A regularly quoted exemplar of such expression is some variation on the words of the Declaration of Independence in what amounts to a prayerful repetition of core beliefs embodied in what really is part of our 'sacred' scripture. Of less overt 'religious' content, though still highly ideological and in a real sense 'theological,' would be the not infrequent reverently uttered Preamble to the Constitution, but probably the most revered such enunciation of this general type in our culture must be the Pledge of Allegiance. Even without the rather recently added reference to 'under God,' the words are a worshipful dedication as specifically to the Republic as to the flag itself, the expressed symbol "for which it stands." We actually have a great many such utterances which convey some aspects of our core beliefs, often, perhaps fittingly for a republic, addressed to ourselves, although not infrequently making some appeal or at least mention of some divine presence or providence. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address would number among the most well-known and frequently heard of these, as well might certain of the more familiar phrases or passages from the Constitution and its amendments, such as the guarantees of speech and associated rights in the First Amendment and at least the latter half of the Second as to the 'right to keep and bear arms.' It may be that the most often repeated such avocation is the paraphrased hybrid of several of the amendments encompassed under what have come to collectively known as the Miranda rights. Central to this interpretation of American civil religion is an assertion that the terminology which perhaps began in usage as metaphor really represents a rather broad or open interpretation of the several categories of Wallace's units. From that, it can be taken that there are also two subcategories of this prayer behavior classification. The second utilization revolves around its use in the law, the practitioners of which, attorneys, may in some fashion approximate a 'ministering' group or strata in the construct. It is common language in such proactive to hear or read of petitions that 'pray' before the bar of justice, once again probably making a 'loose' use of what may seem to be metaphorical language. However, beseeching justice would have to be understood as prayer in such cases, legal 'ministerial' representative carrying such pleadings before the court. In addition, combining the allusion just made to prayer-like treatment of constitutional language with this prayerful petitioning amounts to what is arguably the most common citation of many such renderings to the Fourteenth Amendment. The entire extension known as the 'nationalization of the Bill of Rights' has been in large measure dependent on such premises. But then, every witness before the bar swears on the bible to tell the truth -- praying again. And, if petitioning the judiciary can be interpreted in this manner as prayer in this sense, the whole practice of petitioning government for 'the redress of grievances, ranging from letters from constituent groups to elected representatives or bureaucracy and reaching to formalized petition processes at some levels of government, conducted by the 'laity' citizenry or through 'ministerial' representative forces such as interests and lobbies may be similarly viewed. Even media presentations of a great variety might be so construed, from any of the sundry formats. In this view, the nightly news, no less than Rush Limbaugh, may be properly termed daily evangelical programs, although it is likely that the latter would be more quickly inclined to agree with that assessment than the former. Further, this same line of argumentation could extend this reasoning in that to all levels of political pleading which animate the process, from campaign appearances and speeches by candidates or their surrogates or their workers to official addresses in the halls of government and out, and including those plyings of Presidents whether they be Inaugural Addresses, State of the Union, and the like or special, perhaps televised pleas to the country (from FDR's fireside chats to JFK's news conferences to Ronald Reagan's Saturday morning radio messages). And all of this takes the form inevitably of a constant praying to each other, if at times to Providential authority, as we beseech all of the many facets of the population which the 'public' in republic could be construed to include (even C-Span). And, lest we be too restrictive, much of this reasoning should be understood to reach as well into the private sector, as well. There may be at least one danger inherent in all of this inasmuch as we 'pray' to protection or extension of governmental, or even collective, largess through any of the almost innumerable variations of entitlement, remedy, and recourse. The danger thus arises as we plea, or even whine, for the doling out of provisions in our prayer which ultimately strip us of much of our character as we slip into codependency and impotence. The result of that could very well be the burgeoning of government and bureaucracy as well as the litigious society we seen to be saddling ourselves under. It clearly looks as if we 'pray' all the time, but the second of Wallace's minimal units of religious behavior is in many respects a variation, set to music, of the first category. Not so long ago, when television stations 'signed off ' late and came on early, before most of them remained on the air all night, there was always a ritual enacted of the playing or singing of the Star Spangled Banner. Since the Second World War when the custom was started as part of the effort to rally the nation's spirit, before every major league baseball game, the national anthem is played, joined in with the voices of the