TABLE III-I

ABBOTT'S INVENTION MATRIX

			GENERATIVE		SUPPORTIVE 		TRANSITIONAL
Problem Construction	
and Solution Apparatus	Constitution		Congress		Elections

Use Community		Citizenry		Congressional Staff	Electorate

Replicative		Educational		Media			Campaigns
Procedures		Institutions

Promotion Group		Court System		Bureaucracy		Enforcement Agencies

Invention Linkages	Bill of Rights		Legislation		Legal Precedent






     Utilizing Abbott's methodology for categorizing inventions, representative aspects of American civil
religion can be found for each classification, suggesting the complexity and scope of this construct.  While
it is true that in this case scenario the aspects applied to each category as strictly related to governance, 
and that this may pose problems since much of the 'faith'  resides outside that sphere -- indeed, inherently
by design, this is so -- the matrix could just as well be utilized for other aspects of the phenomenon




    IV. DISCOURSE AND DEBATE  /   A SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE

     In the effort to systematically organize the considerable literature relating to civil religion generally
and the American variety in particular, Gail Gehrig has contributed a great deal to what is a formidable
task, given the wide scope of commentary on the subject. The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
has published  Gehrig's AMERICAN CIVIL RELIGION: AN ASSESSMENT  as part of its monograph
series (1), and the effort catalogues a fairly comprehensive survey of the literature. The principal
organizational methodology of the tract proceeds in turn through an intellectual history which categorizes
much of such research by model types, a survey of treatment of the construct by the sociological tradition,
description of various pertinent theoretical propositions together with some empirical studies in support of
them, and a panorama of several theories of religious evolution with attention to the placement of the
invention in such schema. As thorough as the study by Gehrig is, however, some rather substantive
contributions to the topic have been neglected or have been entered subsequent to her undertaking. Most
notable among those not included would be that of Max Weber, whose particular methodology clearly
warrants consideration by Gehrig though it does reside somewhat outside this examination, as well as
Walter Lippman's  public philosophy, which is at least tangentially of relevance here. Gehrig's method
does, however, involve categories which could subsume not only that sort of material, but also additional
commentary both pre-dating and post-dating the project. In particular, work such as that by Hartz and
Diggins and Lipset considered here can be fit rather nicely into Gehrig. It thus represents an efficient
place to commence survey of the literature. But additionally, while

	"This book does not attempt to assemble a patchwork quilt comprised of every 
	piece ever written about American civil religion , or to present a strictly chronological
	history of the literature ... the purpose is to construct a representative theoretical map
	of the most significant American civil religion studies, and to glean from these studies
	a set of propositions that would be testable by sociological methods." (2)

     Gehrig utilizes a conceptual schema taken from Richey and Jones (1979) which categorizes five
separate definitions found in the literature as a way of organizing the intellectual history. The categories
are mot mutually exclusive, but do facilitate comparison, even as they reach somewhat beyond the strictly
historical into the sociological field. (See Table IV-I)

     Distinctions among these classifications are probably not as important as their similarities which
consist of a synthesis embodying legitimation of cultural values, social integration, and institutional
support, with a public faith or theology focused on the value of the individual that transcends sectarian
differences, deifying the American way of life through such sacred beliefs which promote cohesion in
society. A peculiar nuance of these five forms is the extent to which each at least partially contains
significant elements of the folk religion model. This is so much the case that it might be more appropriate
to view each as a variation of it. (The groupings of analysts within each model, though not arbitrary, are
in many cases quite arguable).

     Gehrig traces the civil religion concept back to Rousseau's 1793 SOCIAL CONTRACT text, arguing
that although the interrelationship of religious and political forms is a discussion as old as philosophy,
and acknowledging that even the concept itself had been clearly implied prior to that, it is only Rousseau
that it was explicitly delineated as such. His interest was in legitimation of social bonds, and the chapter
On Civil Religion was apparently just before publication. In it: 

	" ... Rousseau advocates a religion of civil virtue which would consecrate and legitimate
	common social life ... [arriving] ... at the necessity for a civil religion after examining various
	ways that religion may function in relationship to the social order ...[and] ... that throughout
	history, political institutions have depended upon religions legitimacy."(3)


     It is Rousseau's contention, however, that sectarian divisiveness has regularly proven to emerge as a
threat to political stability, and the therefore recommends that the regime create a civil religion
incorporating vital components of the sectarian faiths held in common with social contract and legal
sanctity.



