![]() President Biden, for example, holds to what I will call the “mainline” version of American Civil Religion, which, if never uniform, has been dominant, at least nationally. There may be a purging of leadership, like with the early Anabaptists after the violence at Munster, but I think we’re looking at a religious struggle for the soul of America for a long time to come. I suspect it’s going to get worse, even with the departure of Donald Trump. That it’s a single religion in schism, each side regarding the other as heretical, accounts for level of the vitriol. Both sides claim a common temple and want to get the other side out, by violence if necessary. ![]() Think of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, against the Protestants.Īmerican Civil Religion is in schism, with the two sides anathematizing each other. The Inauguration had its own expression of violence in the form of 25,000 National Guard troops - potential violence, uniformed, disciplined, held in reserve, but a great show of force nonetheless. So the more accurate Biblical parallel to the January 6 insurrection would be the cleansing of the Temple by the Maccabees, or any of the Jewish and Galilean risings against Rome. That it was violent makes it no less religious, for violence and religion are old friends. There was powerful evidence of this on January 6, from the Jesus flags to the crosses to the prayer to “Our Father,” hands uplifted, in the Senate chamber. They certainly believe in American Civil Religion, but in a version that is radically and even violently different. Neither did the rioters two weeks before, but for different reasons than me. I was happy to vote for him, but though I was moved and even inspired by the Inauguration, I would have been more comfortable at the cathedral than at the temple, because I don’t share Biden’s apparent belief in American Civil Religion. He is a man who is used to spirituality, charity, and good works. His Christian faith is genuine devotion, seriously expressed in faithful public worship and regular private prayer. To be fair to Joe Biden, he knows what a proper religious service is, and earlier that morning he attended Mass, with other officials, at the Roman Catholic cathedral. If this isn’t religion I don’t know what is. The sermon was Biden’s speech, which did not set out policies or a political program so much as appeal to the “soul” of America. J.Lo’s solo asked God to shed his grace on America, and we all sang a hymn stanza with Garth Brooks, which he sang like a prayer. It opened with an invocation and closed with a benediction. If the Inauguration of Joe Biden was not a church service, it was certainly an outdoor revival.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |