Bellah Civil Religion Blog Post

 Robert Bellah develops the idea of American "Civil Religion" in his work. The idea of Civil Religion is that all people are united under one God, and it is this universal higher power that impacts the legislation of the state. Bellah notes how Civil Religion does not reference any specific religious figure, such as Christ or Moses, but rather a unifying sovereign presence to persuade order in society. While church and state are separate in American government, Presidents have historically cited God as the motivating factor for laws that enact social change and action. Furthermore, Our country's founding fathers wanted to maintain religious ties without specifically answering to one religion in order to not exclude anyone from observing a higher power. The impact of Civil Religion in American society manifests itself in phrases such as "in God we trust", which appears on American currency, and "I have sworn before you and Almighty God." The rationale for incorporating divinity in these statements is to hold the American people to a higher standard that is greater than the free will of man. The image I have provided is the oath that people must take in court settings. Swearing on the Bible is a tactic to make people have a sense of accountability and believe that they have a moral obligation to fulfill by telling the truth. The image is symbolic of Bellah's idea that Civil Religion as created to hold people in line. He built off of Emile Durkheim's theory that there can be no social order if people are completely free to make their own choices. We use the phrase "so help me God" in court room settings to place people under the illusion that a higher power is holding them accountable and that they could be punished for disobeying God. Ultimately, Civil Religion serves to persuade people to behave because they are not just behaving for each other, they are behaving for God.