TABLE IV-I
CATEGORIES OF INTELLECTUAL HISTORY OF AMERICAN CIVIL RELIGION
	MODEL		EXEMPLAR		COMMENTARY
Folk Religion		Warner's Memorial Day	Tocqueville, Rousseau, Warner, Durkheim,
						Wallace, Lipset, Martin Hardy(1959), Andrew
						Greeley(1972), James P. Wilson(1974), Conrad
						Cherry(1970)

Transcendental Universal	Greeley's 'elite' religion	Sidney Mead(1963, 1965,1967, 1975), Greeley 
Religion of the Nation 	(highest ideals) or 	(1976), Coleman (1970), Bellah (1967,et al), 
			Mead's Religion of the	Diggins, Lippman, Arendt.
			Republic

Protestant Civic Piety	Weber's Protestant Ethic	Smylie(1963), W. Hudson(1970), McClear(1971),
						Niebuhr and Tureson(1937), Charles Long(1974),
						Weber

Democratic Faith		Dewey's Common Faith	John Dewey(1934),Michaelson(1970), Hartz, Paine,
						Martin, Parsons

Religious Nationalism	Marty's Idolatrous	Marty (1959,1970), Bellah
			folk religion

     Although Gehrig would classify both Rousseau and Tocqueville's 'republican religion' as forms of self-
transcendent religious nationalism, the point is arguable. Tocqueville's model involved a fusion of beliefs,
morality, and political systems and was involved in a descriptive exercise whereas Rousseau's was
prescriptive. For Tocqueville, the symbiotic relationship resulted out of the nonestablishment of America's
innovative order while Rousseau's vision was of an established state church. 

     From a nationalized form of Puritanism, the concept has been expanded, as by Mead (1967,1975)
through progressive differentiations, and as the nation became more differentiated and pluralistic. General
agreement on the roots of the construct, however, have lead to considerable disparity as to the present
form and functions of civil religion. (4) John F. Wilson (1974) has concluded, for example, that such as
Warner's ceremonial model actually fails because it cannot distinguish between religion symbolism and
other culturally symbolic activities, but it is Gehrig's assessment that:

	" Warner's greatest contribution to the study of American civil religion was
	the suggestion that a broad range of potential indicators of civil religion may
	be found in public ritual."(5) 

(Refer to Table IV-II)









TABLE IV-II   FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF RELIGIOUS CATEGORIES IN GEHRIG
		Folk Religion	Transcendental	Religious	Democratic	Protestant
			              Universal Religion  Nationalism	      Faith                 Civic Piety
				  of the Nation
Source of Daily
Behavior and               X                              X                           X                             X                            X
Customs

Reassurance
and Conformity         X                               X                           X                               X                           X
Democratic Values    X                               X                           X                               X                           X

Theistic or Deistic
Values                                                          X                                                                                         X

Universal Ideal in
Public Philosophy       X                               X                           X                               X                          X
or Theology

National Self
Transcendence                                            X                          X                                                              X

Cohesiveness 
of Society                 X                                X                          X                                X                           X

Legitimation of
Regime of Society     X                                X                          X                                X                           X 
Integration/Fusion    X                                X                          X                                X                           X




     This ceremonial model in Warner was expanded on in Conrad Cherry's 'American Sacred Ceremonies'
and contributed to the even broader interpretation of symbolic behavior proposed in a number of works by
Robert Bellah beginning in 1967. For Gehrig (6), Bellah's civil religion reaches beyond the scope of folk
religion, placing existent ideals beyond their acceptance, and providing more than integrative and
legitimative functions by supplying an element of divine prophetic guidance. (7) 

     Bellah builds on Durkheimian social cohesion out of common virtue and structure and Parson's 
'religiously based moral order,' defining it:

	" ... as an institutionalized collection of sacred beliefs about the American nation,"(8)

but his is differentiated from denominational religion in America, though supportive of it. But he also
builds beyond its basis in inception to perception of the Constitution as an actual covenant, though he is
adamant about a series of violations of the covenant in our history. Indeed, his basic thesis in BROKEN
COVENANT (1975) is that the fabric of the order has been torn in contemporary society so that there has
been a fundamental break between reality and transcendent values which has been deeply divisive.(9)

     Theoretical and empirical responses to Bellah have dotted the landscape of civil religion literature.
Where Andrew Greeley (1972) finds acceptance of the overarching web of normative order in American
society exemplified by common sacred places and days, Richard Fenn (1972,1974,1976,1978) has
questioned the entire notion of a common American culture or that any such construct could bind the
myriad spheres which operate. The empirical studies demonstrate a central problem in that their
operational aspects belie conceptual clarity. There is lacking, according to Gehrig, an adequate definition
of the civil religion, (10) even in Bellah, although John A. Coleman (1970) has proposed such a statement
which, in fact, differs little from that offered by Bellah(1975). It may be the case, also, that Fenn's offered
critique has been in part responsible for the development of Bellah, et al of a delineation of multiple
'languages' of American discourse as is central to HABITS OF THE HEART. (1985)

     Talcott Parsons' definition of differentiation has provided the basis for the outlining of a theory of
religious evolution by Bellah (1964) which includes five stages, out of which the last two stages would be
the locus of his interpretation of civil religion, although he does not specifically mention it in his
treatment.



