Knowra Civil religion Civil religion Civil religion is a shared set of public beliefs, symbols, and rituals that gives a political community sacred meaning without necessarily belonging to a formal religious institution.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau : Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an eighteenth-century Genevan philosopher who wrote about social contracts, popular sovereignty, and religion. His chapter on the civil religion of a republic gave the concept its enduring name.
American civil religion : American civil religion is a tradition of public beliefs and rituals that sacralizes the United States and its political ideals. It is the most extensively studied national example of the concept.
Organized religion : Organized religion is a system of religious beliefs and practices maintained by institutions, communities, or clergy. Civil religion may borrow religious forms without depending on a separate religious institution.
Collective memory : Collective memory is the shared representation of the past maintained by a group through narratives, symbols, and commemorations. Public rituals select and repeat memories that define the political community.
Robert Bellah : Robert Bellah was an American sociologist whose work examined religion, culture, and public life in the United States. His 1967 essay made American civil religion a major topic of sociological debate.
Sacred canopy : The sacred canopy is Peter Berger’s idea of a shared religious worldview that makes social order seem meaningful and legitimate. Civil religion similarly frames a political order within a wider sacred meaning.
French republicanism : French republicanism is a political tradition centered on popular sovereignty, citizenship, secular public institutions, and civic equality. Its civic ceremonies and symbols express a republican form of shared public commitment.
Secularism : Secularism is the principle or condition of separating religious authority from state institutions and public governance. Civil religion can sacralize public life even where institutions are formally secular.
National myth : A national myth is a widely shared story about a nation’s origins, identity, or historical purpose. Civil religion can give national origin stories the force of sacred truth.
Émile Durkheim : Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist who analyzed religion as a source of social cohesion and collective representation. His account of ritual and collective sacredness helps explain civil religion’s social force.
Show all 26