The Church Among the Deathworks

In his fascinating new book, Hegel's Century, intellectual historian Jon Stewart comments that Hegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion ends on an uncharacteristically dour note: Hegel writes that the 1820s witnessed a rise in anxiety and despair because cultural symbols and institutions began to lose their meaning, plunging the world into a state of random flux. Of course, this is all the more true of our own world, where old symbols -- national flags, national anthems, national narratives -- have lost their shared meaning, and have thus also lost their authority. Which flag to fly -- Stars and Stripes or Pride? Which anthem to sing -- "Star Spangled Banner" or "Lift Every Voice and Sing"? Where to date America's founding -- 1776 or 1619? These are now serious questions.