At Notes from the Social Field, Ernesto Castañeda analyzes the televised coverage of Senator Ted Kennedy’s funeral and notes “how difficult it would have been for such an event to take place in this day and age in a strongly secular country such as France”:
The live coverage of the two hour mass was indeed a great moment of Catholic rite and faith on display, one that could have also been, for some, a moment for proselytizing. I wonder if the public nature of this event will gain the Catholic Church any new devotees, or bring back some wandering members. This may have been an emotive moment that highlighted Catholic religious practice as distinct from the one that is associated with the inquisition or child abuse. This was also a good moment to break down some of the symbolic boundaries between Catholics and non-Catholics; and for Protestants, Evangelists, religious and social conservatives to realize the historical roots of their religion and how much in common their beliefs may have with the teachings of the Catholic Church. And if this were to happen this would also ease governance by Democrats and strengthen Obama’s vision of a civil religion of American- one that stresses service and the desire to work to make the United States a better place where citizens from diverse backgrounds and faiths work together to advance the common good in a way that appeals to both secular and religious members of the polity (For more on the phenomenon of Barack Obama and civil religion see Philip Gorski’s Class, nation and covenant).
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