Week 5 - Bellah--Guiding Questions
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Bellah: Guiding Questions Part I: President Bush and the 9/11 Attacks
1) Following the attacks on 9/11, the first terror-related arrests were made in Dearborn
on September 17, 2001.
2). During his speech to Americans right after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush said, "I ask for your prayers
for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security
has been threatened. And I pray
they will be comforted by a Power
greater than any of us . . . .
3). In a close look at President Bush's 9/11 speech, your professor identified a number of "power words" and phrases and placed them into categories. List all the "power words" and phrases found in the category labeled "Unity." Our country
A great people
unyielding anger
defend
a great nation
American resolve
resolve
responded with the best
daring
caring
4) In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, there was a very widespread rise of
shared emotion among many Americans. They put their individual opinions of President Bush aside and took on the identity of the larger group (that is, the nation). The president reinforced this collective effervescence in hopes of gaining broad support for war.
Part II: “Civil Religion in America”
5) In his essay on civil religion, Robert Bellah explained that he that conceives of the central tradition of the American civil religion as a form of national self-worship. True or False
?
6) In his inaugural address of January 20, 1961, president-elect John F. Kennedy said," And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe-the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of
God.
7). In his brief inaugural address of January 20, 1961, there are three
places that president-elect John F. Kennedy mentioned God.
8) [Former president] Dwight D. Eisenhower is reported to have said "Our government makes no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith-and I don't care what it is
. . . .
9). There are . . . certain common elements of religious orientation that the great majority of Americans share. These have played a crucial role in the
development of American institutions and still provide a religious dimension for the whole fabric of American Life
including the political sphere.
10). [Kennedy's] whole address can be understood as only the most recent statement of a theme that lies very deep in the American tradition, namely the obligation, both collective and individual, to carry out God’s will on earth. This was the motivating spirit of those who founded America . . . .
11) Kennedy's inaugural pointed to the religious aspect of the Declaration of Independence . . . , There are four
references to God.
12) In Washington's first inaugural address of April 30, 1789, he said, " The preservation of the sacred
fire of liberty
and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.
13) According to Bellah, what we have, then, from the earliest years of the republic is a
collection of beliefs, symbols, and rituals with respect to sacred things
and institutionalized in a collectivity.
14) Lincoln, "our martyred president," was linked to the war dead, those who "gave the last full measure of devotion." The theme of sacrifice
was indelibly written into the civil religion.
15) Behind the civil religion at every point lie biblical archetypes: Exodus, Chosen People, Promised Land, New Jerusalem, and Sacrificial Death and Rebirth. But it is also genuinely American and genuinely new. It has its own prophets and its own martyrs, its own sacred events and sacred places, its own solemn rituals and symbols. It is concerned that America be a society as
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perfectly in accord with the will of God
as men can make it, and a light to all nations.
Part IV: “God Bless America”
16) Bellah wanted to understand the ways in which faith--that is, belief in the unseen--
helps shape the daily life
of Americans.
17) "Civil Religion in American Life" was an attempt to look at culture in the United States--national holidays such as the Fourth of July, national symbols like the American flag, and presidential speeches--to see if those had religious
qualities. 18) Civil religion requires belief it the "American Dream." True or False
?
19) "Civil Religion," like the religion of mosques, temples, and churches, demands a high level of loyalty
from its followers.
20) Like the religions of churches, temples, and mosques, "civil religion" motivates the faithful by creating among them a sense of collective effervescence
21) In Christianity, there are only two "Great Commandments" that show a person how to live that life. First love god
. Second love your neighbors as you love yourself.
22) If we view those Two Great Commandments of Jesus through the lens of civil religion, what do we see? Love God turns into Love America
23) The Bill of Rights, and other amendments to the U.S. Constitution. These documents, individually and as a group, are our national "scriptures." Like the Ten Commandments, they tell us how to behave righteously
.
24) The Declaration of Independence says that "All men are created equal." True
or False?
25) The Declaration of Independence says that everyone is born with certain
"natural" (that is, God-given
rights.
26) The U.S. Constitution says that people's rights are granted by the Creator (god)
not by the government.
27) The U.S. Constitution says that everyone is equal under the law. True
or
False?
28) The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that peaceful protest is protected. True
or False?
29) The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that your freedom to practice your religion is protected. True
or False?
30) The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits slavery. True
or False?
31) The Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees women the right to vote. True
or False?
32) The Twenty-second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution permits qualified individuals to seek more than two terms as president. True or False
?
33) A belief in God as protector of the people appears in both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. True
or False?
34) List the three items that Durkheim said were necessary for people to agree on
to call something "religion" Which beliefs are sacred and which are profane (not sacred)
Which practices/rituals are sacred and which are profane
Which things are sacred and which are profane
35) List the three beliefs that Jean-Jacques Rousseau said were necessary--that
had to be present--in order to call something "religion."
That God exists
That there is life after death
That good acts will be rewarded and that bad actions will be punished
36) In particular, according to Bellah, Christianity
is the main religion upon which civic religion is firmly based.
37) Bellah said that civil religion entails "a set of beliefs
, symbols
, and rituals” that began at the start of the American nation and continues today.
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38) On September 11, 2015, then-President Barack Obama spoke at the Pentagon to the families and survivors of the 9/11 attacks. He said, "
We honor the courage of those who put themselves in harm’s way to save people they never knew. We come together
in prayer
and in gratitude
.
39) On September 11, 2015, then-President Barack Obama spoke at the Pentagon to
the families and survivors of the 9/11 attacks. In his final statement, he said, And may God
forever bless the United States of America."