Jan 25, 2009
Religion and the Inauguration
Thus far today--and the day is not yet over--more prayers were spoken than at an evangelical meeting. Invocations, benedictions, in duplicate and triplicate.
The day began with President Bush's visit to a church.
During his address he referred to the Author of Liberty, God, and the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
What's going on?
America is being treated to its usual quadrennial outburst of religious pageantry.
Religion has always been a part of inaugurations. Most presidents have ended their address with the words, "so help me God." (FDR forgot in 1933.) All the presidents mentioned God or some vague equivalent in their address. All but J.Q. Adams, Franklin Pierce and Calvin Coolidge put their hand on a bible while taking the oath. (Adams put his hand on a book of laws.)
All but one swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. (Pierce affirmed the oath.) (Only 3 presidents referred explicitly to Christianity, none mentioned Jesus by name.)
But religion is more evident at inaugurations now than in the 19th century.
The change came with FDR. He was the first to go to church inauguration day, the first to include a prayer in his own address, the first to have an invocation and a benediction. FDR ended his last address with a prayer. Ike and Bush I began their addresses with a prayer.
Why the change?
There are a couple of explanations. 1. FDR sensed the momentousness of World War II and felt he needed all the help he could get in rallying public opinion in defense of his policies. (Lincoln, the other president who held office during a similarly challenging period also invoked God more explicitly than other presidents, tailoring his second address to the jeremiads of the old Puritan preachers.)
Ike in the 1950s explicitly included a prayer because he felt the country was becoming materialistic. The more prosperous we became the mre we eagerly embraced public symbols of religion to reinforce our sense of our own worthiness.
And as Susan Jacoby reminded us in a piece published in the NYT the other day, the Supreme Court decision abolishing school prayer in 1962 shocked much of the country, inspiring leaders to compensate by publicly praying.
So don't blame George W. Bush for the religious atmosphere of today's events. They have strong roots in our cultural garden.
The day began with President Bush's visit to a church.
During his address he referred to the Author of Liberty, God, and the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
What's going on?
America is being treated to its usual quadrennial outburst of religious pageantry.
Religion has always been a part of inaugurations. Most presidents have ended their address with the words, "so help me God." (FDR forgot in 1933.) All the presidents mentioned God or some vague equivalent in their address. All but J.Q. Adams, Franklin Pierce and Calvin Coolidge put their hand on a bible while taking the oath. (Adams put his hand on a book of laws.)
All but one swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. (Pierce affirmed the oath.) (Only 3 presidents referred explicitly to Christianity, none mentioned Jesus by name.)
But religion is more evident at inaugurations now than in the 19th century.
The change came with FDR. He was the first to go to church inauguration day, the first to include a prayer in his own address, the first to have an invocation and a benediction. FDR ended his last address with a prayer. Ike and Bush I began their addresses with a prayer.
Why the change?
There are a couple of explanations. 1. FDR sensed the momentousness of World War II and felt he needed all the help he could get in rallying public opinion in defense of his policies. (Lincoln, the other president who held office during a similarly challenging period also invoked God more explicitly than other presidents, tailoring his second address to the jeremiads of the old Puritan preachers.)
Ike in the 1950s explicitly included a prayer because he felt the country was becoming materialistic. The more prosperous we became the mre we eagerly embraced public symbols of religion to reinforce our sense of our own worthiness.
And as Susan Jacoby reminded us in a piece published in the NYT the other day, the Supreme Court decision abolishing school prayer in 1962 shocked much of the country, inspiring leaders to compensate by publicly praying.
So don't blame George W. Bush for the religious atmosphere of today's events. They have strong roots in our cultural garden.