American Civil Religion—A Critical Examination

The religious diversity of America was obvious in the many gatherings connected with the  recent presidential inauguration weekend. Those events offered the world another example of America's civil religion. Wikipedia defines American civil religion  in this way:

American civil religion is a sociological theory that there exists a religion of the United States, a nonsectarian faith that has as its sacred symbols those of the polity and national history. Scholars have portrayed it as a cohesive force, a common set of values that foster social and cultural integration. . . . There is a viewpoint that some Americans have come to see the document of the United States Constitution, along with the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights as being a cornerstone of a type of civic or civil religion.

A huge controversy arose within the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod over the practice of civil religion in the  9/11 Yankee Stadium worship service led by Oprah Winfrey. The controversy was taken up by many in the national media. The NY Times commented on the it under the heading: "Interfaith Is No Faith." The Rev. Charles Henrickson of St. Louis was quoted as saying,

"The gospel is not served, it is not confessed—indeed, the gospel is eviscerated—when Jesus Christ is presented as one of many options from which to choose on a smorgasbord of spirituality."

Did the Missouri Synod clergyman have a valid point? What does the Bible have to say about the question of civil religion, a question that continues to surface again and again in events like President Obama's recent inauguration. Mollie Ziegler was the writer of the NY Times article. She usually reports on the music industry from Washington. She is also a lay member of the Missouri Synod. The Rev. David Benke, president of the Missouri Synod's Atlantic District, took part in the 9/11 Prayer Service at Yankee Stadium. He was censured by the Synod for his actions. In defense of the Synod's censure, Ms. Ziegler wrote, 

Such renegade behavior runs against the grain of the Missouri Synod, whose system of belief is firmly grounded in Scripture and an intellectually rigorous theology. Preserving its doctrine is a key aspect of the faith. The synod was founded, as it happens, by German immigrants fighting ecumenicalism. In the early 19th century, the king of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II, ordered Lutherans to pray and worship with Calvinists, as one. It was a popular edict among his subjects, swept up in patriotic feeling after the allied victory at Waterloo. But the church of Luther was unwilling to compromise its beliefs, even if those who resisted the edict faced persecution, including imprisonment. Lutherans emigrated to Australia, New York and Missouri.

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod's Commission on Theology and Church relations has published a white paper, Guidelines for Participation in Civic Events. In the next couple blogs I want to summarize that paper and offer a few of my own comments on the practice of civil religion. You may want to read the entire document yourself.