R. BELLAH'S CONCEPT OF "CIVIL RELIGION": IDENTIFICATION FEATURES AND MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS

Abstract

The article examines the nuances in the definition of "civil religion" as posited by American sociologist Robert Bellah. The situational drivers for its emergence include: a) the necessity for a theoretical framework while elucidating the dynamics of religion and politics in the US to Japanese students, and b) addressing the societal challenges the US faced due to the Vietnam War. R. Bellah's ideological foundation for reshaping "civil religion" is attributed to: drawing inspiration from the works of J.-J. Rousseau, and integrating theories from A. de Tocqueville, E. Durkheim, and S. Mead. The study proposes the existence of five methodological strategies discernible in Bellah's three publications: "Civil Religion in America" (1967), "Broken Covenant. American Civil Religion in Time of Trial" (1975), and "Religion and Legitimation of the American Republic" (1978). A comprehensive critique of Bellah's five distinct interpretations of civil religion is presented, evaluating their substantive coherence. The underlying reasons for shifts in Bellah's delineations of civil religion are outlined. This paper underscores the conceptual fragmentation and the aspiration for functional refinement in Bellah's portrayal of "civil religion". Reasons for Bellah's subsequent discontinuation of the term "civil religion" from the mid-1980s are also explored.