CIVIL RELIGION (THE FOUTH OF JULY) While some have argued that Christianity is the national faith, and others that church and synagogue celebrate only the generalized religion of "the American Way of Life," few have realized that there actually exists alongside of and rather clearly differentiated from the churches an elaborate and well-institutionalized civil religion in America. This paper shows that the fourth of July is a very good example, but also that this religion-or perhaps better, this religious dimension has its own seriousness and integrity and requires the same care in understanding that any other religion does. When it comes to traditions in America, no day of the year is filled with more of them than the Fourth of July. The Americans have always done Independence Day up big, bigger even than Christmas. The day is filled with activities from morning until night; most love to cram as much fun as possible into the holiday to create as much memory as possible. The first thing to do bright early in the morning is to hang up the American flag, take a moment to appreciate your freedom then go on with your day. The U.S. Flag serves as a sacred symbol of our national identity that’s why we are expected to treat it with respect. Comparing this to religion, whenever a committed believer wakes up in the morning the first thing they do is say a prayer thanking their God to have given them a new day and end up asking him to protect them in whatever they plan to the rest of the day. Also they read their bible which has very sacred and humbling message for them. Later in the day almost every town has the 4th of July parade. This event is performed almost the same way every year. Most people attend this show not because it’s so fun and overly entertaining but because they love the sense of community when standing next to their neighbors cheering on the local Boy Scouts carrying flags or watching a local children’s Tae Kwon Do class demonstrate their board breaking skills along the parade route. Most of the parade, however, consists of old, fat Shriners riding on three-wheelers and driving go-carts which is a ritual older men like to do. Looking at this from the religious point of view we can easily say most of us get out of our beds early in the morning every Sunday, not because the sleep we are having