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American civil religion is a sociological theory that a nonsectarian quasi-religious faith exists within the United States with sacred symbols drawn from national history. Scholars have portrayed it as a cohesive force, a common set of values that foster social and cultural integration. The very heavy emphasis on nondenominational religious themes is quite distinctively American and the theory is designed to explain this. The concept goes back to the 19th century, but in current form, the theory was developed by sociologist Robert Bellah in 1967 in his article, "Civil Religion in America." The topic soon became the major focus at religious sociology conferences and numerous articles and books were written on the subject. The debate reached its peak with the American Bicentennial celebration in 1976.〔 From the issue entitled "Religion in America".〕〔 p. 118.〕〔 p. 129〕〔 p. 94. "The article caused an almost unprecedented burst of excitement among sociologists and other scholars of religion." (Full text )〕 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 cornerstones of a type of civic or civil religion or political religion. According to Bellah, Americans embrace a common "civil religion" with certain fundamental beliefs, values, holidays, and rituals, parallel to, or independent of, their chosen religion.〔 Presidents have often served in central roles in civil religion, and the nation provides quasi-religious honors to its martyrs—such as Lincoln and the soldiers killed in the Civil War.〔Harry S. Stout, ''Upon the Altar of the Nation: A Moral History of the Civil War'' (2006)〕 Historians have noted presidential level use of civil religion rhetoric in profoundly moving episodes such as World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, and the September 11th attacks. This belief system has historically been used to reject nonconformist ideas and groups.〔 Theorists such as Bellah hold that American civil religion can perform the religious functions of integration, legitimation, and prophecy, while other theorists, such as Richard Fenn, disagree.〔Gail Gehrig, "The American Civil Religion Debate: A Source for Theory Construction," ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,'' (March 1981) 20#1 pp 51-63 (in JSTOR )〕 ==Development of concept== Alexis de Tocqueville believed that Christianity was the source of the basic principles of liberal democracy, and the only religion capable of maintaining liberty in a democratic era. He was keenly aware of the mutual hatred between Christians and liberals in 19th-century France, rooted in the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. In France, Christianity was allied with the Old Regime before 1789 and the reactionary Bourbon Restoration of 1815-30. However he said Christianity was not antagonistic to democracy in the United States, where it was a bulwark against dangerous tendencies toward individualism and materialism, which would lead to atheism and tyranny.〔Sanford Kessler, "Tocqueville on Civil Religion and Liberal Democracy," ''Journal of Politics,'' 39#1 (1977), pp. 119-146 (in JSTOR )〕 Also important were the contributions of French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) and French sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858-1917). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「American civil religion」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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