Politics and Religion in the United States

Michael Corbett, Julia Corbett-Hemeyer, J. Matthew Wilson

• Verlag: Routledge
• Jahr: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781136159985
• Auflage: 2
• Thema: Política y relaciones internacionales
• Thema: Política

There is a complex relationship between religiosity and secularism in the American experience. America is notable both for its strict institutional separation of church and state, and for the strong role that religion has played in its major social movements and ongoing political life. This book seeks to illuminate for readers the dynamics underlying this seeming paradox, and to examine how the various religious groups in America have approached and continue to approach the tensions between sacred and secular. This much-anticipated revision brings Corbett and Corbett's classic text fully up to date. The second edition continues with a thorough discussion of historical origins of religion in political life, constitutional matters, public opinion, and the most relevant groups, all while taking theology seriously. Revisions include fully updating all the public opinion data, fuller incorporation of voting behavior among different religious and demographic groups, enhanced discussion of minority religions such as Mormonism and Islam, and new examples throughout.

1 Politics and Religion

An Overview

We know that part of living in a pluralistic society means that our personal religious beliefs alone can’t dictate our response to every challenge we face. But … we can’t leave our values at the door. If we leave our values at the door, we abandon much of the moral glue that has held our nation together for centuries, and allowed us to become a somewhat more perfect union. Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, Abraham Heschel—the majority of great reformers in American history did their work not just because it was sound policy … but because their faith and their values dictated it, and called for bold action—sometimes in the face of indifference, sometimes in the face of resistance.

(President Barack Obama, Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, February 2, 2011)

As the above quote from President Obama suggests, religion is inextricably woven into the fabric of American political life. It has shaped the nation’s self-conception, from the earliest colonies through the founding era to the present day. Communities of faith have been at the heart, both inspirationally and organizationally, of the most significant social and political movements in the nation’s history. At the same time, however, America has always been religiously diverse and pluralistic; no single system of belief or way of worship has ever dominated the religious landscape, and people of faith have often been found on both sides of major national struggles. As a result, the relationship between religion and politics in America has always been complex, reflecting a delicate balance between respecting religious pluralism and acknowledging religion’s significant role in public life. Politics and Religion in the United States provides a comprehensive view of this interaction, both historically and in America today. This ongoing story is told in several sections.

• This introduction lays the groundwork by defining the terms of the relationship, by providing working definitions of both religion and politics and demonstrating why they are necessarily related—especially in the United States. It also provides a brief typology of the logical forms that this relationship might take.

• Part I, Religion and History, examines the nature of this relationship in the past. Individual chapters deal with the colonial experience and intentions of the founders, the time period between 1800 and 1960, and the more contemporary era since 1960. The specific issues vary over time, but the deep interconnection of religion and politics is a continuing motif throughout our history.

• Part II, Religion and the First Amendment, traces the evolution of the legal relationship between politics and religion. The legal separation of governmental and religious institutions in the United States has meant that their relationship must continually be redefined as new situations arise. Separate chapters deal with the establishment clause and the free exercise clause, and the tension between the two clauses is examined.

• Part III, Religion and Public Opinion, uses information from leading public opinion surveys to explore how the relationship between religion and politics is reflected in the social and political views of Americans today. A chapter on religion and public opinion is followed by separate chapters that analyze religious–political links among white Americans and among racial and ethnic minorities, since these groups differ significantly in their understanding of how religion and politics are (and should be) linked.

• Part IV, Effects of Religious Influences in Politics, consists of two chapters that examine how religion shapes public policy in America, as religious groups try to affect the legislative process and as people reflect on what the relationship between faith and law should be.

• Two appendices profile major religious groups in the United States, with particular attention to features that influence their participation in the relationship between politics and religion, and also provide the wording of the survey questions used in our analyses.

Alongside the overarching theme of the contested and complex relationship between politics and religion, several groups of questions and issues recur throughout many of the above parts. Some of the key ones are enumerated below.

• Waging war and understanding or justifying it: From the American Revolution through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, religion has influenced peoples’ views about warfare and has been used both to voice antiwar protest and to defend participation in military conflicts.

• The regulation of personal life: From Puritan restrictions on what one could and could not do on Sunday to contemporary restrictions on gambling, alcohol, and prostitution, people have sought to translate their vision of moral behavior into law.

• Relationships between groups of people: Religion was used to promote both slavery and abolition, as was cited in defense of both racial segregation and integration. It has, at different times and in different contexts, been the source of both ecumenical cooperation and sectarian strife.

