Asking for God's help is part of civil religion

See PEW, Extra 4PEW: Helping leaders by prayerFROM Extra 1 This week, our civil religion was exercised again with the inauguration of George W. Bush to his second term as president.

Although this column was written in advance of the inauguration, it's nearly as certain as the sun's rising that the president will have invoked God in his declaration of intentions for his second term in his inaugural address.

Just as surely, he did something every one of his predecessors has done - adding a final sentence to the official oath of office:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

To which he added: "So help me God."

That part of the oath was appended, apparently on the spur of the moment, by George Washington at his first inauguration. Every president since has uttered it.

Also instituted at that first inaugural was the practice of having the president-elect place his hand on a Christian Bible, usually opened to the verse of his choice. Only Theodore Roosevelt at his 1901 inauguration declined to use the Scriptures thus.

Religion vs. heritage

Invocations of God's assistance are added routinely to the oaths administered in courts, in Congress, and in city councils around the country, even though they are rarely, if ever, required.

The phrase "So help me God" has become an official part of our civil religion - what the Supreme Court has declared in the past is a reflection of our national heritage, rather than, or at least as much as, a genuine expression of religious belief.

Like "In God We Trust," or "one nation, under God," the president's words are no longer seen as a genuine supplication for divine aid. At least that has been true in recent times.

With George W. Bush, however, it's easy to believe that he genuinely says those words with the conviction that God will help him as he leads the nation.

Political religion

When you think of it, the swearing-in has other similarities to religious rituals, particularly Christian ones.

The president's affirmation is made in public; it's followed by assorted laying on of hands in the form of handshakes; and it's followed by a celebratory meal and festivities.

There is a sense of ordination in the process - the voluntary bestowal of authority on one person by a higher power, in this case the electorate rather than the church.

All this connection to religious imagery and procedure can be both comforting and scary, depending on one's political and religious orientation.

For many Americans, there is comfort in the confidence that George W. Bush is a man who believes he is a doing his best to govern according to the principles of his Christian faith. There is solace in the assurance that someone who prays regularly is making decisions that affect the future of our country.

For many others, there is the gnawing fear of the potential danger of consolidating too much power in the hands of someone who is too confident of his connection to God. Those misgivings are held largely by religious people, by the way, not by folks who are hostile to religion. It is the faithful who long remember the abuses of some who claim to act in God's name.