Civil Catechetics in Mid‐victorian America: Some Notes About American Civil Religion, Past and Present

Maybe the United States can become again “a great and honorable scene to develop in,” which is what William Holmes McGuffey saw in the irretrievable past “Without piety there can be no justice. Without justice there can be no commonwealth.” —Paul L. Lehmann 1 1Paul L. Lehmann, a remark made in the course of an unrecorded address in May, 1968. Mr. Lehmann has graciously consented to the inclusion of his statement in this essay