TABLE IV-III  BELLAH'S STAGES OF RELIGIOUS EVOLUTION (Bellah 1964, Gehrig p 23)

RELIGIOUS STAGES 	INDICATORS OF	RELIGIOUS	RELIGIOUS	SELF-WORLD
			DIFFERENTIATION       ORGANIZATION       SYMBOL       
RELATIONSHIP
								   SYSTEM
PRIMITIVE		Most examples drawn	No religious	Monistic --	Fusion of self
			from  Australian		organization        religious myth	with myth in
			aborigines		exists apart        	  overlaps	       ritual
						from society         significantly	
								with daily
							            	life activity

ARCHAIC		Religions of Africa,	Emergence of	Beginnings of	Increased
			Polynesia, and early	      the cult	dualism in the	distinction
			religions of mid-east,			objectification	between humans
			India, China				of mythic beings	and gods

HISTORIC		Transcendental religions	Emergence of	Dualistic --	Clearly
			-- Islam, Judaism, 	differentiated	natural and	structural
			Christianity		religious	supernatural	self-concept
						collectivities	worlds are	emerges to face
					             including church-	separated	transcendent
						         state			reality
						differentiation

EARLY MODERN	Protestant Reformation	Rejection of	Focus upon the	This-worldly
						religious              direct relationship   orientation
						hierarchy             between individual  of self-
							              and transcendent	  involvement
								reality

MODERN		Post-Reformation	Denominational	Multiple symbol	          Multi-
			religion in western	pluralism and	systems open to	      dimensional
			nations			privatization 	individual selection  self,conceived
						of religion			     of as capable
										   of transforming
										      both self and
										             world

     As a differentiated form, civil religion would have to emerge only with the Early Modern and Modern
stages where differentiation occurs. Further, the association of the civil religion with the Protestant
Reformation, North American settlement, and the development of challenges to traditional religious
world-views such as in Kant's rational ethics, helps to locate it. But it is not clear that this evolutionary
pattern is not saddled by western blinders if not a western bias, being at least tuned to peculiarities of
western historical development. Nor does it seem to recognize in any clear way the forms of political and
economic development which marked these stages; specifically, capitalism and the nation-state. Whatever
else that may do, it tends to offer at least a prospect of playing havoc with the notion of civil religion as
folk religion, which could be located well earlier in the evolutionary schema, and particularly with those
aspects of folk religion associated with the universal transcendental model where Bellah's formulations are
appropriately based.

     Further, there has been some discernment of types of American civil religion, again apparently
originating with Robert Bellah, but elaborated on by others. He initially noted a distinction he termed
'general' and 'special' civil religion,(1976a) which can be juxtaposed along a Parsonian continuum of
value generalizations ranging from universalism to particularism. Parsons (1966) described this process as
one of modernization which he contended accompanied differentiation. These two manifestations reflect
the way in which differentiation impacted on the public faith and on societal values, as well. Tocqueville's
comprehensive republican religion exemplifies the universal values of the general form, being a requisite
of the order and cohesion necessary for cultural maintenance. The special form developed in the United
States supports but is partially separated from the general form. Gehrig explains:

