Rhetorical Analysis Of Robert Bellahs Civil Religion Essay example

This paper is a book critique of The Godless Constitution. The first chapter of the book is titled “Is America a Christian Nation?” and it is an introduction for the rest of the book. In this chapter, the main idea is to open the reader’s mind about that the constitution was created with the idea that religious believes will not influence in the politics of the nation. The authors state that “The principal framers of the American political system wanted no religious parties in national politics” (Kramnick and Moore, 23). Actually, the creation of a constitution without influence of religion was not an act of irreverence. The authors believe that the creation of the constitution was a support to the idea that religion can preserve the civil morality necessary for democracy, without an influence on any political party. The end of the chapter is the description of the following chapters and with a disguise warning that both authors were raise in religious families and they wrote the book with high respect for America’s religious traditions (Kramnick and Moore, 25). The second chapter, called “The Godless Constitution” explains how the different terms to talk about God were taken out and a “no religious test” clause was adopted with little discussion. This clause was a “veritable firestorm” during the ratification debates in several states (Kramnick and Moore, 32). For many people the “no religious test” clause was considered as the gravest defect of the Constitution (Kramnick

Smith and Bradford use religion as a literary tool to persuade the reader towards their own interests. There are similarities and differences in the motivation to use religion by these two authors, yet the use is still prevalent in their writings. The reasons for these similarities and differences are found in the greater interest of each individual author.

To develop this point, we first explore further the symbols that Bellah used in explaining civil religion. For instance, ‘God’ is undoubtedly the most central of these symbols in civil religion from the time of origin to the present day. In fact, Bellah noted that civil religion has a ‘God image’. It is in reality an empty category and it depends on the images of ‘God’ are generated by the traditional faiths, or the particularistic religious of the United States. In other words, Bellah pointed out that all American Presidents typically mentioned ‘God’ in their speeches and inaugurals, though no one of them alluded ‘Christ’ (except for George W. Bush). This civic notion of ‘God’ is more actively involved in human history and affairs. Therefore,

There exists a long held belief that the United States of America was founded on the principles and doctrinal views of Protestantism. Modern age Christians have scoured historical documents in an effort to provide evidence for a Judeo-Christian foundation in the nation’s republican framework. Likewise, their opponents have written lengthy dissertations and argued over various media outlets that Christian conclusions are unfounded. Yet despite their endless debate, religion, especially Christianity, has and continues to play a fundamental element of America’s cultural, societal, and political makeup. The Second Great Awakening, the religious revivalist movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, ignited not only a

From American journal Daedalus ‘Biblical Religion and Civil Religion in America’, pages 1-22, written by distinguished American sociologist Robert N. Bellah in 1967. Bellah examines presidential addresses and argues that American civil religion is distinct from other religions present in America but, displays significant characteristics of religion. The purpose of this review is to critically evaluate ‘Civil Religion in America’ and the key concepts of whether a secular society is guided by religious ideologies, concentrating Bellah’s argument that there is an unconsciousness ‘civil religion’ guiding the American society.

Religion is the name given to a “relationship with God, and different groups of people have different Gods and belief systems” (Terhart & Schulze, 2008). Today there are 313 religions and denominations in the United States; from monotheists who believe in one God, to polytheists who believe in many Gods, to others who believe in no God, or a God as represented by animal spirits, alien groups, or psychoactive substances (ProCon.org, 2008). Christianity was the first religion that was brought to the world by European settlers and it became dominant religion of the United States throughout its history. Although Puritan practices was accepted under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, both James I and Charles I believed that their authority had

Professor Diana Eck in Chapter One of “Introduction to a New America” highlights the emerging new religious climate in the United States. The United States has always been a country of many religious traditions due to the Constitutional right of Freedom of Religion. But since the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act, signed by President Johnson, America’s borders have seen a tremendous influx of individuals from around the world. There are one million new immigrants to the U. S. each year which has led the United States to become the most religiously diverse nation on earth. The percentage of foreign born Americans is now 10.4 percent, which is more than double what it was in 1970.

Many people tend to not fathom how religion plays such a powerful role within our world today. It even played a powerful role in the beginning of the United State hundreds of years ago when it was founded. Religion intertwined in the social development in America since the very beginning. We see religion animatedly in World War II, when many religious leaders risked their own lives to fight in a war that hurt so many people. In the book “The Religious History of America” by Edwin Gaustad and Leigh Schmidt, it is publicized that even two decades after the war, religion helped with sparking one of the most influential parts of America’s history. The Civil Rights Movement.

However, there is another side to religion, one that is quite contrary to idea of unification and acceptance. When looking through the scope of history, we can also see religion as an exclusionary tool, often used to differentiate groups of people on an innate level. As many of these idealogies attempt to assert

Bruilly, E., O'Brien, J., Palmer and Palmer, M. (1997) Religions of the World, Great Britain: Macdonald Young.

The act of defining religion has been a contentious issue in a wide variety of situations, particularly in the United States. The US is a nation that prides itself on religious inclusivity and freedom. There are consequences to this belief and tenant. Through the social, legal and moral structures of the United States, defining religion has become imperative. In The Impossibility of Religious Freedom, Winifred Sullivan outlines the legal implications of defining religion in the United States. In order for religious freedom to be protected by the American state, religion must be clearly defined. As a result, religious theory must be used to maintain some semblance of religious freedom in the United States. Likewise, Josh Dubler’s Down in

America succeeds through common religious beliefs of citizens. In Lincoln’s second inaugural address, he states that the majority of American citizens “pray to the same God”

Furthermore, we can explore how different societies influence religion and utilize it to propagate their agendas while justifying their actions to still fit the core tenants of their religion.

Professor Garnett argues that the approach of freedom for religion “best represents the American experiment in ‘healthy

In this is paper I’m going to tell you about the religious freedom we have in America and how it’s uniquely American. There are many reason we have religious freedom in America, One being that it’s a law. I’m going to tell who wrote the bill of rights that made religious freedom a law and why they wrote it. I’ll tell you about the people who fight in war just to make sure we have this freedom among other freedoms. I’ll talk about how America is one place where we have a choose an say in our religion. I’m going to tell about the religions you can choose to be for example Christian.