Obama’s Former Faith Adviser: ‘I, Frankly, Am Glad American Civil Religion is Dying’

[LivnForChrist]

By Penny Starr
January 25, 2012

(CNSNews.com) – Shaun Casey, the religious affairs adviser to presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008,
said at a discussion on Tuesday about “God and Politics” that the demise of religious society in the United States
is a good thing.

“I, frankly, am glad American civil religion is dying,” said Casey, who is an associate professor of Christian Ethics at
Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.

more

[arapahoepark]

Firstly, who goes to Harvard Divinity School nowadays to become a pastor? You go there if you want to become an atheist

[dave-o]

Firstly, who goes to Harvard Divinity School nowadays to become a pastor? You go there if you want to become an atheist

Exactly. Or any university for that matter. All they do is study the past and current impact of religion(s) on a secular humanist society.

(BTW, what is the definition of "civil religion"??)

[arapahoepark]

Exactly. Or any university for that matter. All they do is study the past and current impact of religion(s) on a secular humanist society.

(BTW, what is the definition of "civil religion"??)

Not to good at definitions, but an example would be that a few presidents weren't Christian, but yet the Christian ideals still stood and they used that like by mentioning God and such. So basically, our religious ideals that we were founded upon which were predominately Christian with Deism....
hope that helps.
It was much stronger than it is now, God was is everything Deist or Christian or otherwise.

[dave-o]

OK then. So "civil religion is dying" is code speak for things like homosexuality, abortion and unbridled promiscuity becoming the norms of our society.

Got it.

[YeuEmMaiMai]

Obviously this person does not get out much, for if they did, they would be appalled at the current state of our society...

[mattfivefour]

In the article linked in the OP they quote Swiss-French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who apparently coined the phrase “civil religion” in his book “The Social Contract.” He described civil religion as the moral and spiritual foundation of modern society.