crowd, lifting its appeal to the heavens. Many other spectator sports, and other events, have joined in the custom, and the tradition will probably continue as long as it continues to bring a lump to the throats of those participating or watching the spectacle. Such performance may bring to mind for some Mark Twain's complaint of the terrible din of Heaven with all those vocalizations of all those who cannot carry a tune singing the same song for eternity. Mr. Twain never had the pleasure, so far as I know, of witnessing such an event, but if he did, if he still held the same view, it could not be without bearing witness to the spirit that exudes from the assembled multitude. This is only the most striking such hymn that the American faith possesses, and probably the only real problem with it is that it is not easy to sing, even for those who possess such abilities. While few may be able to do it quite the way Kate Smith was renowned for having done it, God Bless America would be another such musical prayer, but one that incorporates the appeal to higher authority. We could conceivably put together a rather substantial Hymnal of such 'psalms,' but any such compilation would have to include, in addition to these, America the Beautiful, Grand Old Flag, Yankee Doodle, Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, perhaps Dixie, and a more recent entry contributed by the Reagan Presidential campaign and Lee Greenwood, God Bless the USA, among innumerable others.* The several military theme songs, which serve their own special ends for each service, would have to also be included. (Wallace's separate category of 'inspiration' is not dealt with here as a separate unit inasmuch as it is so greatly subsumed in any number of the others). ________________________________________________________________________________ *A typical Memorial Day commemoration by a local radio station featured not only such recordings, but as well The Ballad of the Green Berets, Born In The USA, Johnny Willow, PT 109, The Battle of New Orleans, Sink the Bismarck, Over There, Star and Stripes Forever, Hail to the Chief, and This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land as illustrative of this point, if it, if fact, needs any elaboration at all. If there are differences between this collection of religious hymns for the faithful and the diverse examples of dancing, singing, and playing instruments which characterized hundreds of religions around the globe, that scarcely detracts from role as inspirational devices. And, in addition to these, there are not a small number of particularly 'Christian' hymns and spirituals which serve a dual role to a great extent as songs of America, as would a vast array of parochial folk songs and dances. It might even be appropriate to include in this phenomenon the entire scope of dancing and singing and playing of instruments in such celebrations as Mardi Gras as part and parcel of at least localized variations of the civil religion, as it might also be to include, if perhaps in somewhat different category, the many unique forms of musical expression that have sprung up in the country over the years -- jazz, rhythm and blues, country western, 'folk', rock and roll, and more contemporary manifestations of popular culture. They must be considered part of the folkways of America. To the extent that 'America' has been 'exported' or 'globalized,' and that is considerable, such obviously carry something of this people beyond our shores. One could possibly argue that the 'international' flavor of the American Revolution brought among its supporters -- if they were not compatriots -- the likes of Mozart and Beethoven, and on that, it might be surmised that their work carries something of the country's spirit within it. Certainly, the works of Charles Ives, Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, Rogers and Hammerstein, and others echo America. West Side Story and Showboat are exemplary of 'America,' too, as would be Porgy and Bess and the great scope and span of a host of motions pictures not only through the years but over the last decade or two perhaps especially. And then there's TV! A rather divergent category of this behavior took traditional 'Negro' spirituals, some aspects of which have been traced to African roots (Michel Sobel, i.e.), and transformed them into 'freedom songs,' every bit as inspiring as We Shall Overcome or Lift Every Voice And Sing. We're Marching On to Freedom Land, This Little Light of Mine, We're Taking a Ride on the Freedom Bus Line, and probably Precious Lord, Take My Hand are probably the best examples. And no accounting of the hymns of America's faith would be complete without the inclusion of Amazing Grace. Importantly, such mechanisms have been crucial in the transmission of philosophy. Although it may not be mandatory that any religious specimen have examples of each of Wallace's units of behavior to fit his prescription of a 'religion,' it does not take a great deal of stretching to identify representative cases of all of his minimal units of religious behavior for the American civil religion. Even the physical manipulation of psychological states through his category of physiological exercise has manifestations. It should be remembered that just as all the categories need not be represented necessarily in any religion, there is some degree of overlapping among many of the units. In fact, an additional stage of Wallace's methodology is the bringing together of numbers of these categories into cults, and often competing ones, the totality of which constitutes a society's religion. The physiological manipulation category runs the gambit from boot camp to merely the act of standing for the national anthem, 'saluting' in one way of another 'Old Glory,' rising with