Key People
w George
Whitefield = most famous itinerant preacher of the 1st Awakening
w Jonathan
Edwards = 1st Awakening theologian who redefines the American
culture core
w John
Locke = Enlightenment philosopher
w John
Winthrop = captain of the Arabella
Key People
w Anne Hutchison = colonial woman; a “religious rebel”
who protested against religious restriction in the Mass. Bay Colony; was
expelled.
w William Penn = founds tolerant Pennsylvania colony
w Roger Williams = founds “outcast” Rhode Island colony
w Lord Baltimore = founds Roman Catholic Maryland Colony
Religion and the Revolution
2 Strands:
w
Protestant Evangelical Christianity
w
Enlightened religion = Deism
•
Both strands combine in post-Revolutionary War world
to create a “religion of the republic”
•
Civil religion
•
Religion “B”
Impact of 1st Awakening on Protestant Experience
w Traditional
church authority weakened
w Decline
of New England’s Puritan establishment
w Religious
experience carries more weight than theological precision
w Rise
of the denominational model for church freedom = choose your religion
Impact of Deism on the 18th Century Mind
w Reason
is a sufficient source for knowledge about religious truth
w Reason
reveals a Creator whose world is ruled by law – “The Great Clockmaker”
w God
holds humans morally accountable for their actions
w Religion
should promote civic virtue
Both “Strands” Agree That…
w Religion is a private affair
w Religion demands obedience to the moral laws of God
w The Church should be financially independent from the
State
w
The State should be
religiously neutral
w “Religion” should provide moral leadership for
the nation
w Sets the stage for a Religion of the Republic
Key Documents
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom:
•
Written by Thomas Jefferson
•
Passed in 1786
•
An Enlightenment model for religious tolerance
•
Spoke against the establishment of a “Christian”
religion supported by Virginia
Key Documents
“A Memorial and Remonstrance”
•
Written by James
Madison
•
Against Patrick
Henry’s bill making Christianity the established religion of Virginia
•
Religion should be
left to individual conscience
•
Religion should not
be forced on people by the state
•
Henry’s bill could
trample on the equality all citizens should enjoy under the law
Religion & Politics in Post-Revolutionary War America
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:
“Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
•
No establishment clause
• Free
exercise clause
America’s “2” Religions
w Religion
A: organized, institutionalized religious denominations: Baptists, Methodist,
Lutherans, Catholics, etc.
w Religion
B: religion of the republic:
–
Civil religion
–
Religion of the culture core
–
Popular religion in America
–
A potent religiopolitical blend
Two Key Observations
w
Religion A has to adjust to Religion B which,
in turn, must adjust to changes in the cultural environment; can lead to Awakenings.
w
Religion A is separate from civil
government; Religion B is never separated from civil government.
America’s Two Post-War Missions
w
Domestic policy = to be “the best nation on earth,”
an example of how human beings should live together
w
Foreign policy = to be a “servant nation” called
upon (by God) to liberate the oppressed and protect the weak
Religion & Politics in the Rationalist Mind
Three assumptions about
religion:
w
Ultimate religious power is “unknowable” – Deist
“clockmaker”
w
Established religious power is potentially
oppressive
w
Legitimate religious power is found in the form of moral
reason
Religion & Politics in the Rationalist Mind
Political Consequences:
w
Religion is a matter
of personal opinion
w
“Religious opinions”
are judged by their consequences in cultivating private and civic virtue = pragmatism
w
Religion can be
persuasive in influencing public policy; but it should never be coercive
“Religion B”
Civil Religion
Civil Religion = a form of MYTH that validates the social order
KEY FUNCTIONS:
1. Provides social cohesion through a yearly cycle of holidays
and celebrations
examples: Memorial Day, 4th of
July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc.
Civil Religion
Key Functions:
2. Infuses public policy and
public events with mythic significance
examples: singing the national
anthem at
sporting events; the burial of
heros; Presidential elections; political holidays and celebrations; saluting
the flag, etc.
Civil Religion
Key Functions:
3. Supports social ideals over social reality
example: “Land of the Free and
the Home of the Brave” vs. racism and sexism
4. Shapes “history” to suit religiopolitical convictions
example: “Defender of the Free
World”
Civil Religion
w SUPERBOWL XXVII
– the world sees Los Angeles explode in riots following
the Rodney King beating and the
acquittal of the police officers
– the world sees that America “really is” a place were
equality, justice and freedom count
– SUPERBOWL
XXVII, a civil religious holiday, provides the opportunity for a
“re-validation” of the American social order