Copyright by Darrin Mark Hanson 2009
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Copyright by Darrin Mark Hanson 2009 The Dissertation Committee for Darrin Mark Hanson Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: American Civil Religion: Continuity and Change Committee: J. Budziszewski, Supervisor Bruce Buchanan Gretchen Ritter Eric McDaniel Bob Woodberry American Civil Religion: Continuity and Change by Darrin Mark Hanson, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December 2009 Acknowledgements This project started rummaging through my disorganized mind during informal political discussions with my colleagues in the philosophy graduate program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I hope this dissertation answers some of their questions about all the “god talk”. I owe them a debt of gratitude for forcing me to think about these issues and Robert Audi for taking the time from his extensive writing to provide a young graduate student some guidance about what direction to take his new interest. Nearly every chapter of this book has been presented in earlier forms at the annual meetings for the American Political Science Association, the Southern Political Science Association, or the Western Political Science Association. The comments and discussions at each conference have helped me to better craft my arguments and descriptions. A special thanks goes to Calvin College’s Biennial Conference on Religion and Politics where the informal discussions with others who study the interplay of religion and politics provided a great deal of new insight into different perspectives from which I could look at my broader question. Thanks, of course, go to many faculty members at the University of Texas. I owe thanks to Eric McDaniel, who was kind enough to give this random white guy an introduction to the political and religious life of the African-American community. I owe thanks to Bruce Buchanan, who, in addition to providing invaluable insight on the iv presidency chapter, has always been very encouraging to me in my endeavors and demonstrated through practice that historical analysis can be both academically rigorous and interesting to a broader audience. I owe thanks to Wendy Hunter, who demonstrated how good scholarship and good teaching need not be mutually exclusive. I owe thanks to Jeffrey Tulis, who, through his high levels of expectations, turned me into a better graduate student and a better thinker. I owe thanks to Gretchen Ritter, who always forced me to look at the historical issues from different perspectives. Her objections to my focus led to a much better overall project. A special thanks goes to J. Budziszewski, who patiently guided me through the rigors and trials of my graduate experience at Texas. He has also been the individual most responsible for looking at the big picture of the project and making sure all the pieces of the puzzle fit. Finally, thanks go to my family and friends who were always very encouraging with words and prayers during this lengthy process (even those who did not understand the process at all). My parents always believed in me, even at times when I didn’t believe in myself. The community at Dayspring Fellowship, who welcomed an awkward outsider into their loving arms for six long years. The community at Castle Rock, who embraced this newcomer to New Orleans and provided opportunities to make a difference in the real world. Vansa Shewakramani, whose energy and inexplicable faith in me provided both an example and motivation to get through the final stages of this process. v American Civil Religion: Continuity and Change Publication No._____________ Darrin Mark Hanson, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2009 Supervisor: J. Budziszewski Abstract: American civil religion is a topic in which there is a lot of interest but very little current scholarly activity. This is primarily due to there currently being no common understanding of American civil religion, hindering progress in the field. The first purpose of the dissertation is to rectify this situation by creating a solid theoretical understanding of American civil religion from which scholarship can progress. The second purpose of the dissertation is to examine the development of the American civil religion through history. This includes an interesting dynamic given the civil religion's purpose of promoting a shared identity. The process of promoting a shared identity involves defining the social group in question. When 'outsiders' enter the community, conflict ensues. Typically, the conflict continues until the parameters of the civil religion is enlarged, incorporating the new group. This is a continuing cycle within the American civil religion. Looking at this broad framework, one will able to see both the continuity and change from the founding period to the current version of the American civil religion. vi Table of Contents Chapter 1 American Civil religion and Common Identity..................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 The role of unity in American civil religion ………………………………6 Chapter 2 Defining American Civil Religion ................................................... 21 Civil religion in general................................................................................ 21 American civil religion ……………………………………………………24 A linguistic defense ………………………………………………………..25 A theoretical defense ………………………………………………………28 A final note ………………………………………………………………...35 Chapter 3 Civil Religion and the American Founding......................................... 36 Benjamin Franklin........................................................................................ 40 George Washington ………………………………………………………..43 John Adams ………………………………………………………………..46 Thomas Jefferson ………………………………………………………….50 James Madison …………………………………………………………….55 Alexander Hamilton ……………………………………………………….57 Other founders ……………………………………………………………..60 Concluding thoughts ……………………………………………………….62 Chapter 4 Transitions in Civil Religion over Time--An Analysis of Presidential Rhetoric ……………………………………………………64 In the beginning: the foundations of American civil religion ...................... 66 Populism: telling people what they want to hear ………………………….67 Prophet: telling people what they don't want to hear ……………………...69 Missionary vision: sharing the "good news" ………………………………71 Us vs. them: limiting who can be reached by the "good news" …………...72 Religious inclusion: invite the diverse population in ……………………...75 vii Chapter 5 Measuring the Efficacy of Civil Religious Rhetoric ........................... 78 Chapter 6 Incorporating Religious Minorities into the American Civil Religion ……………………………………………………………90 The Roman Catholic Church in the United States ....................................... 93 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints....................................... 106 Concluding thoughts .................................................................................. 120 Chapter 7 Incorporating Ethnic Minorities into the American Civil Religion ………………………………………………………………..122 African Americans, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American civil religion ...................................................................................... 124 Letter from Birmingham Jail ……………………………………………..129 The relevance of inclusion into the American civil religion...................... 135 Latin Americans and American Civil Religion …………………………..135 What does all this mean? …………………………………………………140 Conclusion to the dissertation ……………………………………………141 Appendix A On "Religion" and "Civil Religion" .............................................. 145 Appendix B On the Narrowing of Definitions through Descriptors …………..150 Appendix C The Civil Religious Rhetoric of George W. Bush ……………….153 Works Cited......................................................................................................... 157 Vita….................................................................................................................. 170 viii Chapter 1: American Civil Religion and Common Identity Introduction On January 20, 2005 George W. Bush was inaugurated for his second term as President of the United States. During this functionally governmental ceremony, there were two prayers, three songs sung with God frequently mentioned, two oaths of office sworn on the Bible, and an inaugural address strewn with religious and quasi-religious language. How, in a nation that professes to separate church and state, did this religious symbolism come to be part of a governmental ceremony? This is something of a paradox, that a purposely-secular state infuses itself with sacredness. In addition to inauguration ceremonies, religious and quasi-religious symbols are found in various other state-related realms and events. Such events vary from the opening of the Supreme Court and Congressional sessions to celebrations in small towns on Memorial Day. Students of American government, along with scholars in other fields, would likely be interested in this phenomenon that scholars have come to call “civil religion” when considering the apparent paradox of religious language and symbols in affairs of the state. I will define “civil religion in general” (this is a definition designed to apply across societies) as— A phenomenon that tends to contribute to a community’s