Neo-Functionalist Theories of

Religion
Many modern theories of religion can be interpreted as neo-
functionalist because they have been influenced by Durkheim’s
idea that worship and belief in a divine power actually
symbolise commitment to and worship of society.

Civil Religion
A civil religion is a non-religious belief system which induces
a mass response which is similar in terms of passion,
dedication and commitment to that found in a strongly
supported conventional religion. Theories of civil religion are
mainly associated with Robert Bellah in the USA and Shils and
Young in the UK.

Bellah argues that secular belief systems such as nationalism

are civil religions because they have successfully incorporated
elements of religion into their rituals, ceremonies and
ideologies, and consequently participation in these
movements is similar in character to believing in and
belonging to a religious group. Examination of totalitarian
systems such as Nazism and Stalinism support this perspective,
e.g. mass rallies in Nazi Germany were very similar to
evangelical meetings in terms of fervour and commitment.

In particular, Bellah applies his argument to the modern day USA.

He argues that, despite America’s social divisions, the American
people are largely unified by an overarching ‘civil’ religion - a
faith in Americanism. He argues that this civil religion generates
widespread loyalty to the USA.

Bellah notes that God and Americanism appear to walk hand in

hand. ‘God’ underpins most aspects of American society. US
patriotism and pride often involves the belief that God is on ‘our
side’. American coins tell the world ‘In God We Trust’, American
Presidents swear an oath of allegiance before God, and the
phrase ‘God Bless America’ ends speeches given by dignitaries
across the USA and at national events such as the Super Bowl. This
is not the particular God of Catholics, Protestants or Jews – it has a

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more general application as ‘America’s God’. In this respect, the
faith in Americanism helps unite the American people.

If we accept this premise as true, Durkheim’s ideas about the link

between religion and society are supported, i.e. the worship of
God in the USA = the worship of US society.

Read through the extract from McGuire (1981) below which

illustrates the notion of civil religion in the USA.

Shrines, Saints and Ceremonies

Many American civil ceremonies have a marked religious
quality. Memorial Day, which remembers Americans killed in
war, the Fourth of July, which commemorates the American
Declaration of Independence from Britain and the
anniversary of presidential inaugurations, all celebrate
national values and national unity. There are national
shrines such as the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, the
birthplaces of key presidents, war memorials and other
'special' places. It is not their age or even historical
significance that inspires awe and reverence. but their
ability to symbolise the nation as a 'people'. Likewise, there
are sacred objects of the civil religion - especially the Stars
and Stripes flag aka ‘Old Glory’.

The extent to which these ceremonies, shrines and objects

are set apart as sacred can be seen in the intensity of
outrage at inappropriate behaviour or 'desecration'. Some
people were arrested during the 1960s for wearing or
displaying a copy of the American flag improperly, for
example, on the seat of their pants.

American civil religion also has its myths and saints. Lincoln
is an historical figure who particularly symbolises the civil
religion and his life from humble birth to martyrdom typifies
its values. Other 'saints' include key presidents such as
Washington and Kennedy, folk heroes such as Davy Crockett,
who died in 1836 fighting for Texan independence from
Mexico, and military heroes such as Eisenhower,
commander- in-chief of the Allied Armies in World War Two,
who defended democracy and freedom against the fascist
governments of Germany and Italy.

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Similarly there are stories that enshrine American values
such as individual achievement and upward social mobility,
i.e. the American Dream. Lincoln's story of log cabin to White
House is one. So is Davy Crockett's earlier history when,
after years of hunting bears and fighting Indians on the
frontier, he was elected to Congress where he was known as
the 'Coonskin Congressman'. Socially important

myths include America as the land of plenty, unlimited social

mobility, economic consumption and achievement.

US history focuses on the 19th century vast migration to new

lands in the West. Many migrants travelled in wagon trains,
pushing back the American frontier and opening up new land
to White settlement. These ‘heroic’ treks are pictured in
books, paintings and on postage stamps, featured in films
and commemorated in statues. Sometimes the ‘virgin
territory’ of the West is pictured as the ‘promised land’ and
settlers as the ‘chosen people’.

Does the UK have a civil religion?

According to Gerald Parsons (2002), the ‘most widespread and
visible expression of British civil religion’ is symbolised by the
events and ceremonies which annually surround Remembrance
Sunday. On that day, thousands of communities across the UK
gather to remember and honour those killed in all of Britain’s wars.
At the Cenotaph, the royal family leads the nation’s official,
nationally broadcast, act of remembrance. Millions wear red or
white poppies and observe a short period of silence at 11am. Taken
together, Parsons argues that such rituals and symbols function
‘as a means of transcending divisions and unifying what
might otherwise be a deeply divided national community’.

In the UK, the monarchy has also provided a focus for

sentiments of what might be called civil religion. For example,
the Queen is the symbol of British identity in that she is head of
state yet she is also the Head of the Church of England. Oaths of
allegiance are sworn by the armed forces and police to the Queen
and these stress 'God, Queen and Country'. The coronation of
the Queen was a ceremonial occasion which affirmed both British
national identity (i.e. it had a patriotic function) and moral or
religious values (the crowning of the Queen by the

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Archbishop of Canterbury functioned to stress the Christian
nature of our society). The singing of the national anthem may be
an example of a unifying nationalistic experience. However,
changes in attitude towards the royal family raise questions about
the extent to which the monarchy is now capable of playing such a
role.

James Beckford (2003) recognises that there are occasions when

the nation is drawn together by religious/nationalistic rituals
such as the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997 and the
Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. However, he believes ‘it is
doubtful that these occasions can compensate for the UK’s deep
social divisions and high rate of religious diversity and indifference.
He notes that if the country has a civil religion, ‘it is at best
occasional – and at worst weak.’

The critique of civil religion

The concept of civil religion can be criticised for its methodological
vagueness. There is little empirical evidence to support the
view that national ceremonies such as the funeral of Diana are seen
by people as sacred or as reinforcing collective moral sentiments.
Moreover there has been little attempt to prove that these
ceremonies result in social integration. It is merely assumed that
they have that effect.

Other sociologists have questioned whether civil religion is

really religion. They are not convinced that it involves worship or
the supernatural or that Abraham Lincoln, Davy Crockett or Diana,
Princess of Wales can be compared to saints in the Catholic Church.