Civil Religion

In his paper "Civil Religion in America" american sociologist Robert N. Bellah opened a wide discussion in 1967 among scholars in sociology, religion, politics and theology on the contribution of religion to keep modern society together. The debate has three major points:

Is religion essential for the coherence of society, and if so, how does this work (this point is referring to a theory by french sociologist Emile Durkheim, 1912). Do basic values of a society have to be rooted in religion and is relgion necessary to teach them and to have them respected by a broad majority?
Do traditional religions (in Europe and America: christianity and judaism) really play this role in democratic societies taking into account that
- human rights are rooted in the biblical tradition
- some denominations (catholic church!) were opposed to democracy until end of World War II
- commitment of individuals to denominations is decreasing (at least in Europe)
How and to what extent a so-called "civil religion", postulated by the swiss-french philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his 1762 standard work Du contrat social, can and should take over this role from traditional religions and whether there are any working examples for this.

Literature and Links on Civil Religion:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Du contrat social (1762), book IV, chapter 8.
Robert N. Bellah, Civil Religion in America, in: Daedalus, Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 96 (1967), Boston, Massachusetts, p. 1-21
reprint in: Donald G. Jones and Russell E. Richey (Hg.), American Civil Religion, Hagerstown/San Francisco/London 1974, p. 21-44
in german: Robert N. Bellah, Zivilreligion in Amerika, in: Heinz Kleger / Alois Müller (Hg.), Religion des Bürgers, a.a.O., S. 19-41.
in french: Robert N. Bellah, La religion civile en Amérique, dans: Archives de Sciences Sociales des Religions 35 (1973), p. 7-22
Donald G. Jones and Russell E. Richey (Hg.), American Civil Religion, Hagerstown/San Francisco/London 1974
Donald G. Jones and Russell E. Richey, The Civil Religion Debate, in: American Civil Religion, a.a.O., p. 3-18
Niklas Luhmann, Grundwerte als Zivilreligion, in: Archivo di Filosofia, Roma 1978, S. 51-71
Emile Durkheim, Die elementaren Formen des religiösen Lebens (1912), moderne Ausgabe, deutsche Übersetzung von L. Schmidts, Frankfurt a. M. 1981
Heinz Kleger / Alois Müller (Hg.), Religion des Bürgers. Zivilreligion in Amerika und Europa. München: Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1986
Thomas Hase, Zivilreligion, Religionswissenschaftliche Überlegungen zu einem theoretischen Konzept am Beispiel der USA, Würzburg: ERGON Verlag, 2001
The modern concept of civil religion was introduced by american sociologist Robert N. Bellah (1967), the book by german scholar Thomas Hase points out the essentials of a civil religion in a very concise way.

Helmut Zenz, Zivilreligion im Internet Literature, Links, quotations (focus: theology)

	Last update: 2003-12-13
© 2003 Markus Jud, Lucerne, Switzerland All rights reserved. Printed or electronic reproduction of substantial parts only allowed with explicit written note of consent. Quotations only with declaration of origin (link).

Swiss History: Summary

Spiritual Defense against Nazism:
Civil Religion in Switzerland
during World War II