November 07, 2004

A nation with a soul of a church "Upon my arrival in the United States," Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in 1835, "the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention." Throughout American history visitors have remarked on the religious character of the United States. G. K. Chesterton, for instance, concluded that America thought of itself in religious terms and that the United States was "a nation with the soul of a church." In light of the influence of religion on the recent election I think it good for all of us to brush up on the role of religion in the United States in order to put our times in perspective.

Religion and the religious has always played a role in the U.S.. Including the creation of it own uniquely American spinnoffs. Have a great Sunday morning.

posted by Zanshin 20 years ago
  • Don't forget this Sunday ritual.
  • In addition to that, we should take a close look at why Thomas Jefferson put it so clearly into the documents that he wrote that there should be a very clear seperation of church and state. There was a very good reason for it and that issue needs to be revisited. With no seperation of church and state there can be no United States of America. There's a good documentary you can pick up at the local record store by PBS. Here's the URL: http://www.pbs.org/jefferson/
  • PBS is part of the Liberal Media, mk1.
  • Careful here--the U.S. has not always been a very religious country, that is modern Christian propaganda. The Puritans in New England were big-time God boys, but the settlers in Virginia and other points south far less so. By the time of the American Revolution religion was at its all time low in America, at least in terms of church membership, attendance, and other stuff we can measure. There was a big religioos revival 50 years later, which is when Tocqueville visited, then a dropoff in the late 19th century, then.... Ooops, started typing out one of my lectures. The punchline is that religious enthusiasm has always risen and fallen in American history. But at only one time in the history of the Unites States, the 1950s, has regular church attendance hit 50%. Today it is between 15 and 30%.
  • See, you guys are all caught up in your "reason" and your "historical facts" and your "using your intelligence-seat for something other than a hatrack." If we've learned anything this year it's that those things don't work! Reason has lost the day! Historical facts serve those who distort them best! Smarts is overrated! You'll never convince anyone with truth. Lies, my friend. Lies are what the American people crave.
  • 1) " The punchline is that religious enthusiasm has always risen and fallen in American history. But at only one time in the history of the Unites States, the 1950s, has regular church attendance hit 50%. Today it is between 15 and 30%." 2) "I think it good for all of us to brush up on the role of religion in the United States in order to put our times in perspective." Larry C, where are we in disagreement?
  • Larry C - so even in the religious revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries, church attendance hasn't been above 50%? Would you say that was because those revivals didn't reach more than 1/2 of the population, or only affected certain regions, because the revivals were not church oriented, or because the desire to attend church may have been there, but distance, weather, etc, prevented regular attendance? Please do continue to type in your lectures whenever you wish to - they would be very interesting. (Though don't feel obliged to be doing "work" here on mofi :)
  • Kevin Phillips has a firm grasp of the obvious, I'd say. I wish more did. But kudos to Michelle Goldberg for the opportunity to type "Brobdingnagian." One of my favorite words.
  • Some corrections to the NYRB article.