Robert Bellah’s “Civil Religion in America” has little to say about the context within which disc... more Robert Bellah’s “Civil Religion in America” has little to say about the context within which discussion of the role of religion in the state took place in the early American republic. As a result, the essay fails to recognize the extent to which the civil religious language of the Founders expresses a utilitarian understanding of that role, as opposed to a distinctly American faith. However, the Founders’ view did change over time, often incorporating a “general Protestantism.” By looking at sources that Bellah did not discuss as well as some that he did, this chapter offers a different way of reckoning with the origins of what he identified as the American civil religion.
The Brandywine review of faith & international affairs, Mar 1, 2005
ABSTRACT In his Social Contract Jean-Jacques Rousseau proposed a “purely civil profession of fait... more ABSTRACT In his Social Contract Jean-Jacques Rousseau proposed a “purely civil profession of faith” and tolerance of other religions. In the faith-based side of nation building, early Americans dismissed Rousseau's generic religion and embraced a Protestant Christianity with “liberty of conscience to all men.” After World War II, the US moved beyond pan-Protestantism to a more inclusive vision of the American civil religion, accepting Catholic and Jewish Americans into the fold. More recently, some have talked of including Muslims as well. Iraq's notions of Pan-Islam may be far from European societies' secularism, but may actually have some similarities to America's history of civil religion.
... If religion equals Republican, then they have decided that religion is not for them. ... Give... more ... If religion equals Republican, then they have decided that religion is not for them. ... Given that American politics often centers on sex and family issues, this religious polarization has been especially visible in partisan politics. ...
Robert Bellah’s “Civil Religion in America” has little to say about the context within which disc... more Robert Bellah’s “Civil Religion in America” has little to say about the context within which discussion of the role of religion in the state took place in the early American republic. As a result, the essay fails to recognize the extent to which the civil religious language of the Founders expresses a utilitarian understanding of that role, as opposed to a distinctly American faith. However, the Founders’ view did change over time, often incorporating a “general Protestantism.” By looking at sources that Bellah did not discuss as well as some that he did, this chapter offers a different way of reckoning with the origins of what he identified as the American civil religion.
The Brandywine review of faith & international affairs, Mar 1, 2005
ABSTRACT In his Social Contract Jean-Jacques Rousseau proposed a “purely civil profession of fait... more ABSTRACT In his Social Contract Jean-Jacques Rousseau proposed a “purely civil profession of faith” and tolerance of other religions. In the faith-based side of nation building, early Americans dismissed Rousseau's generic religion and embraced a Protestant Christianity with “liberty of conscience to all men.” After World War II, the US moved beyond pan-Protestantism to a more inclusive vision of the American civil religion, accepting Catholic and Jewish Americans into the fold. More recently, some have talked of including Muslims as well. Iraq's notions of Pan-Islam may be far from European societies' secularism, but may actually have some similarities to America's history of civil religion.
... If religion equals Republican, then they have decided that religion is not for them. ... Give... more ... If religion equals Republican, then they have decided that religion is not for them. ... Given that American politics often centers on sex and family issues, this religious polarization has been especially visible in partisan politics. ...
Uploads
Papers by Mark Silk