104 – The American Civil Religion

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 Articlehttp://www.robertbellah.com/articles_5.htmTragedy of US Foreign Policy Bookhttps://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%201776 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit statistquo.substack.com