American Civil Religion - Essay Example

American Civil Religion “The three great elements of modern civilization – gun power, printing & protestant religion” —Thomas Carlyle This famous saying of 19th century’s most discussed philosopher seems to wrap up succinctly the entire evolutionary process of the impact of religion on American society. From the bedraggled, emaciated pilgrims that landed on the shores of their promised haven more than five hundred & fifty years ago till date where the world is at the mercy of a click of the mouse – Protestantism seems to be sine quo non of Americas development, a veritable juggernaut that has always decided both the flavor of the condiments manufactured and the character of the Presidency. Nevertheless, when treading on this sensitive subject, we also must not lose track of the steady rise of other religious forces that now seems to slowly supplant the hitherto vice like grip of protestant religion. White Anglo Saxon protestants (WASP) did always influence the course of U.S. history as it was successful in penetrating very incisively the various citadels of social life and governance by deftly running their own prep schools and using to the fullest advantage, ‘the old boy network’ whose tentacles had always woven an intricate network that gave the Americans a John F Kennedy as President and also decide the chairmanship of auto giant, Chrysler. It was during the colonial period that saw the meteoric ascendancy of protestant culture in what was then known as New England, the large swathe of territory straddling the east coast. And as the frontiersmen moved into the yet dark, enigmatic interiors they carried with them their muskets and faith. It was a movement that gained more impetus after 1776 and reached its pinnacle just before the decade that ushered in the sanguinary American civil war in 1860-a potent factor that would ultimately wind away many hitherto dogmas and beliefs which had formed the edifice of American culture. The WASP conglomerate of Episcopalians, Presbyterians and united church of Christ over decades had established a firm foots in the cities from coast to coast they were the predominant entity in both economic and political life of American Society. At the same time to counter the ever widening and autarchic hegemony of the WASP group, their came to the fore the moderate protestants in the 19th century, mainly the Methodists and Lutherans who made their presence felt decisively in the burgeoning agricultural sector as by the end of the 19th century the United State had few uncharted landmass to explore. If the cities were the prosperous islands of trade and industry the land traversed by the pioneers gave farming a new dimension that began to feed the nation. Certain societal changes were also faintly discernible during the period when the Catholics also gained marginally and the conservative Protestants namely the Baptists lost ground except in certain agricultural pockets. (Martin, 1985). The three Protestant groups that formed WASP dominated in business, governance, education and farming in the 1700s. It was to last for quite sometimes, losing some clout in the early years of the 20th century which was a period of massive changes in human life where the fast moving technological innovations were helping to sweep asunder many fixed ideas of yore. Nevertheless, in spite of changes all around, the WASP group maintained its hold over the top echelons of the bureaucracy and the ruling dispensation. They began to control the elite group and as a consequence earned the nomenclature of the protestant establishment. It would be wrong to assume that changes were not taking place. It began to be felt after the 2nd World War that the grip of the WASP over the establishment was slowly loosening, where I find and the protestants found to their utter chagrin that Catholics and Jews had gained some ground, which enabled these groups to attain economic parity at par with the protestants. There are many scholars who vehemently oppose the idea that Protestants are a thing of the past. Another school of thought opine that white Anglo Saxons protestants are now a declining factor in the total population and non-WASPs have made inroads. Tenacity of the protestant establishment makes them, however survive. The plethora of researches documenting WASP hegemony in business of the hundred years (1800-1900) never examined other areas such as education, politics, or agricultural with little data available also on religious affiliations. It seems going by popular opinion there are today a more Catholics and Jews and other non-protestant groups in the corporate sphere, which was not there a century ago. At this juncture a very pertinent question crops up, which in the extent of disproportionate influence of WASP over the class structure and power hierarchy and whether non-WASP groups are more predominant today. The proponents of the ‘fair play’ theory claim that the protestant establishment is dwindling in stature while on the other hand, the ‘fair share’ school of thought is emphatic about the tenacious and persistent character of the WASP group which helps it to still have reasonable sway over matters of state and the politics of today’s board rooms. (Martin, 1985) Proponents of the ‘fair play’ approach contend that the unequal access to power which the WASP had enjoyed have undergone a massive transformation where we find other groups are also having their lucrative shares in the ‘power pie’. Going by this view one can safely assume that contemporary American Elite now comprises of people from all religious groups, in close approximation to their distribution in the total population. If we are follow these criteria it can be safely ascertained that over period of time, spanning two centuries that saw cataclysmic turn around in U.S. history the protestant groups no longer have that all embracing patina of power which they had once savored. They had really lost lot of ground and other religious groups who lived under WASP shadow for long are much closed to achieving equal representation among the American elite. The ‘dominance’ see saw is also full of ‘contradictory opinions’. There is a so-called modified ‘fair share’ approach, which we find hard to swallow that WASP are a descending speck on the power horizon. For them WASPs still retain their say over other racial, ethnic and religious groups. This group also