the entrance of a judge into the courtroom, and the emense level of exertion that typify political campaigns. And including the kind of sacrifice that has accompanied, at the civilian level, some of the periods of national mobilization, and in particular that of World War II, probably fit the specifications of this category and represent 'religious' behavior in very concrete terms(The Arsenal of Democracy!). The importance placed upon 'sport' in our culture certainly connotes a level of physiological manipulation, as well. Exhortations in Anthony Wallace's model are acts in which people are 'addressing another human person,' and there are a number of items already identified with other categories which also exemplify this one. Aside from considering certain types of what otherwise would be called prayer, principally by 'laity,' there are two distinct groups of individuals which in some more 'formal' or 'official' sense address others in 'religious' matters, shamans and priests. Practitioners of ritual and ceremony through or at which they do that are commonly of the priest type, while shaman obtain, usually through some peculiar and unique religious or mystical experience, sometimes self-induced, special powers or authority, although the Sioux term 'medicine' for such acquired traits perhaps best identifies it. Some sort of official mantle generally is associated with the idea of priesthood so that officialdom probably fits best into this classification, although to the degree they may also possess special attributes of 'charisma,' priests may also sometimes hold special 'medicine.' In fact, one of the qualifications for, or at least paths to, the priesthood, may be attainment of shaman status through a 'vision quest.' From that, we might well include as 'priests' most elected and non-elected officials, judges as well as the lawyering class generally, and especially teachers in the task they perform of transferring the faith to upcoming generations. Politicians may be a prime case of the shaman, but so, too, would Billy Graham, and Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and years ago, Billy Sunday and Oral Roberts more recently, among numerous others. The fact that this group is made up of ministers is important for an understanding of the character of our civil religion. We would undoubtedly rank Martin Luther King as a shaman, as well, in this sense. At least prior to his candidacy for President, Jesse Jackson might be peripherally so. Much more of a claim to such standing could have been laid by Malcolm X and probably Louis Farakhan and Wallace D. Muhammed, and a few years ago, at least, Muhammed Ali, obviously lending some 'expansiveness' to the acknowledged Judeo-Christian character of the faith. Indeed, our nation's history has been frequently visited by such personalities. Charles Finney certainly comes to mind, as would probably the quite in contrast Father Coughlin and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, although they, like many such exemplars held official ministerial credential. But such personages need not necessarily be clergy; Rush Limbaugh certainly is such a personality today, and in a somewhat different manner, his nemesis Ross Perot may fit the pattern. A most important position in the scheme must be seen as being held by the media. They by and large 'decide' who has 'good medicine' or exhortation, and thus play a primary role in deciding upon whom the mantle of priesthood or character of shaman is bestowed or recognized. Differing elements of the media will have different levels of influence, but there is a modern phenomenon which makes this a necessary role to have, and to watch. Many people tend to believe what they see on television and not to put stock in much that is not seen on TV. Congressional hearings on television have on occasion, been accorded a position of eminence, such as those around Watergate or Whitewater or those that elevated Oliver North , Robert Bork, or Clarence Thomas in the public mind. But there is widespread suspicion toward the media in the general population. In American civil religion, the attainment of great levels of success often appears to create quasi- shaman stature in our culture. Perot and Iaoccoa, Trump and Joe Kennedy are such instances (whatever the current numbers are is probably irrelevant -- generally 2/3 of the membership of the U.S. Senate are millionaires, a good many, self-made), though the basis for such status need not be exclusively monetarily grounded. Both Ronald Reagan and John Glenn rose to high political office at least in part on the wind of their renown. There have been some news commentators whose status accorded them some considerable level of esteem, such as Walter Cronkite and before him, Edgar R. Murrow. Entertainers, and especially athletes have had an inside track to such attainment -- Jack Kemp is a good example, but so would be such disparate fellows as Jim Bunning, Bill Bradley, and perhaps Charles Barkley. In fact, the special circumstances of sports in America commands comment, transcending as it does nearly all of these categories. That undoubtedly helps account for its central place in American culture -- in monetary terms as well as the attention it commands on television, both during prime time and during the news. " ... [S]ports," Cornish Rogers wrote in 1972, "are rapidly becoming the dominant ritualistic expression of the reification of established religion in America," (1) and "the public festivals of America's civil religion are often held in the midst of massive sporting events."(2) There is an 'unmistakable link' between religion and sports that is "by no means limited to the fact that the lessons of sports lend themselves readily to analogies concerning godly living."