Twilight of the Saints Ch. 2

Twilight of the Saints: Ch 2. Civil Religion From The ancient Past to the Anxious Present

            The second chapter of Twilight of the Saints deals with the history of civil religion.  Beginning with the history of American Civil Religion, The Declaration of Independence.  G.K. Chesterton talks about how the Declaration lays out the “creed” of United States civil religion.  The chapter lays out the past nations which have had some form of civil religion, like Rome, and Greece.  It also lays out the history of America’s civil religion, how it became what it is today.  This chapter expands the boundaries of civil religion

What is Civil Religion

          This chapter uses the opinion of Rousseau to add to the understanding of civil religion.  Rousseau adds an idea of a social contract.  A Social contract is “the general will of the people expressed religiously in the life of the state with a benign but watchful deistic god to preside over the keeping of the public faith.”[1]  The general will of the people is found using reason, assuming that the Christian religion is true.  Civil religion is not a nation which possesses a state church as its religion.  Emile Durkheim said this about civil religion “a common religion is constitutive of the unity and character of every society.”[2]  Plato also confirmed the belief that “the essential conditions for achieving a just political order was the practice of citizens honoring the gods and their parents.”[3]

Civil Religion in Ancient Nations

          Rome and Greece are two ancient nations which both possessed civil religion.  These two nations both had a religion which every person embraced.  Rome was the main force when it came to influencing England which influenced America.  Rome was the first civilized nation that attempted to civilize the English.  Because of this development of the English by the Romans the English experienced the civil religion of the Romans.  The Romans first had a polytheistic religion but then the people began to worship the Emperor as god.  This idea was impressed upon the English, but they were also opened up to the Christian religion.  This Christian religion and the idea of a single person being in power remained.  The Romans also gave the English the idea of global conquest through colonization.  This is the reason why the Americas were established.

Civil Religion in England

            England has played a vital role in the development of America’s civil religion.  England has created a national church with much latitude making it almost a civil religion.  The most important idea which emerged from England was the idea of a state.  This is the idea of having an individual at the head of the country and a god to be next to the king.  This is when the phrase “For God and crown”[4] originated.  England also sent settlers to America who possessed this idea but wanted a different religion then the state church offered.  These settlers wanted “their outpost in the wilderness would be as a “city upon a hill”, a moral and political example to the entire world.”[5] John Foxe has inspired the idea that “England was God’s anointed vessel.”[6]

Civil Religion in Modern America

The American civil religion is the basis of the American dream “A third element in constructing the first American civil religion was some sort of religious consensus”[7]  The whole process creates  “but in the process, where the churches moved out the nation moved in.”[8]  The early civil religion was based on different ideals “evangelical-deistic ideals made up the early national faith.”[9]  In Americas now use civil religion as a blending tool for all immigrants.  America has “a nation with the soul of a church.”[10] This soul is nurtured by events like Memorial Day, “The Memorial Day celebration is an American sacred ceremony, a religious ritual, a modern cult of the dead.”[11]  America has created a nation which is beloved by a majority of its citizens, because of civil religion.  It is the sum of its major influences from Greece, to Rome and England.

Analysis

          The Author does a very good job of presenting where Americas civil religion originates from.  As well as the key people or ideas which have influenced it along the way.  I personally did not like the references to some of the founding fathers being considered deists, on page 71.

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[1] Robert D. Linder and Richard V. Pierard, Twilight of the Saints (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1978), 44

[2] Ibid 45

[3] Ibid 46

[4] Ibid 49

[5] Ibid 59

[6] Ibid 54

[7] Ibid 67       

[8] Ibid 66

[9] Ibid 71

[10] Ibid 74

[11] Ibid 62

Twilight of the Saints Ch. 1

Twilight of the saints:Effects of Civil Religion within America

            Robert D. Linder and Richard V. Pierard do an excellent job at the religious problem facing American Pop culture.  The chapter deals with defining civil religion directly with the United States.   This problem is one of pluralism.  The United States did not always have an unofficial religion of pluralism.  At one point in time the United States was a country based on the basic understanding of a supernatural entity.  Twilight of the Saints gives an account of the reason for falling down this slippery sloop of pluralism.  The authors give a defence for why Christians can save America and why it is too late.

One of the defences is the orgins of the Uniteds States.  Originally the United States was founded as a British colony.  The majority of the people populating these colonies were English Puritans.  These people held a dominant religion until the twentieth century.  “During the nineteenth century the country flourished on the principles of biblical Christanity”[1]  In the twentieth century the country underwent many changes and endured hardships.  This is due to the events like presidential assignations, Vietnam War, and two world wars to say the least.  Somewhere in all this Americans stopped practicing the civil religion which the immigrant puritans began.  The orgins of America are Christian but somewhere over the years we have strayed from the orgins.  “Upon Christian Principles as a holy experiment by people who had faith in Jesus Christ”[2]

Civil Religion is the use of consensus religious sentiments. This means when we use the national motto “In God We Trust” it is to further a certain political agenda.  The pluralism has become so bad, we the people of the United States, thought about removing this part of our heritage from the history books.  They like to compare their heritage to religious events in order to comply too civil religion.  “Our freedom from the course of sin cost God His only begotten son. Our American freedom cost our forefathers and it cost the men who signed the declaration. ”[3]

Many people within the United States believe the United States is the new Isreal.  In the Old Testament Israel was chosen by God to be his people.  People now are thinking that God has gone aginst his character and changed his nation of favor.  “We Americans are the peculiar, chosen people-the Israel of our time”[4]

Throughout the years each and every president has used God as a puppet to further their campaign.  Many candidates attend church and make sure video cameras are present.  Presidents use God and religious phrases in their speeches alongside patriotic phrases.  This is something which the American people have always had this and will continue to vote for the individuals who do it the best.  People want to see this because it really is both God and Country.  American people love their flag and will do anything to protect it.  Americans are disgusted when they see images of American flags being burned, when they are not aware if someone burned a cross on a churches front lawn.  Americans want their religious references to remain intact for future generations.

Because of the introduction of secularism the people have come close to abolishing “In God We Trust” and the line in the pledge of allegiance referring to God.  The church is standing idly by and watching this happen.  The church only does this because it thinks it is powerless to stop anything.  This is not true, but we should have acted when this book was written.  Unfortunately the pluralism has abolished the propose of the United States by removing God.   Now the people of the United States enjoy a purpose free nation and therefore they themselves are living purpose free lives.  This creates many people who are unhappy and discontent with life in general.  Our nation has lost it moral compass as well as its purpose. 

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[1] 152

[2] 148

[3] 150

[4] 144