Conclusion

On September 23, 2001, around twenty thousand people packed Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, to participate in what was billed as a “Prayer for America.” They were there to reflect upon the events of September 11, 2001. The ceremony opened with a choir singing “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” followed by over two hours of prayers and commentary from religious leaders, politicians, celebrities, and other New York dignitaries. Oprah Winfrey (1954-), the master of ceremonies, announced that “we pray today that from the ashes … will rise a new spirit of beauty and unity in our country, creating a new tapestry of one heart, one hope, one voice, one America.” The actor James Earl Jones (1931-) reminded everyone that “our nation is a symbol of liberty, equal opportunity, democracy and diversity. This attack was an attempt to undermine these four pillars of our civic faith.” Officers of the New York City Police Department sang the national anthem. The Catholic archbishop of New York gave the invocation. A Jewish rabbi blew a shofar, while another rabbi blessed President George W. Bush for “sound[ing] the clarion call to battle the terrorists at home and abroad and unify the nation to defend freedom, democracy, and, yes, the civilized world.” The Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo (1941-) sang “Ave Maria.” Rudy Giuliani (1944-), mayor of New York City, welcomed “religious leaders from every faith” to the ceremony, pointing to the Latin motto, E pluribus unum (“Out of many, one”) as proof that “we find strength in our diversity.” Catholic laypeople read from the New Testament in Spanish and English. The Catholic bishop of Brooklyn asked, “Mary queen of

peace, pray for us.” A representative from a local Sikh temple chanted a prayer. The Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem sang “We Shall Overcome.” George Pataki (1945-), governor of New York, imagined that those who died in the terrorist attacks were “looking down” from heaven with pride at “the Muslim deli owners and cab drivers who proudly wave the American flag from their cars and shop windows.” A muezzin sang the Islamic call to prayer and an imam ended his remarks with the statement, “We are Muslims, but we are Americans.” Bette Midler (1945-) sang her popular song “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Representatives from Protestant organizations included the Episcopal bishop of New York, the pastor of New York’s Riverside Church, the pastor of New York’s Abyssinian Baptist Church, and a district president of the Lutheran Church. The country singer Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA,” setting off chants of “USA! USA!” throughout the stadium. The archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church of America gave the benediction. The last speaker was the leader of a Hindu temple in Brooklyn. “We must stand together,” he said, “for remember these final words: A nation’s power lies only in the strength of unity. God bless you all!” And with that, the singer Marc Anthony (1968-) took the stage and ended the ceremony with a rendition of “America the Beautiful.” If the post-9/11 “Prayer for America” ceremony isn’t an example

of American civil religion, then I don’t know what is. Following the memorial service, CNN correspondent Martin Savidge observed, “I was struck by really two words that may seem very much opposed to each other … those words are diversity and unity.” Indeed, the ceremony was quite intentionally orchestrated to showcase the power of nationalism to unify people from diverse religious backgrounds at a time of tragedy. But as we all know, in the days, months, and years that followed, the unity displayed in Yankee Stadium was met by the corrosive realities of foreign wars, domestic politics, and religious differences. This tension between diversity and unity comes up again and again in historical surveys of religion in America. Some scholars have highlighted the unifying qualities of America’s religions by employing the phrase “religious pluralism” to describe the current and future state of the American religious landscape. Others have grown suspicious of the term, if only because conflict within and between religious groups remains such

a hallmark of life in the United States. Regardless of where scholars stand on the issue, it’s necessary for all of us to think about how Americans negotiate their religious differences in all kinds of contexts, from the public sphere to the private household and from traditional media outlets like Fox News to social media platforms like Facebook.