104 – The American Civil Religion

Episode description

Today on TSQ, Matt talks about a very powerful force in American life:  The American Civil Religion.  This is not a new concept, but it is one that isn’t discussed as much as it used to be.  A  civil religion is a phenomenon whereby the nominally secular state takes on things normally associated with organized religion, such as dogmas, holy sites or shrines, sermons, incantations and prayers.  It’s creepy as all get out, and should offend us all, whether we are religious or not.

Robert Bellah’s Article

http://www.robertbellah.com/articles_5.htm

Tragedy of US Foreign Policy Book

https://www.fpri.org/books/tragedy-us-foreign-policy-americas-civil-religion-betrayed-national-interest/#:~:text=the%20National%20Interest-,The%20Tragedy%20of%20U.S.%20Foreign%20Policy%3A%20How%20America’s,Religion%20Betrayed%20the%20National%20Interest&text=Pulitzer%20Prize%E2%80%93winning%20historian%20Walter,foreign%20policy%20ever%20since%20177

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