American religion and politics

Résumé du document

Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in 1850 that religion "teaches the Americans the art of being free". Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and political thinker, wrote "Democracy in America" after his travels in the United States of America in the 1830's. To his mind, democracies are fundamentally defined by three essential characteristics: equality of conditions between citizens, popular sovereignty, and existence of a public opinion (social power exerted by the society on itself). In Lincoln's words, a democracy is "the government of the people, by the people, for the people". This definition of democracy refers to the Social Contract theory. Several philosophers, such as Hobbes and Locke for example, have theorized it. Although there are fundamental differences between those different visions, they all agree on the fact that people left the state of nature by transferring their private sovereignty to a global sovereign (the "leviathan"). Thus, Men abandon a part of their freedom by willing to be submitted to the newly created State, which becomes the guardian of people's natural rights. The people and the State conclude, therefore, a contract in which the former submit to the latter that has, in exchange, to protect their fundamental liberties.

Extraits

[...] Religion's role toward democracy is two-folded: first, its universal values are at the root of democracies (religion as a founder of democracy) and, second, the mores that it implements guarantee the good functioning of democracy and limit its possible excesses (religion as a guardian of democracy). Nevertheless, the Civil War incident would soon demonstrate that the relation between religion and democracy wasn't as idyllic as Tocqueville described it. Indeed, a major conflict of interpretation of the Bible, authoritative Book on which the natural culture of the United States had been built” (Noll, p.29) was about to burst, materializing a significant break in the American national identity. [...]

[...] For Rousseau, people don't submit to a sovereign but to themselves, by means of general will. Obeying the law, therefore, is the people's primary liberty, since the law is fundamentally the product of the general will. For Tocqueville, the American Constitution, unlike European republics, utterly embodies Rousseau's Social Contract theory. What allows the American democracy to function perfectly is its way of handling religion. Religion can be defined as a set of beliefs, rites and rules related to a divine and transcendental reality. How does religion contribute to reinforce democracy? [...]

[...] In other words, religion promotes values that constitute the basis of the American democracy. Indeed, although the founding fathers refused to set up a national religion, universalist principles established by texts such as the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, that is to say universal equality, natural rights, etc. have a religious connotation. Thus, sacred principles promoted by the Christian religion form the basis of temporal democracies. It seems, therefore, that religion, by its values, contributes to shape democracies. [...]

[...] Religious basic assumptions therefore constitute a model for democracies, in which equal individuals obey to a common rule formed by “universal consent” (Tocqueville, p.292). Nevertheless, Tocqueville (later followed by Madison) considers that democracy entails an inherent risk: tyranny of the majority. This happens when equality takes over freedom. Too much equality leads to increased individualism and materialism, which causes a significant lack of political involvement. Citizens are, then, no longer interested in shaping the laws, and blindly obey them. There is, consequently, no freedom: individuals no longer take interest in forming the common rules, and resign themselves to obey the general will. [...]

[...] American religion and politics Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in 1850 that religion “teaches the Americans the art of being free” (p.290). How does Tocqueville believe that religion works to strengthen American democracy? How well do his ideas fit the historical situation that other course readings describe? Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and political thinker, wrote Democracy in America after his travels in the United States of America in the 1830's. To his mind, democracies are fundamentally defined by three essential characteristics: equality of conditions between citizens, popular sovereignty, and existence of a public opinion (social power exerted by the society on itself). [...]