Gloryland: Christian Suburbia, Christian Nation

189 Pages·2007·0.67 MB·English

by  H. B. Cavalcanti

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GL(cid:1)ORYLAND
Christian Suburbia,
Christian Nation
H. B. CAVALCANTI
iii
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Cavalcanti,H.B.,1956–
Gloryland:Christiansuburbia,Christiannation/H.B.Cavalcanti.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferences(p.)andindex.
ISBN978–0–313–34812–9(alk.paper)
1.Conservatism—Religiousaspects—Christianity. 2.Religionand
politics—UnitedStates. 3.UnitedStates—Churchhistory. I.Title
BR115.C66C38 2007
261.7—dc22 2007027852
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable.
Copyright(cid:1)C 2007byH.B.Cavalcanti
Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe
expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2007027852
ISBN:978–0–313–34812–9
Firstpublishedin2007
PraegerPublishers,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881
AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
www.praeger.com
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe
PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational
InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
iv
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TotheGnosticSisters,
fortheirlivingκoıνoν´ıα
v
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vi
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CONTENTS
Preface ix
1. OnwardChristianSoldiers:TheNewChristianConservatism 1
2. WilltheCircleBeUnbroken?Co-optingModernity 19
3. GodShedHisGraceonThee:ColonizingthePublicSquare 45
4. BlestBetheTiethatBinds:DefendingReligiousLiberty 71
5. HisTruthIsMarchingOn:PublicMoralsandPublicFaith 97
6. ShallWeGatherattheRiver?ReligiousZealandAmerican
Pluralism 117
Notes 133
References 159
Index 175
vii
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viii
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PREFACE
This book represents a personal effort to understand an important and recent
development in American Christianity. Christian conservatism, the subject of
itsanalysis,hasexistedformostofthiscountry’shistory,butisnowinaprocess
of reinventing itself. In its original mode, the faith was mostly practiced at the
marginsoftheAmericanreligiousscene,outsidethelargersanctuariesofcolonial
churches, or the 1950s’ growing suburban congregations of middle-class Chris-
tianity.Surprisingly,bytheendofthetwentiethcentury,whatwasoncemarginal
hasgrowninsizeandimportancetobecomeoneofthedominantforcesinAmer-
icanreligion.Forthoseofuswhostudyreligion,therepercussionsofthechange
haveyettobefullyunderstood.Howdidittakeplace?Howisittransformingthe
faith?Howhasitchangeditsrelationshipwiththelargersociety?
ManymightclaimthatinthisbookIpaintconservativeChristianitywithtoo
broadastroke,andthatmyanalysiscombinestraitsofmanygroupsanddenom-
inations, without the clinical sociological precision of more rigorous, empirical
tests. Since this is not a study of a particular group (evangelicals for instance)
or denomination (Assemblies of God, say), my approach cannot rely as readily
ondemographicdataorsurveyresultsthatmaychartthechangesIdescribe.By
necessity, what is described in the following pages is an ideal type, thegeist of
afaith,somethingbroaderthanalldenominations,congregations,andreligious
groupsthatitencompasses.
This is not a book about the details of all the groups that fall within the
abstractcategoryIcallconservativeChristianity.Rather,theworkexamineshow
alargesegmentoftheAmericanfaithfularebeingChristianstoday.Itdescribes
a certain way of looking at the world, of reacting to it, and finding a sense of
callingandbelonging.Onethingiscertain—thesefolksareclearlyveryserious
ix
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x Preface
abouttheirreligiouscallingandaboutbringingtheirfaithtobearuponAmerica’s
publicsquare.Somethingisenergizingthisgenerationofconservativebelievers
andthatdeservesourattention.Understandingtheirmotivation,themeansby
whichtheyaretransformingtheirfaith,isimportant.
Max Weber’s ideal type is a useful methodological tool for the task at hand.
It offers a strategy to avoid “the individualizing and particularizing approach
ofGermanGeisteswissenschaftandhistoricism”(Coser1977: 223).Convinced
thathumanrealityinitsempiricalstatewasfarmorevaried,fluid,andcomplex
thananysocialsciencemodelcouldevercapturewithscientificprecision,Weber
thought the ideal type would provide a handy analytical construct that isolated
certain critical traits of a given phenomenon and then measured them against
the concrete case at hand. Anideal type describes the broader characteristics of
a phenomenon and its consequences for life in society. In The Protestant Ethic
and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber offers shows how sociological analysis can
benefit from the use of ideal types. The work examines in detail the Protestant
