Religion, Secularism and America's Founding and Culture: a brief reflection

As a history and politics buff, as well as healthcare chaplain, one frequent topic of discussion and reflection I enjoy is the role of faith in American culture, from colonial times to the current time.  The most recent book I have read on this topic is by a Jewish author and journalist, Bruce Feiler.  "America's Prophet: Moses and the American Story" traces his exploration of the integration of this Jewish deliverer into the American culture. Examples are provided from the Mayflower to the campaign speeches of our current President, Barack Obama, with multiple references between.

This particular book provided the motivation to reflect once more on a topic I have considered frequently, and I will highlight examples from this book as well as other sources.  Much of my thought is captured, however, in one illuminating quote from Feiler's book:

"American culture really has two souls.

And it's not a question of whether the culture becomes secularized.

The culture never becomes one thing or the other. The culture is always two.

The culture is always William Bradford and Jonathan Edwards.

The culture is always Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison.

America was born just in time to have two mentalities.

We are like Jacob and Esau struggling in the womb.

Secular people want to believe that we are a nation of the Enlightenment,

and because of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution

that secularism with supersede religion.

Religious people want to believe that through the revival

religion will supersede secularism.  And both are wrong....

There will continue to be a constant dynamic and tension between the two,

running side by side. And they're going to keep on being about that

for as long as there's an American identity worth talking about."

(P. 167, quotation of Professor Allen Guelzo, Gettysburg College).

As Pilgrims traveled to the New World aboard the Mayflower, William Bradford compared their mission to "Moses and the Isrealites when they went out of Egypt (p.8)." Throughout the early years of the American colonies, and as the settlers an ocean away from their political leadership developed into a nation with a distinct identity, faith continued to be a central element of political and cultural ferment. Freedom and independence was highly prized; the entanglement of ecclesiastical and political leadership was (often rightly) criticized; and yet, religion continued to serve as an organizing principle for the cultural ethos of the infant nation.

Within the colony of Pennsylvania, the Assembly voted in 1751 to procure a bell for their State House. Part of the inscription their speaker, William Norris, requested was a passage from Leviticus 25:10- "Proclaim Liberty thro' all the Land to all the Inhabitants Thereof." Of course, this bell would later become known as the "Liberty Bell."

One early draft of a seal for the new nation was proposed by a committee consisting of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams.  It also contained Mosaic imagery:



http://www.greatseal.com/committees/firstcomm/

This seal was not officially adopted, but can serve as a useful reference point for some of the contemporary thought in the founding years of the American republic.

Comparisons of influential American leaders to Moses continued through American culture.  After Lincoln's death, popular preacher Henry Ward Beecher compared him to Moses in his eulogy by referring to Dueteronomy.  He noted parallels including seeing the "promised land" but being unable to personally enter, and freeing slaves from bondage.  Parallels continue to be drawn even in contemporary times, with Martin Luther King Jr. proclaiming the night before his death that he had "been to the mountaintop," and had seen "the promised land." During the 2008 presidential election, candidates Clinton and Obama (and probably others as well) made references to Egypt and Moses.

Many people make the (in my opinion) mistaken conclusion that the early American leaders preferred a public square devoid of religious imagery and influence.  But if this is true, why is the visage of Moses featured prominently in the architecture of the Supreme Court of the United States? And if the name of God is not to be uttered in public facilities such as schools, administrative buildings and offices, why were church services held within the House of Representatives, with both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison attending such services during their time in office?  http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06-2.html  It is my belief that the actual goal of early leaders in proclaiming freedom of religion in the new nation was aimed primarily at preventing the abuses of power they had observed in Europe near their own time, with incestous power relationships between churches and kings.  In America, you could worship God according to the dictates of conscience and personal conviction, with the attendant freedom not to worship simultaneously protected.

I think it is difficult to read colonial history thoroughly and argue convincingly that the prevailing thought of the founders was "anti-religious," with the goal of preventing any mention of faith in public settings.  On the other hand, several individuals were very critical of religious leadership, and our republic is in several ways a unique experiment in secular political leadership, carefully insulated from ecclesiastical hierarchy.  Religious leaders who attempt to draw parallels between influential founders and contemporary conservative/evangelical views also err, in my view.

One of the blessings that I value most highly as an American citizen is the freedom to worship God as I choose, based on my own heritage, study of sacred literature, and experience as part of a worshiping community. I hope that those around me can see the influence of faith in my words and actions.

I also hope that people who believe/live differently than I do can experience mutual respect, and the freedom to seek God and values which inform their lives in accordance with their own convictions.