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The Role Of Civil Religion In The United States

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The Role Of Civil Religion In The United States
Civil Religion is the deep values that the nation has all together. Although there are many other religious denominations, civil religion is a nonsectarian quasi-religious faith in the United States. The common principles within this come from historical passages where coexistence between everyone is key. The leading force behind civil religion is Robert Bellah, who believed this was a phenomenon among American sociology, because there wasn't a denomination you had to claim to have these views. Civil Religion is common among the general public in the United States, because it has more to do with social issues than following a belief system that categorizes people under denominations or who they believe the superior power above us really is. …show more content…
Some symbols that recognize civil religion is the American flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, and holiday observances. The American flag shows nationalism and represents patriotism for those who are culturally attached to the United States. The flag is a powerful image because when it is damaged, it's seen as being immoral and not socially accepted because that is destroying American pride. The Pledge of Allegiance symbolizes a way for students and U.S. citizens to have unity with the nation as a whole. It is a popular way to show love and have pride within the nation. People often argue that it is a symbol to pledge for unity with god. Some students from different religious denominations will not do the pledge as they believe it does not go along with their own beliefs and religious system. Finally, holiday observances are one of the least talked about civil religious symbols, because they don't really show certain things for pride. However, certain holidays show more pride towards social views than others, the fourth of July is the largest holiday that relates to this topic of civil religion. It shows the day of Independence from Great Britain which then comes back to the views of civil religion having a basis from the historical documents written by our founding fathers. Memorial Day also presents a holiday observance which came from the Civil War. It is celebrated to remember …show more content…
These are just a few of the values people understand from a “religious” view. Freedom shows that our country is by itself and not under rule by anybody else, it also shows that citizens of the nation aren't manipulated by anyone, which allows people to have their own belief systems. The democracy that was given to us by our founding fathers give the power to the people, who then promote people to represent parts of the nation for a say in certain ideas for the nation. Honesty is a value that not many people could say that they have. It provides a basis for people to have integrity to our social system that people often believe is fake and everyone is crooked. Values are often overlooked from societal issues because someone will have an argument no matter if they are right or wrong. The values of civil religion are instilled in everyone, it just depends if that person can bring them out. Civil religion still has strong ties to the nation, because it has a deep meaning that people often do not see regardless it always being

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