Jesus for President? Civil Religion in American Politics

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This image depicts a political rally where a large crowd of people are gathered together outside. Three of them are  holding American flags, two of which are raised in the air and one where only the top corner is visible. One person holds a large white sign with "JESUS" written on it in big red letters. The numbers 201 are visible in dark blue, with the last number being obscured. The faces of most of the people are very blurred, but their hats, coats, glasses and hooded jackets are visible. One person's eyes are looking directly at the camera, and they are wearing glasses and a baseball cap, but the second half of their face is obscured.  A tree is visible beside the crowd of people but it is out of focus. This image depicts a rally where American Christianity is being represented as a political identity through the lens of civil religion and religious nationalism.   

In Robert N. Bellah's essay "Civil Religion in America", he describes how American Christianity is utilized in the political sphere. The concept of civil religion details the externalization of Christian ritual and spiritual symbolism that imbues American culture. He analyzes former president John F. Kennedy's famous inauguration speech and his references to God, specifically that the presidential role carries spiritual as well as social implications: "In American political theory, sovereignty rests, of course, with the people, but implicitly, and often explicitly, the ultimate sovereignty has been attributed to God." (Bellah 1967:4)  This idea of sovereignty from a higher power provides moral and social guidelines for the presidency, ensuring that their political decisions do not contradict the religious ideologies of the majority of American citizens.  Bellah describes that specific matters of doctrine and denomination are not as significant as the action of invoking non specific religious language that conveys a sense of collective understanding. 

The sovereignty of God is clearly depicted in the image, with Jesus' name being printed in large red letters symbolizing the American flag. These protesters are explicitly invoking Christianity and patriotism, implying that in order to demonstrate sovereignty to God one must prove their loyalty to American ideals. The name of Jesus and its symbolic power over Americans whether they identify as Christians or not is resonant on a general sense without the explicit inclusion of biblical allusions or reference to theological statements. The American flags obscuring the date symbolize the timelessness of the image and the impact of nationalist principles on popular conceptions of Christianity. For many citizens, being Christian and American are innately linked. A political candidate's public relationship to faith helps affirm civil religion and the social conceptions of God's sovereignty. Jesus as a symbol of both nationalism and collective belief encourages social cohesion and crafts stronger political identity. 


Journal: Bellah, Robert N. 1967. "Civil Religion in America." Daedalus 96(1) pp. 1-21    

Image: Paul Harvey. July 14, 2016. "White Conservative Christian America Not Going Down Without A Fight." From religiondispatches.org. Retrieved March 28, 2024 https://religiondispatches.org/white-conservative-christian-america-not-going-down-without-a-fight/ 


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