contradict its hypothesis by contending feebly though historically disadvantaged groups have made some gains in recent times, in spite of the grit shown by the protestant groups, more so in the economic and political spheres. As said earlier on the Anglo-Saxon protestant who always had the advantage of being social pioneers used since their flag was planted on American soil the technique of prep schools and old boy network to retain its disproportionate grip over power and wealth. Another notable change is being felt for long, where we find the non-WASP groups turning more to public education and social protests over wrongs as a tool to gain access to the corridors of power. They have become a very vocal lobby. As some think tanks occasionally broadcast, like all minorities, historically subordinate religious groups such as Catholics and Jews also responded to these situations in a variety of ways either by assimilating or remaining separate. While Jews have sought mobility through public schools Catholics have developed their own schools systems. Jews have stressed education more than agricultural, Catholics have emphasized on more than business. Like most minority groups in all societies, the minorities in America like the Catholics and Jews have survived and at the same time made in roads by assimilating with the predominant main line culture or by maintaining their own identity. If on one hand we find that Jews have laid emphasis on education, Catholics have tried to make forays into more areas other than business. In between, the liberal protestant for fear of being swamped over by the minorities have steadfastly maintained a persistence level of 0.58 over the last seventy years, which ensures their shares of the spoils of affluence and power. The Lutherans amongst the protestant groups as also the Baptists made their presence felt in the agricultural segment. In recent times, the protestant establishment has been under immense threat from the other groups. Assortment of social movements, be it anti war or human rights groups have attempted to discredit WASP dominance and carve a new social order the former unrepresentative groups have now much greater access to power and all its attendant benefits. Pressure groups that go a long way in influencing the course of events and decision-making are leaving and indelible stamp on the power structure. These groups dominated by minority religious groupings have now given entirely new dimension to American social religion where Carlyle’s dictum may not now play as significant a role as it did before. After a long and winding road, the United States has cleared the clutters and the clutches of the under-section bypasses of the religious ways. Moving on ahead from the distinguishing WASP and non-WASP, the country has by and large become Catholic too and also, is holding its largest population in the world. This of course is happening with the existence of the other minority religions but Jews. This is so, as the diaspora had immigrated to this landmass from Europe in bulk and flourished in number and in many trades as they did many times before. They were already enlightened. But treading along the east coast to different parts of the country; from the Pilgrim Brothers to the modern Catechism, the lot is not just going through the traditional Palms but through the manuals of the different social development too. To be frank and a little rude, the United States has its own legacy of racial discrimination of Jim Crows Law, which had further been imitated by Herr Hitler himself for the Jews Europe. And this so called legacy of the Federal States carried long for good to suppress the blacks or as they called them COLORED from the British American days of Slave Trading to the days of Miles Davis, Martin Luther King, Jr. or John Coltrane. In this regard, church as society, the Catholic Churches have taken a hierarchical oppositional stance by challenging the racial segregation norm in the United States. The Church proactively integrated its Parochial schools well before the Supreme Court brought that in effect for the public school (Lamanna and Coakley, 1969). Unlike the then lay Conservative Catholics, McNamara has attributed to the activities of the priests of Catholic Church of New Mexico. The religious order in the society can control the habit of that society too. But studying the behavioral pattern it shows that the change-oriented goal of the Methodist Church has subsided due to the less commonness in the group towards the goal of isolating liquor (Hougland, et al. 1974). For the modern society one of the oldest practices has made a connection with the organizational constitution. The Theological Tradition referred here though is more to portray the religious practice, but much of the general concept of the organization that is the basic normative structure defines the limits and goals of the society (Zald, 1970; White, 1972). Thus, religion can create a bridge between or a loop precisely that can connect the different institutions of the society. This can therefore solve differences in their viewpoint and can maintain a harmony in the society. And in that case America is a place where exist different religion or a vast sub division of it. Each of them is contributing values to American society. Though the Protestants practice sects among their sub-groups but in that regard Catholics are quit common in their different groups. At least this is a common scenario in developed America where a considerably large number of Catholics are observing a harmony in the society. Dating back to the early 19th century society in Ohio, findings have established an empirical support that there was a clear-cut and positive relation between revivalism and anti-slavery politics. And in the circumstances, religious believes used to be directly related to political behavior as doctrines used to tell the political choice of an individual as the religious obligation (Hammond, 1974, 185). The effect of religious practice has moved beyond the realm into the concept of the religion to state. It is a fact of enlightenment of the Protestant state where America is pre-eminently under its influence for being a state of Protestants. It even keeps the Church out from the central of the city unlike any other states and do not consider it to be the axial building. Here the religion looks at the state; a concept where the higher level of existence