The fusion of theology and public policy has been evident
from the earliest days of the American Republic. With language lifted from the
Bible, the United States could best be understood in terms of an extended
sermon with various applications from notable preachers disguised as
presidents.
American exceptionalism – with all its various implications both past and
present – is historically and thematically explored by John D. Wilsey’s book, American
Exceptionalism and Civil Religion: Reassessing the History of an Idea.
The
United States could best be understood in terms of an extended sermon from
notable preachers disguised as presidents.
Probing the history of an idea as vague as American exceptionalism
requires skill both to discover and interpret the words dotted across the
history of American political writing. This is especially true of presidential
rhetoric. The founding documents of the United States possess a bilingual
capacity to fuse ideas radically opposed to one another in terms that can
please all perspectives simultaneously.
For those who
believe the American vision emanates from the political theory of John Locke,
Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the Declaration of
Independence and Constitution provide the grammatical and syntactical evidence
for an Enlightenment-based vision free from the tyranny of religious despots.
Conversely, for those who believe America is a fulfillment of biblical
prophecies and typologies, there is ample evidence for a logical progression of
such ideas throughout the American experiment.
What Wilsey accomplishes with a deft hand is identifying
similar categories within the religious history of the United States where the
language of the Bible has been used for political purposes. The idea of
American exceptionalism is largely drawn from the Bible. The political concept
itself cannot be accurately understood apart from understanding key biblical
texts (2
Chronicles 7:14 as an example) and their influence at various times in
American history.
Full text at: Does
American Exceptionalism Mean Worshiping The State?
