November 12, 2001

Faith & patriotism nudge closer since Sept. 11
___By Mark O'Keefe
___Religion News Service
___WASHINGTON (RNS)--Since Sept. 11, routine acts such as waving the flag, pledging "one nation under God" and proclaiming the words "God bless America" have taken on almost worshipful significance.
___But what some Americans find unifying and reassuring, others see as divisive and troubling, a blurring of the line between love of country and religion, with woe to those who don't believe.
___Derek Davis, director of the Institute for Church-State Studies at Baylor University in Waco, sees the wall between church and state being temporarily lowered.
___"At times like this, you almost set aside the First Amendment," Davis said. "The excitement and emotion almost trump everything else."
___The fervor that makes patriotism an almost sacred duty goes by a variety of academic labels--civil religion, public religion, even democratic faith. Some scholars distinguish it from authentic spirituality.
___"Patriotism sort of becomes a secular religion," said Pauline Maier, author of "American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence."
___But others see real religion fusing with civic duty, producing a love of God and country that can't be divided or denied--especially when the nation is at war.
___"In World War II, God was on our side," said Bruce Johnston, chair of the religious studies and philosophy department at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y. "Just think of the songs, like 'I'll Be Home for Christmas.' Here you have this religious holiday and there's this great big patriotic war song."
___ Johnston continued: "Then there's the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln basically tells the North this is a just cause because God is on our side. It's safe to say that wartime is a very good occasion for this type of thing to happen."
___Jean Bethke Elshtain, a professor of social and political ethics at the University of Chicago's Divinity School, was one of about 20 religious leaders invited to spend time with President Bush just before his Sept. 20 speech to Congress.
___When Bush asked for prayer, the religious leaders representing a variety of backgrounds joined him in a circle, holding hands. Elshtain said she and others were deeply moved when, after the prayer ended, the group spontaneously sang "God Bless America"--just as members of Congress had on the steps of the Capitol hours after the Sept. 11 attacks.
___"Expressions such as 'God bless America' shouldn't offend anyone, except atheists or perhaps some New Age people who don't like God," Elshtain said. "There's nothing specific about Christianity, Judaism or Islam in that. God is the term people use to describe a power beyond human beings."
___Historically, the United States has been one of the world's most religious nations. In a May Gallup Poll, 90 percent of respondents said they believed in God, 7 percent weren't sure, 2 percent didn't believe and only 1 percent had no opinion.
___But Tom Flynn, a spokesman for the Council for Secular Humanism in Amherst, N.Y., cautioned against shutting out the non-religious.
___"We have blood to donate, money to contribute and emotional, if never spiritual, support to offer," he said. "If war is unavoidable, we will do our part. If you insist on freezing us out of your grief work, we'll understand. But next time the call goes out for 'all hands on deck,' forgive us if we assume you're talking to somebody else."
___Indeed, in battles over public expressions of religious sentiment, the believing and non-believing camps can generate passions of similar intensity.
___After the attacks, a secretary in Rocklin, Calif., put the words "God Bless America" on a marquee at Breen Elementary School, prompting a controversy.
___A California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the school calling the sign unconstitutional, "hurtful," "divisive" and an affront to children of minority faiths. The school, with public support, defied the ACLU, which appears to be backing down.
___In a similar case in Broken Arrow, Okla., parents' complaints about "God Bless America" on a school sign resulted in temporary removal of "God," leaving just "Bless America." The Daily Oklahoman newspaper, outraged, labeled the complainers "cranks who never suspend their rabid secular fundamentalism."
___The incidents helped prompt the House of Representatives to vote 404-0 for a resolution urging public schools to display "God Bless America" in a gesture of national support.
___The national ACLU, normally outspoken on such matters, would not comment, except to call the California case a local decision.
___Marc Stern, a constitutional attorney for the New York-based American Jewish Congress and an ACLU ally, said that groups defending separation of church and state see the current climate as no-win and are taking a lower profile.
___"Constitutional rights and privileges are a precious coin," Stern said. "You don't expend that coin in ways that are going to be futile, with relatively little at stake, as is the case here, or when the motive for doing so will be mistaken and converted into something else."
___In general, courts have ruled that some seemingly religious expressions of government, such as the national motto, "One Nation Under God," and the words "In God We Trust" on currency, are in reality "ceremonial deism." The expressions have been seen as devoid of significant religious meaning because of their rote repetition.
___Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center in Rosslyn, Va., said many people have called him in recent weeks seeking advice.
___"We should all give each other some breathing space for a time and not overreact," he said. "On one side, people should realize that this outpouring of patriotism and concern is understandable and you shouldn't fight everything you don't like.
___"On the other side, I'm suggesting that people who want to put 'God bless America' everywhere, that our public schools are places that are quite diverse. We have people of many faiths and no faith and they shouldn't use this as an opportunity to impose something that in ordinary times they wouldn't be able to do."
___As a legal matter, Haynes added, "there isn't a judge in the land that would strike down" a temporary "God bless America" sign. On the other hand, if a district used the phrase as "a long-term expression" required in its schools, "that may be unconstitutional."

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