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 Religious leaders such as John Winthrop and Jonathan Edwards spoke of the moral law and the covenant. They forged a consensus, and created what they termed a “civil religion” comprised of self-evident truths that undergirded America’s unique mission as the bastion of religious freedom and democracy in the world.
The term “civil religion” was actually coined by the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his book “The Social Contract” in 1762. The idea of “civil religion” is not to be confused with the idea of a "State religion." Civil religion refers to the building of a public consensus of values rooted in common faith principles that form the cement binding a culture together.
The notion of “civil religion” as described at the time of the Founders, can be understood as cultural consensus on:
- Transcendent principles: “We hold these truths to be self-evident”
- Shared spiritual values (rooted in faith) If we are so endowed, it behooves us to value humanity and treat others with dignity.
- What constitutes right and wrong: A consensus of values emerges that forms the cement holding our nation and unique culture together.
Civil religion, also, was not “personal religion.” It was not involved with the various doctrines of afterlife, personal salvation and relationship with God. That was the private and personal role of each religious body and for the faith leaders to establish those parameters for their own adherents.
Civil religion pertains to the implications of faith in the public arena with regard to public conduct, that is, a cultural consensus on values pertaining to public behavior.
Without a cultural consensus on values our society loses the basis around which humans engage one another in mutually beneficial relationships. Civil religion means forming a cultural consensus on values and is the basis of "common sense."
"There is a profession of faith which is purely civil... not strictly as religious dogmas but as expressions of social conscience without which it is impossible to be a good citizen" - The Social Contract Jean-Jacques Rousseau
 On the occasion of Pope Benedict's 2008 visit to the United States, Time magazine offered the following observations:
The Pope “believes in America’s ‘obvious spiritual foundation,’ its natural, Puritan-instilled DNA…” and “insists that there is a ‘much clearer and implicit sense’ in the U.S. than in Europe of a morality ‘bequeathed by Christianity.’ He has also given earnest thought to the mechanics of this civil religion, specifying that to affect the moral consensus, it is not enough for Catholics to rub shoulders with other Christians; they must translate their concerns from doctrinal language into a “public theology” accessible to all.” TIME, April 14, 2008
America was founded to be a nation “under God” The ideal of our national motto, “e pluribus unun,” out of many, one, can only be realized if those who reside here can establish a cultural consensus based on transcendent principles; the “self-evident” truths.
A growing obstacle to that end is the trend toward religious exclusivism, that is, the perspective that acknowledges one’s own religious views as valid to the exclusion of others. In the post-911 world there is much discussion and debate about “extremism.” Many today are even pointing to religion itself as the cause of the problem and, therefore, the solution must be to remove religious expression from public life.  Even more radically, some have concluded that the problem resides within the very concept of God and that humanity must be freed of, what Richard Dawkins refers to as, “The God Delusion.”
As religious exclusive attitudes become dominate, it became increasingly difficult for peoples of diverse faiths to join together around commonly held values, spiritual principles and to forge a cultural consensus essential to maintain social well-being within a community and, nation. It is a circumstance that breeds extremism and makes the "clash of cultures" all the more likely.
Dr. Ryan Mayer of Georgetown University says that most think of interreligious conflict in the same way we think of conflict between sports teams. But, he stresses, it is much more intense...more similar to the conflict of two suitors for the same woman.
"A person of Muslim faith and a person of Christian faith engaged in honest conversation about religion are not like two fans pulling for their respective teams. They are more like two men in love with the same woman, each trying to express, safeguard and be faithful to his relationship with his beloved. Love brings with it complexities that football does not." July 20, 2008, The Washington Post
Another perspective would be that it is a sibling rivalry. It is really God’s children attempting to monopolize the love and attention of their common parent. Faith leaders must understand that God is in the parent position. Although we may compete for his favor and attention, we must remember that God loves all, even to the point that, just as any parent would, He grieves at the discord between His children.