(3) (One has to look no further than Roger Staubach or Tom Landry). Whatever the rivalry involved, there is an element of the great cosmic battle between Ahura-Mazda and Ahriman (or was it Obie Wuan Canobie and Darth Vader?), a more fundamental drama in which the victor "is somehow more virtuous ... or at least more pleasing to the gods."(4) There is a sense, now ancient, that it is in the struggle that we are free, and sports certainly carries with it that kind of inference. A more positive side of 'there's always next year' resides in the fact that there is always another game -- tomorrow. And for the participant who does not produce, even if a superstar, it quickly becomes a matter for spectators of 'what have you done for me lately?' Coaches are often the most venerated on campus and society, although they can be fired too, if they don't win (or royally foul up), and, on Lombardi, 'winning is everything.' There is a never-say-uncle psychology that is cultivated, as for instance, on Berra, who asserts that 'it's never over 'til it's over.' It is all about beating the competition, and therein may lie the secret, for therein may rest a seed of 'America.' A people reared in sports competition can easily translate those values to the business world and into politics. In the old Soviet Union, 'the egalitarian principle was left at the ice's edge' and Soviet athletes, conditioned to the former principle had to excel and prove themselves the best (read least equal) on the ice or court. This is no less true for team sports than for individual ones, for in spite of the team spirit 'esprit d'corps' mentality, it is individual effort that makes the game. A team can 'pull together,' but not if any of them are 'slackers.' Only excellence in all produces an excellent effort for all. The intense Soviet competitive spirit may have helped to condemn the system they wanted to propagate to ultimate failure, although it was often couched in nationalistic terms as a shallow cover. Nereyev and Barisnakov knew the sentiment, too. And we should probably not worry quite so much about the future of any current generation of youth so long as they keep bouncing or tossing that ball. Indeed, one might wonder what John Rawls' (or Bellah's) ball game, restructured for 'fairness' and 'justice' would look like. (In February, 1995, the story circulated the wires from Brick Township, New Jersey of an outcry from parents over the decision of the little league there to quit keeping score to protect the 'self-esteem' of participating youngsters!). The convention of recognition of championship teams by a phone call from the White House to the locker room of the victors after the game and/or invitation to visit the Executive Mansion has "become a valued political device for political leaders to use in consolidating -- and even sacralizing -- their power."(5) Rogers claims that Nixon was consciously "courting for himself the mystique of a 'divine king.'"(6) He says that "America's 'civil religion' is a vital force to be reckoned with," and that: " ... Nixon, by holding 'non-denominational' Sunday services in the White House, has tried to co-opt for himself the symbolic embodiment of the undefined but persuasive religious consciousness that has characterized our public life since the founding of the nation. He has sought to make more explicit the 'American Shinto' by giving it a more pronounced shape and by according it an honored place in his presidency. Billy Graham, the foremost apostle of American evangelical nondenominationalism, has been installed as high priest."(7) There was a similar report in Charles Henderson's THE NIXON THEOLOGY, but all the "Presidents of this century have expressed the national religion with a conviction equal to that of their predecessors." (8) Henderson is, however, not very optimistic as to the substance of this, or Nixon's in particular. In tracing Nixon's familial background, he finds basis for its complementary association with our "evolved ... politics of revival,"(9) but he consistently exhibits his political bias when he approaches it, seeing governmental policy as the only way to deal with problems and anything that doesn't involve governance as flawed. Henderson cannot comprehend any notion of capitalism as complementary to a equality or generosity or charity. He insists on an inherent human propensity to evil and violence and the 'American mythology' of an ability to find solutions as tragic.(10) Presidents "have traditionally performed the pastoral function of sanctifying the nation's values and institutions, [but] they have neglected the prophetic function."(11) Since he cannot understand how strength begets peace, how Nixon cannot 'feel the pain' of the people (almost as the victims of the evils of capitalism), and since the Judeo-Christian tradition militates directly contrary faith, not only will 'the superficiality of political rhetoric' like Nixon's fail, but that 'God' is dead.' Henderson would make himself the Nieztsche of the American civil religion! What Henderson would seek is a new vision of America's faith built upon the state as "the primary instrument of social justice," "an agent of social change," in order to deal with "persistent poverty, over-population, and pollution issues [which] dictate against facile classics of American righteousness."(12) For him, it is political leaders that set values and not any 'family-centered approach.'(13) For him, the "tragedy of Nixon is that ... he is the political manifestation of the death of a national god."(14) So, the death of this 'god' is due to its lack of 'liberal' (in contemporary meaning) character. And the religious coup he would see would replace that god of achievement and competitiveness with the real 'Christian ' theology of justice and equality through state engineering. Continue 1