• Attitudes toward government: In the United States, religious groups have most often been generally supportive of governmental authority. Throughout history, however, individuals and communities of faith have raised serious moral challenges to specific laws and decisions of political leaders and, less frequently, to the legitimacy of government itself on the basis of their religious views.

• Religion and the electoral process: Religion has long played an important role in American voting behavior. Catholics and Jews, for example, have tended to vote Democratic more frequently than white Protestants—though these patterns have evolved over time. It has also affected how candidates and elected officials present themselves and their proposals to the voting public.

Religion and Politics: Working Definitions

In order to describe relationships between politics and religion, we need first to be clear about the meaning of each of the two terms. The definitions we develop below are certainly not the only reasonable ones; they are, however, especially useful in the context of our particular discussions. They help us to understand how religion and politics are related and why this relationship is inevitable in the United States.

Description of Religion

For our purposes:

[A] developed religion is an integrated system of beliefs, lifestyle, ritual activities, and social institutions by which individuals give meaning to (or find meaning in) their lives by orienting themselves to what they experience as holy, sacred, or of ultimate value.

(Corbett-Hemeyer 2010: 13)

This definition is grounded in the social sciences in that it deals with human behavior in groups and with the beliefs and rituals that help to define those groups. It is also based in the humanities in its emphasis on the meaning that religion has for those who participate in it.

To say that a religion is an integrated system means that its various dimensions work together and reinforce each other. At least ideally, there are no “loose ends”; the multiple aspects of religious belief and practice fit together into a coherent worldview and way of life. This system can be thought of as being made up of four parts: beliefs, lifestyle, ritual, and social institutions.

The beliefs of a religion are found in its sacred writings and stories as well as in its doctrines, creeds, and hymns. Religious beliefs include beliefs about the sacred or holy, about the meaning of life in the world, about ethical and moral values, and about what happens after death, to name but a few common themes. These beliefs may or may not include explicit teachings about the proper relationship between religion and the political order.

Lifestyle and ritual are related in that they both have to do with activities. “Lifestyle” refers to how people live on a day-to-day basis. It is the ethical and moral dimension of religion. It includes activities that must be done and other behaviors that must be avoided (for example, the Ten Commandments of both Judaism and Christianity). Sometimes the lifestyle prescribed by a religion serves to set its members apart from the rest of their culture, to a greater or lesser extent. It may include directives about food and clothing (for example, the kosher dietary laws and distinctive dress of Hasidic Jews). It often prescribes participation in specific daily activities (for example, the expectation that Muslims will pray five times a day). Questions about the proper relationship between religion and the state inevitably arise when government interferes with these religious activities, or when members of one religious group seek to impose them on non-members.

Ritual, on the other hand, comprises those activities in which people focus explicitly on religion. In the United States, for example, attendance at corporate worship is a ritual in which people often participate. Rituals serve to make the sacred present and available to people. They also commemorate important historic events in the life of a community of faith, mark and celebrate the passages of the human life cycle, and celebrate and reinforce the connectedness of the community (to name but a few of their functions).

Social or institutional organization is an important aspect of any religion. Such organization is necessary to keep the life of the group going and to move it forward. The organizational structures of religious groups help express their self-understanding. It is often these institutional structures that interface with the political realm.

Religion is in some ways similar to other activities in which people find meaning, while being distinct in one critical respect. Like family, friends, work, leisure activities, and social organizations, religion is one of the things that make human life meaningful and rich for many people. The meaning that people gain from participation in religion is distinctive, however, in that it derives from contact and interaction with what they take to be holy, sacred, or of ultimate value—often transcending the physical, material world. It is this transcendent relationship with the sacred that sets religion apart from other human activities. While a person’s membership in a religious community might in some respects be similar to membership in a professional organization or bowling league, it obviously has at least the potential to be much more significant and profound than that.

Definition of Politics

There are many different, though related, definitions of politics. Some political analysts have conceptualized politics primarily through the prism of government. For example, V. O. Key (1958) defines politics in terms of the workings of government, the impact of governments on people, the ways in which governments operate, and the processes by which governmental leaders attain and retain authority. While government is undoubtedly at the center of political activity, however, it does not encompass the entirety of what we might think of as political life. Direct citizen referenda, for example, can be very politically consequential, but take place largely outside the control of governmental elites.