These are some of the notable qualities of America and yet it appears that the world is increasingly more confused about what are America’s principles and to what extent we live by them. We seem to be giving the world mixed signals. It is as if America was two different nations.
Which America is America?
 On the one hand, some see us, as does French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. To them, America is still “the shining city on a hill.”
“America did not teach men the idea of freedom; she taught them how to practice it. And she fought for this freedom whenever she felt it to be threatened somewhere in the world... . .It was by watching America grow that men and women understood that freedom was possible. What made America great was her ability to transform her own dream into hope for all mankind.” Nicolas Sarkozy, “Renewing the French-American Alliance,” November 7, 2007
Yet on the other hand, A 2003 independent report by the Council on Foreign Relations concludes with the following opposite observation:
“Around the world, from Western Europe to the Far East, many see the United States as arrogant, hypocritical, self-absorbed, self-indulgent and contemptuous of others. American culture, language and industry dominate the world stage in a way that many find discomforting.”
Like an oil tanker run aground and spilling its foul contents, a growing number of people in the world witness a destructive element that washes in with the tide of American pop culture. In this era, as America seeks to spread its idea of freedom and democracy into the world, it comes with toxic by-products; the very same elements that pose a threat to our own stability as a nation. Unfortunately the “Land of the Free” is also awash in perversion, self-indulgence, drug abuse, violence and crime.
 Dinesh D’Sousa, best-selling author and public speaker, offers a very important insight: “the cultural left has fostered a decadent American culture that angers and repulses traditional societies, especially those in the Islamic world, that are being overwhelmed with this culture. In addition, the left is waging an aggressive global campaign to undermine the traditional patriarchal family and to promote secular values in non-Western cultures. This campaign has provoked a violent reaction from Muslims who believe that their most cherished beliefs and institutions are under assault.”
What is our message to the world about freedom? Are we saying that the price of freedom is to acquiesce to moral corruption? Does freedom necessarily lead to moral collapse? Can we blame the world for seeking a second opinion about our offers of freedom and democracy?
Today, we are calling for a renewed love for America and a true patriotism. A true patriot is one that not only recognizes and cherishes the ideal of America but also has the vision to recognize that our founding, on the one hand, was inspired by the highest ideals, yet on the other hand involved egregious compromises of those ideals against its Native-American and African-American citizens. Those have yet to be rectified.
We need the courage and honesty to admit our national failures and then move forward toward the completion of the founding process. If that is done, then our love of nation will truly be all-inclusive and the American Dream will truly be for all. Such a true love for nation is the one bolstered by the laser light of immutable values that provides the vision and confidence to lead the nation away from the coral reefs of social chaos toward the bright open seas of lasting freedom for all.
 Our nation’s history is replete with the arrival of great leaders with timely messages that would stir the conscience of the nation. Typically, those figures have been people of faith.
Today, the completion of the American ideal remains before us. We need new “founders” to continue the task of the completion of America. In the highly interrelated world of the 21st Century as America moves toward the completion of the ideal of one nation under God, we likewise seek to light the path toward a world of One Family Under God. To do that, America should:
- Become a model of interfaith harmony and cooperation.
- Revive America’s founding spirit and virtue, and universalize the American Dream in the context of God’s Dream for all humanity.
- Demonstrate the power of “one family under God” to change the way we see each other and treat each other – thus changing the climate of conflict in our world today.
The American Dream Needs to be realized
 Today the completion of the American ideal calls for a new generation of “founders.” Today’s Founders will renew that American ideal of equality and freedom. It finds its deepest root in the eternal self-evident truth that testifies to the love extended to all of humanity by their Creator. It is this thought from which emerges the highest ideal of human equality: We are one family under God.
America is at a crossroads. We are at a time once again when our nation urgently needs realignment. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the greatest leader of the 20th century because he took up this providential work to restore the American ethos and founding spirit. It is time for faith leaders to speak out as the conscience of the nation, to call America, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did, to live out the true meaning of its creed. His words, spoken in 1963, still rings true today:
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
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