Sporting events form a vital space where Americans display their ‘civil religious devotion,’ according to a scholar of religion and sports.
Articles on Civil religion
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On Flag Day, a historian of religions in America explains how the Pledge of Allegiance, which honors the American flag, is part of American civil religion.
The idea of Manifest Destiny inspired Americans to push west, leading to the creation of the first national parks. But those beliefs spelled removal for many Native American groups.
With modern borders drawn up by colonial powers, some African governments have turned to religion to try to forge national unity since independence.
The American Jewish community is changing as it becomes increasingly diverse and politically polarized.
The Star-Spangled Banner does indeed yet wave.
Student activists are losing faith in the legacies of anti-apartheid heroes like Nelson Mandela. Perhaps all South Africans should do the same. It may just be what the country needs for its future.
The tradition of republicanism offered us civil religion, a foundation of belief that could counter any politics or policy that demands sacrifice in this world to be compensated in some “beyond”.
Top contributors
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Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Rhodes College
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Professor of Public Theology in the Department of Beliefs and Practices, Faculty of Theology, at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University of Amsterdam), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
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Assistant researcher, University of Sydney
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Professor of Politics, UNSW
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University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University
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Associate Teaching Professor in Religious Studies, Arizona State University
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Senior Lecturer in History, University of Dundee
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Lecturer and Teacher, Department of Politics and International Relations, Cardiff University
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Associate Professor of Religion & Society, Boston University