This video is in consonance with Herberg’s notion of “civil religion”.

For Herberg, American civil religion

is “a self-congratulatory reverence for the “American Way of Life”” and is almost an act of the “society
worshipping itself” through adoption of diverse and at times seemingly incongruous ideas such as “
sanitary plumbing and freedom of opportunity, Coca-Cola and an intense faith in education” and
treating these ideas at par on a moral and spiritual plane in the belief that these ideas are “right, good
and true” and prerequisites to live a “proper” and “moral” life. Thus, American civil religion differs
from traditional religion in the sense that its bereft of animatism and it’s more of a way of “belonging”
rather than a reorientation of life towards God. In my opinion, nothing describes the American way
of life than its respect for diversity through its multiculturalism. The video celebrates American
multiculturalism through not just visual imagery but also through the rendition of the song, America
the Beautiful, in 9 different languages representative of different cultures which inhabit America like
Hindi, Mandarin, Tagalog, Spanish, Hebrew, French, Keres, and Arabic, each with their different set of
beliefs and different God(s). The video isn’t pervaded by a sense of the supernatural attributable to
any of these cultures, rather it celebrates the diversity, inclusiveness and multiculturalism of the
American society. In the melting pot of American multiculturalism, their uniqueness remains intact
and Coca Cola, representative of an all-American identity, emerges as a common thread, unifying them
and infusing a sense of belongingness to these diverse cultures and their people. Thus, with respect
to Herberg’s framework, the society worships itself by respecting and celebrating multiculturalism, a
quality it holds to be moral and almost sacred and Coca Cola emerges as a unifier between these
cultures to celebrate their diversity while simultaneously creating a a sense of “belonginess” among
the people rather than inclining their lives towards the supernatural.

Emile Durkheim has posited that “religion is constituted by beliefs and practices that revolve around
a sacred focus, a sacred focus that serves to unify a community.” Through his theory of sacred, profane
and totemism, he says that the society in worshipping the totem, a sacred object embodying the
beliefs of the community acting as a unifying object, worships itself. In the context of this video, it can
be argued that multiculturalism is the belief of the American society and coca cola is the totem which
acts as a unifying force, drawing eclectic cultural elements of the American society together in
celebrating and strengthening that belief. Thus, America emerges as a religion if analysed within the
purview of Durkheim’s framework. Also, Pendergast has argued that religion consists of a “sacred
symbol” inducing “worshipful moods” which “animate an all-inclusive world view espousing perennial
values such as love, peace and universal brotherhood.” In context of Pendergast’s definition, it can
be argued that respect for diversity and belief in multiculturalism promotes world peace and universal
brotherhood which define American society and coca cola is the “sacred symbol” which draws people
together irrespective of class, gender, racial, ethnic or cultural differences. This drawing together of
people almost becomes a ritual of a religion which focuses not on the divine but on espousing peace
and inclusiveness. Thus, in the context of the above definitions, America appears to have every
element essential to a religion viz a viz belief system (multiculturalism), community (the diverse
American society), rituals (the drawing together of people on social occasions), myths/central stories
(collective sharing of diverse cultural experiences by people), ethics (adherence to practises conducive
to multiculturalism), emotional experiences (joy and peace as a result of celebrating differences),
material expression (use of coca cola), and sacredness (coca cola emerging as a totem).

Coca Cola itself cannot be described as a religion, considering on its own, it falls short on the necessary
elements required to be considered a religion such as belief system, rituals, ethics and sacredness.
However, in the context of the above discussion if America emerges as a religion then Coca Cola
emerges a sacred object espousing multiculturalism.