So far in this class, we have mostly talked about how
Americans have used religion to justify their role in wars. They have talked of having God on their
side, appealed to Providence, and honored the fallen. The reading this week was markedly different, however,
showing instead how religion could be used to denounce a war. Much of Crisis of Conscience seemed to be a response to an earlier black
and white Cold War ideology that posited righteous Americans against godless
Communists—the authors state that, in the eyes of God, there is no “us” versus
“them.” But the authors’ argument
goes further, stating that the actions of the nation are subject to the
judgment of God. The Vietnam War,
then, was not just a mistake, it was a sin that needed to be confessed and
atoned for.
Does this argument signal a challenge to American civil
religion? Or is it the
introduction of a new, chastened, and less bellicose civil religion?
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