July 4th as Civic Ritual

             

    A spectacle of combustion launched into the sky is nothing short of religious ceremony, according to Bellah's theory of "the Civil Religion." On the 4th of July, people across the USA gather in fields, beaches, and skyscraping office buildings to witness a celebration of American independence through fireworks display. No matter where one may find oneself on this day, they are bound to experience a barrage of thunderous booms and flashing lights---all in the service of expressing a collective reverence for the principles with which this nation continues to define itself today; chief among them, liberty. 

    The image above depicts an explosive bouquet stemmed with trails of smoke, suspended in the darkened sky over a flamingly reflective Lake Superior. As the photographer, I know the location in which it was taken. As for the date, it would not be difficult to ascertain even without having been there, given that it's in the context of the United States. Fireworks are an iconic symbol of national pride and victory, highly indicative of this day of celebration. At the bottom of the frame, we see a cluster of silhouettes---spectators facing the water, and the display above. Some are seated in chairs, others on blankets. All have their heads tilted back; their eyes trained on the sky. 

    Although all US-Americans are likely used to this tradition, interrogating it with a defamiliarized eye allows us to understand it more deeply, especially through the lens of Robert Bellah's concept of Civil Religion. Bellah posits that the civil sphere of American life functions as a religion, in terms of Durkheim's definition (Bellah, 1967:4). It consists of a number of symbols and ritual traditions whose observance brings into being a physical reality reflecting a collective reverence for the "church" that is our country. Bellah recognizes that the United States is, of course, committed to an ideological separation of church and state. And yet the narrow view we hold about what constitutes a religion keeps us from seeing how our state itself contains mechanisms that are much the same as any religious institution (Bellah, 1967:3). The tradition depicted in the photograph is one such mechanism. 

   The crowd gathered on the beach represents a collective consciousness that is aggregated and expressed through the observation of a traditional ritual involving the iconographic symbol of a fireworks display. The explosions in the sky invoke the collective identity of US-Americans when we collectively observe them as such (Bellah, 1967:8). It is through the act of recognizing their symbolism that we transition into a state of collective and sacred observance. Much like Durkheim's characterization of religious rituals, such a tradition renews our commitment to the collective US-American identity, "purifying" us of the profanity that we accrue when we go about our daily lives, forgetting our national context, its history, and the sacrifices that were involved in its creation (Bellah, 1967:13).  Bellah's understanding of American Civil Religion is important because, as he says, it "has its own seriousness and integrity and requires the same care in understanding that any other religion does," (Bellah, 1967: 1).  This does not necessarily entail a devotion to the institution's causes, but a deep understanding of the mechanisms through which it disseminates ideas. As we congregate to observe 4th of July fireworks next, we might reflect upon its religious elements---noticing how our psyches shift as our attention is commanded by the spectacle. What do our reactions say about our positionalities as US-Americans? How might we use this deeper understanding to gain a more critical perspective?

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