What role should religion play in secular life? This question has been debated for decades. From prayer in public schools to the Ten Commandments in the courtroom, the dividing line between the sacred, things set apart and requiring special religious treatment, and the profane, or the ordinary and familiar realm of everyday existence, has moved, shifted, and moved again. The latest case involves the issue of prayer during executions. Specifically, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Texas case in which death row inmate John Henry Ramirez has sued for the right to have his minister touch him and audibly pray over him while being executed. Ramirez’s attorneys contend that to deny him this interaction is a violation of his religious rights. Lawyers for the state of Texas argue that security and logistical issues must take precedence and that allowing Ramirez’s request will make for a slippery slope in the future. While both the legal and philosophical implications of the Court’s ruling will continue to be hotly debated for years to come, our focus turns to understanding the role of religion in society and people’s lives.
In American society, and Texas specifically, one of the most visible symbols of religion is the megachurch, a Protestant church with an average of 2,000 or more persons in weekly attendance. By all accounts, Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, is the largest megachurch in the country, with a weekly attendance of over 43,000. Based on the principles of Christianity, Lakewood is monotheistic, focusing on the belief or worship of a single god. Other examples of monotheistic religions include Islam and Judaism.
What do people get from religion, and why does Ramirez feel the need to have his minister present? The work of Durkheim offers some insights. Specifically, Durkheim argued that religion creates a sense of solidarity or group unity among believers. The resulting unity works to make people feel empowered in the face of the unanswerable aspects of life. Issues of life and death, pain and suffering, and heaven or hell are life’s unanswerable questions because they are impossible to answer definitively. For religious believers, the connections built through sacred actions such as prayer and worship offer a level of comfort in the face of the unknown.
As the nation waits for the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Ramirez case, one cannot help but consider how, in their own way, both the criminal justice system and religious institutions create social cohesion, bonds between members that maintain stability in society. Will the Court’s decision work to maintain stability in the criminal justice system? Or will it further complicate the end-of-life experience of death row inmates? Until the Court rules, these, too, are unanswerable questions.
