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Volume CXXXII, Number 20 |
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Ignoring God and Toqueville
TODD BUELL
COLUMNIST
I recently returned from Providence, Rhode Island where I attended an Intercollegiate Studies Institute conference entitled "Liberty and Democracy in America." As the title of the conference suggests, we spent the weekend studying Alexis De Tocqueville's seminal work Democracy in America.
Tocqueville was a French aristocrat who visited the fledgling United States for nine months during 1830 and 1831 ostensibly to study prisons. His observations about the American penal system have long been forgotten. Instead his discussion of the way Americans live has become, as translator Harvey Mansfield writes, "the best book ever written on democracy and the best book ever written on America."
The work discusses and predicts many conflicts and issues that have arisen in America. Tocqueville presages racial tensions, discusses gender relations in a democracy, warns of "tutelary despotism," "the tyranny of the majority," and even suspects that the United States and Russia would become great superpowers with one having "equality of freedom" and the other promoting "equality of servitude."
The book not only makes telling statements that apply to the United States as a whole, but also to our own lives here at Bowdoin. Tocqueville presents us with a vindication of religion that should be of interest here since Bowdoin has been ranked as one of the top ten "schools that ignore God." Tocqueville is an advocate of what some might call a "civil religion." This concept suggests that regardless of religion's truth-perhaps Jesus didn't really rise from the dead-the encouragement of religious faith has salutary benefits for society.
What does Tocqueville mean by this form of "soft heresy?" He has great fear of what democratic equality will do to mankind. Man in a democratic era will be industrious, restless, non-intellectual, and mediocre. He will work hard in the interests of making money and improving his conditions for both himself and his family. His tendency, however, is to neglect his soul.
Why does Tocqueville believe that man needs to cultivate his soul (of course, I mean both men and women)? He advocates religion primarily because the development of the soul moderates the industrious spirit. Religious worship requires that the human spirit "never perceives an unlimited field before itself: however bold it may be, from time to time it feels that it ought to halt before insurmountable barriers." This passage reminds Americans essentially not to let capitalism go crazy. Religion is to instill in Americans the necessity of honesty in one's business dealings, marital fidelity, and consideration for others. Tocqueville claims that a visage of piety is good for society.
Tocqueville shows us that what's good for America is also good for Bowdoin. Bowdoin students live a more intense and "goal-oriented" life than anything Tocqueville could have envisioned. Tocqueville was struck by the Americans' industriousness six days a week and his religiosity on the seventh day. Judging by the study schedule, work-out schedule, and extracurricular schedule that most of us lead, we are industrious everyday*, except in those fleeting moments when we legally or illegally support the alcohol industry.
Studies show that an increasing number of students, both at Bowdoin and at other schools, are seeking psychological counseling because of the mercilessness of their schedules. Attending church, bible study, meditation, or any other reflective experience would likely awaken students to the importance of things beyond the bubble. For me, attending church helps me recognize the importance of families, children, helping others ("The Common Good"), and nurturing the soul. It reminds me that there are more important matters than completing my term paper.
As I wrote earlier in the year, long ago Bowdoin required church attendance of all students. That is certainly not required now. Such a policy would be Puritanical. Tocqueville rightly called Puritan laws "bizarre and tyrannical." However, Tocqueville also says it is unnatural to neglect the soul, and I suspect we would be healthier students if more of us agreed with him.
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