies according to whether one is a sociologist of religion or a professional political commentator. The following discussion includes both perspectives followed by a brief history of the concept.
Origin of term
Jean-Jacques Rousseau coined the term in chapter 8, book 4 of The Social Contract, to describe what he regarded as the moral and spiritual foundation essential for any modern society. For Rousseau, civil religion was intended simply as a form of social cement, helping to unify the state by providing it with sacred authority. In his book, Rousseau outlines the simple dogmas of the civil religion:
Sociology of religion
In the sociology of religion, "civil religion" is the folk religion of a nation or a political culture.
Civil religion stands somewhat above folk religion in its social and political status, since by definition it suffuses an entire society, or at least a segment of a society; and is often practised by leaders within that society. On the other hand, it is somewhat less than an establishment of religion, since established churches have official clergy and a relatively fixed and formal relationship with the government that establishes them. Civil religion is usually practiced by political leaders who are laypeople and whose leadership is not specifically spiritual.
Examples
Such civil religion encompasses such things as:
- the invocation of God in political speeches and public monuments;
- the quotation of religious texts on public occasions by political leaders;
- the veneration of past political leaders;
- the use of the lives of these leaders to teach moral ideals;
- the veneration of veterans and casualties of a nation's wars;
- religious gatherings called by political leaders;
- the use of religious symbols on public buildings;
- the use of public buildings for worship;
- founding myths and other national myths
and similar religious or quasi-religious practices.
Practical political philosophy
Professional commentators on political and social matters writing in newspapers and magazines sometimes use the term "civil religion" or "civic religion" to refer to ritual expressions of patriotism of a sort practiced in all countries, not always including religion in the conventional sense of the word.
Among such practices are the following:
Examples
- crowds singing the national anthem at certain public gatherings;
- parades or display of the national flag on certain patriotic holidays;
- oaths of allegiance, such as the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States;
- ceremonies concomitant to the inauguration of a president or the coronation of a king;
- retelling exaggerated, one-sided, and simplified mythologized tales of Founding Fathers and other great leaders or great events (e.g., battles, mass migrations) in the past (in this connection, see also romantic nationalism);
- monuments commemorating great leaders of the past or historic events;
- monuments to dead soldiers or annual ceremonies to remember them;
- expressions of reverence for the country or the Constitution or the King;
- public display of the coffin of a recently deceased political leader.
Relation between the two conceptions
These two conceptions (sociological and political) of civil religion substantially overlap. In Britain, where church and state are constitutionally joined, the monarch's coronation is an elaborate religious rite celebrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In France, secular ceremonies are separated from religious observances to a greater degree than in most countries. In the United States, a president being inaugurated is told by the Constitution to choose between saying "I do solemnly swear..." (customarily followed by "so help me God," although those words are not Constitutionally required) and saying "I do solemnly affirm..." (in which latter case no mention of God would be expected).
History
The first government to have an identifiable civil religion was the Roman Empire, whose first Emperor Augustus officially attempted to revive the dutiful practice of Classical paganism. Greek and Roman religion were essentially local in character; the Roman Empire attempted to unite its disparate territories by inculcating an ideal of Roman piety, and by a syncretistic identifying of the gods of conquered territories with the Greek and Roman pantheon. In this campaign, Augustus erected monuments such as the Ara Pacis, the Altar of Peace, showing the Emperor and his family worshipping the gods. He also encouraged the publication of works such as Virgil's Æneid, which depicted "pious Æneas," the legendary ancestor of Rome, as a role model for Roman religiosity. Roman historians such as Livy told tales of early Romans as morally improving stories of military prowess and civic virtue. The Roman civil religion later became centered on the person of the Emperor through the imperial cult, the worship of the genius of the Emperor.
The phrase "civil religion" was first discussed extensively by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 'The Social Contract'. Rousseau defined "civil religion" as a group of religious beliefs he believed to be universal, and which he believed governments had a right to uphold and maintain: belief in a deity, belief in an afterlife in which virtue is rewarded and vice punished; and belief in religious tolerance. Beyond that, Rousseau affirmed that individuals' religious opinions should be beyond the reach of governments.
In the 1950s and 1960s, scholars such as Martin E. Marty and Robert N. Bellah studied civil religion as a cultural phenomenon, attempting to identify the actual tenets of civil religion in the United States of America, or to study civil religion as a phenomenon of cultural anthropology. Within this context, Marty wrote that Americans approved of "religion in general" without being particularly concerned about the content of that faith, and attempted to distinguish "priestly" and "prophetic" roles within the practice of American civil religion, which he preferred to call the public theology. Bellah wrote that civil religion was "an institutionalized collection of sacred beliefs about the American nation." Bellah identified the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights Movement as three decisive historical events that impacted the content and imagery of civil religion in the United States.
Issues
Within the contexts of the monotheistic, prophetic, revealed faiths, civil religion can be problematic from a theological perspective. Being identified with a political culture and a leadership hierarchy of an existing society, civil religion can interfere with the prophetic mission of a religious faith. It is hard to make civil religion a platform for rebuking the sins of a people or its institutions, because civil religion exists to make them seem sacred in themselves.
The United States of America, while a group of British colonies, was settled in part by religious dissenters from the established Church of England, who desired a civil society founded on a different religious vision. Consequently, there has never been a National Church in the United States and individual state churches have not existed in the United States since the early nineteenth century. Religious denominations compete with one another for allegiance in the public square. These facts have made public displays of religious piety by political leaders important to a large sector of the population; lacking an established church, they need public assurance of those leaders' religious beliefs.
This assertive civil religion of America is an occasional cause of political friction between the United States and its allies in Europe, where (the literally religious form of) civil religion is often relatively muted. In the United States, civil religion is often invoked under the name of "Judeo-Christian tradition," a phrase originally intended to be maximally inclusive of the several monotheisms practiced in the United States, assuming that these faiths all worship the same God and share the same values. This assumption tends to dilute the essence of both Judaism and Christianity; recognition of this fact, and the increasing religious diversity of the United States, make this phrase less heard now than it once was, though it is far from extinct.
Some scholars have argued that the American flag can be seen as a main totem of a national cult.[1] Arguing against mob violence and lynching, Abraham Lincoln declared in his 1838 Lyceum speech that the Constitution and the laws of the United States ought to become the "political religion" of each American..[2]
Notes
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Bellah, Robert N. The Broken Covenant: American Civil Religion in Time of Trial, University of Chicago Press, 1992. ISBN 978-0226041995
- Bellah, Robert N., & Hammond, Phillip E. Varieties of Civil Religion, Harper San Francisco, 1982. ISBN 978-0060607692
- Kessler, Sanford. Tocqueville's Civil Religion: American Christianity and the Prospects for Freedom, State University of New York Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0791419304
- Shanks, Andrew, & Bridges, Alta. Civil Society, Civil Religion, Blackwell Publishing Limited, 1995. ISBN 978-0631197584
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