The Research On American Civil Religion And Its Influence On Civic Education

American civil religion is the outcome of the nation's special relationship between religion and politics, which is an important part of American religious and political ideology. Civil religion uses religious emotion, custom and belief to express social idea, national spirit and political belief, which plays an important role in dealing with American religious and political relation. American civic education indicates the education in cultivating knowledgeable, participative and responsible citizen. It not only emphasizes the understanding and identity of national history and political system, but also underlines the training of civic awareness and civic ability. Followed the guidance of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, the paper discusses the intension of American civil religion and its influence in civic education, on the background of the emerging and developing of civil religion and civic education.The paper traces back to the origin of the concept "civil religion", and discusses its development and contemporary intension based on the American history process. Since established the United State o America, the nation always pays attention to civic education no matter experiencing social or economic crisis. Civic education accordingly presents different characteristics in different period. Based on analyzing the history of civil religion and civic education, the paper investigates its relation, especially the influence of civil religion in civic education, by analyzing the aim, content and manner o civic education. The first chapter introduces the history of the concept "civil religion", including its origin, spread and development in America; traces back to the process from the put forward of civil religion to its popularization. The second chapter firstly analyzes the condition of civil religion's emergence from two dimensions of religion and politics, secondly points out civil religion's generation background, which is because religion needs to increase its influence with the help political force; the government also need to publicize its political idea and value with the help of religious power; the institutionalize of communications media provides the infrastructure. It is the inevitable outcome of history proceeding. The third chapter explains the intension of American civil religion from political, religious, social and cultural aspects, and points out civil religion owns the characteristics of tradition-transcend, which is both religious and political, both formal and marginal, both purposive and exceptional. The fourth chapter analyzes the history development of American civic education, and introduces the aim, main contents and manner in every period. The fifth chapter discusses the relation between civil religion and civic education in American, and reveals the civil religion's important influence in civics education, by selecting cases as follow:law and documents of American central or local government, National Standards for Civics and Government, American presidents'inaugural addresses and religious bloc in political life.