	" ... the general belief in democratic values exemplifies general civil religion,
	while the derivation of these beliefs from the American Constitution illustrates
	special civil religion ... [which] ...is also evidenced in the belief in America as
	a 'new Israel.'"(11)
     It is Richard Fenn's suggestion (1970,1976,1978) that a dynamic adding in a differentiation between
the personality and the social system within religious culture is necessary and that while civil religion may
still operate at the personal level, it has lost all meaning at the societal level. The point in Bellah and Fenn
in such distinction seems to be that there can be any number of variant special forms all based upon the
more generalized faith, although for Fenn not even the several may successfully fulfill the mission of
cohesion. Gehrig postulates three primary functions of civil religion, on the notion that such would be
performed by and religion. (12) It is Hammond's extension of Durkheim regarding integration which
posits that since conflict poses a threat to societal cohesion, and differentiation breeds such conflict, any
institution assisting in conflict resolution will pick up religious elements.(Hammond 1974) While some of
the literature is quite pessimistic concerning their role (Fenn 1970), a more common sentiment wants to
recognize at least as potential for civil religion in accomplishing this.(Bellah 1975, Cherry 1970,1971,
Coleman 1970, Demerath and Hammond 1967 Legitimation of the moral order serves as one method of
integrating society. Berger (1967) has argued  the necessity of socially constructed reality as the basis for
legitimation and thereby integration, and here, again, Bellah (1975) sees the scope as largely limited to
potential, while Fenn sees no societal level function left for such a construct, though  he accepts the
possibility of it operating at the individual level. A third function identified for civil religion relates to it
as a source of  'prophecy.' Perhaps out of Weber (1922), which distinguishes between prophetic and
priestly roles for leadership, Mead's "Nation with the soul of a church' (1967) elaborated on this theme,
and whereas Bellah emphasizes the importance of this role, Fenn and Martin Marty thoroughly dismiss it.
There have been examples in American history of such a prophetic role finding fulfillment such as the
Declaration's establishment of the priority of the individual's relationship with God over that with the state
in  Lincoln's opposition to both the Mexican War and Dred Scott decision, according to Bellah, but his
concern is that the connection has been lost (BROKEN COVENANT) and needs restoration (1975). And
in delineating sub-types of civil religion, Marty (1974) describes how:
                "Civil religion may be either celebrative, affirmative, culture-building and
	therefore priestly, or challenging and judgmental, and therefore prophetic.'(13)


                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
        TABLE IV-IV     TYPES OF AMERICAN CIVIL RELIGION  (Marty 1974)
CENTRAL THEOLOGICAL AFFIRMATION
RELIGIOUS STYLE		Divine Transcendence		National Self-Transcendence
Priestly				Priest: Eisenhower		Priest: Nixon
Prophetic			Prophet: Lincoln			Prophet: Sidney Mead

     Thus, while there has been some contention that civil religion in America does perform some
specialized religious functions of integration, legitimation, and prophecy, there has been some dissent. At
the same time, there has been some effort to identify institutional bases for the construct. Such was the
case of public education in the early American period in Michealson (1970) and Bailyn (1960), and with
differentiation, the schools today seem to continue to serve in this manner, though it has been somewhat
restricted by court rulings in the recent period. It is important to recognize the burden on schools in, for
example, the fostering, out of judicial fiat, a string of value and moral tasks stemming from the Brown
decision in 1954 (but not limited to that area of the law). But the change that took place of differentiation
through the course of historical development in the United States suggests an implication of evolution,
both of culture and of civil religion in relationship to it. 

     Gehrig treats the concept of secularization as one common to evolutionary theories of religion, and,
from Larry Shiner (1968), offers six common usages of the term:

			1)  decline of religion
			2)  conformity with 'this world'
			3)  disengagement of society from religion
			4)  transposition of religious beliefs and institutions
			5)  desacralization of the world
			6)  movement from 'sacred' to 'secular' society          (14)


A proper classification of the term is provided by David Martin (1978) in a complex scheme, but the
crucial point is that more precise terminology should be utilized and more specificity employed, such as
differentiation and rationalization or desacralization.(15)  This is all the more appropriate where, as in
this instance, the track is from evolution to religious evolution to civil religious evolution, each state
probably reinforcing the need for such specificity.

     Durkheim's theory of movement of societies from the sacred to the profane, collective representations
trailing along, lends to the central deduction of movement from mechanical to organic solidarity, and
transformation taking place along a continuum from segmental to organized social types. Although
differentiation is associated with this polar shift, it is rather general.(16) Loss of sacred character as
rational basis of human cognition and social activity increase marks Weber's 'disenchantment' process of
evolution. Even with this rationalization, however, for Weber, religion remains a legitimizing force in
society. While it is the case that Weber does not address the civil form, he does seem to follow Coleman's
evolutionary pattern for the construct which is predicated upon differentiation as institutional dominance
becomes more oriented toward rational-legal types of authority. (17)  Reality increasingly is premised on
causal efficiency explanations. For Joachin Wach (1944), there are three stages by which the religion
follows on the social differentiation, as primitive church-state fusion moves toward pluralist
establishment, placing differentiation and not secularization as the key to the process in modern,
industrial civilization. Berger's 'cultural' and 'political' religion are expressed within the theory  spelled
out in  THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY  of Berger and Luckman (1966) which describes
the dialectic of the mechanism of the internalization of social forces through socialization, the
externalization of these by way of social action, and objectification through both institutionalization and
reification. They are then subsequently internalized by the next generation. In this manner, social reality,
and with it religious reality, is produced.


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