History Department Colloquium, “A Quest for Solidarity: ‘Civil Religion’ from Rousseau to the Present"
Join us for a talk by Professor Daniel Gordon
The presentation will be 20 to 30 minutes, followed by a Q&A. All are welcome to attend the presentation even if you cannot stay for the Q&A.
Professor Daniel Gordon's Abstract:
In this presentation, I will discuss a book that I'm working on; it's about the relationship between religion and politics in the the USA, in the 21st century. I will discuss a chapter I've already written on the recent and spectacular rise of the "Nones"—people who identify with no organized religion. Then I will outline the chapter featured in the title above. This second chapter, still in progress, is an intellectual history of the concept of "civil religion"--a common national religion--in America. "Civil religion" is a key idea in American social science. It's an idea heavily influenced by French thought (which is my first field of specialization). Rousseau wrote: "No state has ever been founded without religion serving as its basis." The American social scientists who have followed Rousseau on this point have done illuminating work on our "civil religion." But something is wrong with the whole idea. I will discuss how I am wrestling with the pros and cons of "civil religion" in America.