A different approach focuses on the use of power. Dahl and Stinebrickner (2003: 3) define politics in terms of human relationships that “involve, to a significant extent, control, influence, power, or authority.” Almost all political scientists would agree that politics involves the use of power. However, because there are different types of power in society (e.g., political power, economic power, and social power), some argue that the power approach is too broad. What is it about the use of authority and influence in political matters that distinguishes political power from other forms of power?

Another approach to understanding politics focuses on values. David Easton (1965) defines politics as the authoritative allocation of values for a society. This definition—or some variation of it—is perhaps the most widely accepted understanding of politics among political scientists. It is also the definition that we find most useful for the present work. It is important to note, however, that “values” in this context include not only intangible ideals, but also concrete, material resources that people value. In this sense, Harold Lasswell (1936) provided a useful framing of the political world in the title of his classic book Politics: Who Gets What, When and How? In our own book, we will use a combination of the Easton and Lasswell concepts as our working definition of politics.

Thus, politics concerns the allocation of values. Values are beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable. People have many different values, such as wealth, power, health, religion, freedom, patriotism, justice, equality, love, friendship, tolerance, adventure, wisdom, beauty, security, peace, conquest, individualism, community, and so on. At times, these values conflict with one another; actions or policies that advance some may hinder others. Politics exists to resolve conflicts over these necessary tradeoffs. People might disagree on a value (as for example, the pro-life and pro-choice movements disagree about whether the value of human life is implicated in the abortion debate), and this disagreement may lead to political conflict. Conflict can also occur, however, even in situations where people have broad agreement about values. First, people might agree on a value but disagree on how that value should be achieved. For example, there is broad-based agreement that national economic prosperity is something to be valued. However, different people take different approaches to how it ought to be attained (e.g., increase government spending to directly stimulate the economy or decrease government spending to reduce debt and empower the private sector), and this leads to political conflict. Second, people might agree on a value but disagree on the priority of that value in relation to others. For example, although the great majority of Americans favor both clean air and economic growth, conflict arises when they must choose which is more important in a particular situation. Third, conflict can occur when people agree on a value but disagree on who should contribute toward its achievement. For example, people might agree that national security and a strong military are things to be valued, but try to shift as much of the cost for them as possible to others.

Since conflict concerning values is inevitable, not everyone can have everything that they want. Value conflicts must be adjudicated and resolved in the political process. In a particular situation, some people might win while others lose; alternatively, a compromise might result in everyone both winning and losing to some degree. In order for there to be any allocation of values, however, there must be at least some degree of cooperation among people. Further, the process by which these allocations are made has to be authoritative; in other words, people have to accept the decisions that emerge from the political process as legitimate and binding. People might not agree with the way that value conflicts have been resolved, but unless there is at least a minimal level of acceptance of the legitimacy of the resolution process, the political system will break down.

This, then, is our conception of politics. As we shall see, religious motivations have greatly affected the allocation of various values in American society. Religious faith powerfully shapes perceptions of what is valuable, and of how values ought to be ranked and prioritized. In addition, the social role of religion itself—the nation’s identity as a religious or secular society—has been a source of significant political conflict, both historically and today.

Religion and Politics: Their Roles in Human Life

The Roles of Religion

Religion plays many roles, both in individual human lives and in the lives of societies and cultures. Its distinctive role for individuals is providing meaning that derives from human contact with what are believed to be sacred realities. Religion provides ways for people to live their lives in conscious relationship with what is to them the highest value. It helps them to connect with the transcendent in ways that illuminate mundane existence. Religion also plays many other roles, only a few of which can be discussed here.

One major function of religion, both for individuals and for entire societies, is the provision and sanctioning of moral guidelines. Religion provides both the “rules” for human behavior themselves and the rationale for those rules. It also frequently indicates punishments for disobedience and rewards for the obedient, thus encouraging compliance with moral norms. In addition, religion often defines appropriate roles for different members of a culture. Religion helps to mark the boundaries of acceptable individual and group behavior. These boundaries are defined and sanctioned with reference to perceived transcendent realities.

Religion contributes to the value system of societies and individuals in other ways as well. For example, Christianity and Judaism, the most prevalent religions in the United States, both emphasize the importance of helping other people, an emphasis that has led to a great deal of volunteer work in our society. Extensive research suggests that religiously observant Americans are significantly more likely to volunteer their time, contribute to charity, and be civically engaged than are others (Smidt et al. 2008; Putnam and Campbell 2010). More broadly, many have argued that Judeo-Christian religious values helped historically to shape the Western cultural emphasis on individual rights.

Religion also provides support for its adherents, both in their daily lives...