is governing the human race. Drifting away from the pro spiritual religion; religion when itself comes to the political ground, it plays a strong role and certainly the power play has got a touch of sentiment, which makes it much stronger and sure. Keeping polls in mind, in the Protestant society, the Catholics votes for the progressive parties as long as the immigrants out groups exist. But Protestants have a different way of their own, which depends on the class, status, position, location and tradition. But Protestants are only politically strong in case they are in ethnic minority, their values are threatened or they are in a distinctive position. For all these time the paper was concentrating on politics, demographical segregation, theology and certain other comparisons. But to make all these in a society, we need to communicate. And now it comes to the communication in general public and the religious socialization. Here the socialization includes mass socialization that includes a mass way of communication. The wave of religion is aired through the television, radio and other electronic media. In the United States the religious flare of communication is well matched with the education and its modes (Wolfe, 1984; Harmati, 1984). These are the liberals who have relied on the secondary education and television, where media operated by certain organisation manages the religious conversations. With education comes the moral culture, a vast body properly unexposed by to the public body. But in Protestant context it covers a considerable extent of moral culture and values than that of the Catholics who are mainly based on the clerical comments. Where the Catholics are more attached to Churches, the Protestants are cultivating the values through ad hoc and lay initiative. For the same, Protestants are most recognised for their contributions in the society, which really makes an impact. It is true that the Protestant way is much welcoming, social, and multi-cultural but it is arguable whether it connects economy with spiritualism. Post World War II there came prolong time of prosperity in the United States. The connection between spiritualism and economic activities came in to the picture, but with advent of call of socialism from Russia the entire fantasy tumbled down as if the war is over. It might not be able to improve the social condition with the help of spirituality, but the presence of a Protestant State, which does not see Capitalism as an evil. Over the period of time Capitalism has improved considerably so the condition of the labours (Ashton, 1954). So it is the urge to do well and to live well. Because, no matter how the society is governing the religion, now we have come to an age where we need peace, as it is too much of everything. Instead of a quality work, today the focus is on a quality life; as if that is the factor determines the quality of work (Gardell and Johansson, 1981). As the psychoanalytic and psychoanalysis ideals represents programme of social forum, it must be understood that Protestant Ethics is an analytical ideal that will take time. It has to pass through the different elements of society and need to get adjusted at different bents and angles. Only after this test of time this ethical philosophy will get engraved in society for generations to come without any question. Mostly the paper has showed a gradual bend from modern Catholics to modern Protestants and the social contribution it is making in the way of progress. Though due to the immigrants and early settlers Catholics will be there but Protestants are ruling the sophistic American society from various aspects. It has almost become the civil religion of the nation for its participation, contribution and acceptance. But it is too early to say this to be the ethic and the only ethic of the society, though it is promising if it maintains its flow. But America with a population from all over the world needs a practice for its society that is open like this and can promotes tolerance. The land of hope; where people came in from possibly all the corners of this earth, made the nation a melting pot of the world. It is said that if one stands in the New York Square for an hour, the person will get to meet people from all the countries of the world. It is quit possible to have such diversity in terms of religion or believes. A country with multi cultural demography needs to have religion like the protestant, where the practice of free practice is in abundance. Due to its initial presence, most of country’s fellow citizens are acquainted with its political contribution and people’s mindset towards it. It is certain that a liberal nation will continue to have a liberal religion of this sort. Its social contribution has made the practice more at par with a society of post generation X. Protestants with their regular social and political participations are eventually building up the Protestants Ethics that will have the ability of governance. With all the pro active moves, American Civil Religion blesses the nation with the only growth of Expansion. Reference 1. Ashton, T. S. (1954). The treatment of capitalism by historians. In Hajek, F. A. (ed.), Capitalism and the Historians, Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill. 2. Gardell, B., and Johansson, G. (eds.) (1981). Working Life: A Social Science Contribution to Work Reform, John Wiley, New York. 3. Harmati, B. (1984) The Church and Civil Religion in the Nordic Countries of Europe. Lutheran World Federation, Geneva. 4. Hougland, J. G., Wood, J. R. and S. A. Mueller. (1974). "Organizational Goal Submergence: The Methodist Church and the Failure of the Temperance Movement." Sociology and Social Research 58: 408-16. 5. Lamanna, R. A. and J. J. Coakley. 1969. "The Catholic Church and the Negro." Pp. 147-94 in P. Gleason (ed.), Contemporary Catholicism in the United States. Notre Dame University Press. 6. Martin, D.A. (1985) Religion and public values ‘A Catholic Protestant Contrast’, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Jun., 1985), pp. 313-331    7. White, O. K. (1972a.) "Constituting Norms and the Formal Organization of American Churches." Sociological Analysis 33, 2:95-109. 1972b. 8. Wolfe, K. (1984) The Churches and the British Broadcasting Corporation. SCM Press, London. 9. Zald, M. N. (1970). Organizational Change: the Political Economy of the YMCA. University of Chicago Press. Read More