Creation and Preservation in the Constitution of Civil Religion

Abstract

The primary challenge facing civil religion in the United States is how to accommodate varying conceptions of the content and meaning of civil religion. Courts should be wary of jurispathic tendencies -- their proclivity to kill alternative conceptions of civil religion and to adopt a single "official" conception. Courts should endeavor to treat civil religion as a dimension of civil society rather than as a tool of the state. They should adopt a modest posture in declaring definitions and setting boundaries in regard to religious symbols and texts.

Keywords: civil religion, laïcité, courts, jurispathic tendencies, alternative conceptions, official conceptions, civil society, religious symbols