worldviewfoundinPietismandCalvinism,notonlythroughitsstructuralaspects
ordoctrinaldisputations,butalsoinitsgeist.Thenitconnectsthatworldviewto
theeconomicsphere.
Weber’sbookmodelshowaworldviewcanbecapturedthroughanidealtype,
allowing the investigator to understand why people participate in society in
ratheruniqueways,withadistinctsetofvaluesandbeliefsthatalsoaffectsthe
roles they play within their groups and the larger community. It is no wonder
that Weber’s use of verstehen is an integral part of that process. One needs to
understand the religious world from the point of view of those who are living
it.FollowingtheWeberianexample,thisbookisnotanexhaustivedescription
of the empirical phenomenon it examines, but rather an idealized viewpoint of
conservativeChristianity.Hopefullyitsynthesizesthefaith’suniqueaspectsina
clear-sightedmanner.Unlikeanypossiblestatisticalmodel,thisanalysisdoesnot
seektorepresenttheaverageformofChristianconservatism,butratheritsspirit—
thevisionandpracticesthatmovethefollowersofthisdynamicformofreligion.
CurrentconservativeChristiansareseekingnewwaystoincreasetheirpresence
inAmerica’spublicarena.Theyaredoingsotochallengewhattheyperceiveto
bethethreateningforcesofsecularmodernity.Intheprocesstheyarereinventing
theirfaith.Forthepasttwenty-fiveyearsconservativeChristianshaveplayedan
importantroleinAmerica’spublicarena;andtheirreadingofAmericanreality
hasreorientedpublicdebateinsignificantways.Butithasalsoaffectedthefaith’s
cosmologyandrelationshiptothelargersociety.
One would hope that this analysis would meet the methodological standards
set by Weber, but it is extremely difficult to replicate the old master’s genius.
The more modest goal here is to employ his methodological construct to shed
lightonarecentreligiousdevelopment.ProfessorLewisCosersuggeststhat“ideal
typesenableonetoconstructhypotheseslinkingthemwiththeconditionsthat
broughtthephenomenonoreventintoprominence,orwithconsequencesthat
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Preface xi
followfromitsemergence”(1977:224).Inthatspirit,thisbooktriestodoalittle
bitofboth.ItreviewstheconditionsthatbroughtconservativeChristianityinto
prominenceinthelatetwentiethcentury,andexaminessomeoftheconsequences
ofitsnewlygainedstrength.
ThecentralityoftheconservativeChurchintheAmericanreligioussceneis
bothrecentandunexpected.Mostsociologicalliteraturefromthe1960stillthe
early1980sexpectedsecularizationtocontinuetopushreligionintotheprivate
sphereofAmericanlife.Therewasalsoaclearexpectation thatreligionwould
continuetoloseitsholdintheAmericanimagination.Whathappened,inmany
ways,wasexactlytheopposite.
Sinceallresearchhasanelementofbiography,thisworktoorevisitspartsofmy
personaljourney.FrommyconservativeChristianchildhood,tothetheological
and legal training of my young adulthood, to my sociology graduate days in
mid-life, I have followed the development of this new form of conservative
faith with great interest. First, as someone personally affected by its developing
trends—watching how its changes affected people who had invested a lifetime
in the faith. Later, as a student of religion, my concern translated into a more
sociologicalquest.Thesocialsciencesofferedmeabroaderwindowwithwhich
to analyze conservative Christianity. They also added depth perception to my
analysis (hopefully, taming some personal biases along the way). My concern
gradually moved from the personal level to becoming an academic enterprise,
dealingwitharesearchproblem.
Thereis,ofcourse,adebtofgratitudetothosewhoaidedmeinthisjourney.
First, to those who interested me in the study of American Christianity: my
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professors—Larry McSwain and Paul
Simmons,andmymentorsintheGraduateDepartmentofReligionatVanderbilt
University—HowardHarrod,EugeneTeSelle,andPeterParis.Mygratitudeisalso
extendedtotheVanderbiltSociologyfaculty,whohelpedmebetterunderstand
grassrootsorganizingandsocialmovements(religiousorsecular).So,mythanks
toLarryDiamond,GeorgeBecker,DanCornfield,andKarenCampbell.
TotheirnamesIaddthenamesofcolleagueswhohelpedmecultivatethecraft
of research at the University of Richmond: Ted Lewellen and Ray Wingrove
in Sociology, Del McWhorter in Philosophy, Scott Johnson in Rhetoric and
Communications,andTerrylGivensandLewisSchwartzinEnglish.
At an experiential level, I’m grateful too to friends who have dedicated a
lifetimeofservicetothebroaderChurch.Theyinspireandchallengemyunder-
standingofAmericanChristianity.SomyheartfeltthankstoDonSteele(Pastor,
WestminsterPresbyterianChurchinGallup,NM),JohnMackandBarbaraGer-
lach(Pastors,FirstCongregationalUnitedChurchofChrist,Washington,DC),
BobButziger(Chair,WesternRegion,AmericanCounselingAssociation),Har-
monWray(Director,PrograminFaithandCriminalJustice,VanderbiltDivinity
School),andDanielBagby(TheodoreF.AdamsProfessorofPastoralCare,Bap-
tistTheologicalSeminaryinRichmond,VA).