"And no one will keep that light from shining"
Civil Religion after September 11 in Speeches of G.W. Bush
"And no one will keep that light from shining". Civil Religion after September 11 in Speeches of George W. Bush
Nicole Janz
LIT-Verlag, 2010 (to appear)
The background of this book is the common perception that the former American President, George W. Bush, a born-again Christian, used overly religious language. This book shows through a detailed analysis of Bush’s speeches that this is a misinterpretation. His references to God and the idea that America must fulfil the work of God on earth were not signs of his personal evangelical belief system. Rather, they can be explained through American civil religion. This concept, introduced by sociologist Robert Bellah in 1967, explains the existence of a public religious dimension in the political sphere of the U.S. It is expressed through presidential speeches, which reflect a set of beliefs and myths about America that include references to God and divine symbols; but such references must be seen independently from religion.
The main findings are: (1) Bush used the rhetoric of civil religion exactly in the way Bellah has described the concept. Evangelical references, however, were extremely seldom. (2) In that, Bush followed his predecessors who have used similar rhetoric - independently from their own religions. (3) Bush used civil religion to console and unite the Americans after 9/11. This book fundamentally contradicts the prevalent assessments about George W. Bush in the current European discourse.
Table of contents [ pdf ]
Conclusion [ pdf ]
Summary in German [ pdf ]