Religion, Politics, and American Identity

Religion, Politics, and American Identity PDF Author: David S. Gutterman
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 0739160176
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
Scholarship on the role of religion in American public life has taken on a new urgency in the increasingly contentious wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001. This volume brings together an impressive group of scholars to build on past work and broaden the scope of this crucial inquiry in two respects: by exploring aspects of the religion-politics nexus in the United States that have been neglected in the past, and by examining traditional questions concerning the religious tincture of American political discourse in provocative new ways. Essays include examinations of religious rhetoric in American political and cultural discourse after September 11th, the impact of religious ideas on environmental ethics, religion and American law beyond the First Amendment, religious responses to questions of gay and lesbian rights, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and issues of free speech and public space in Utah, and the role of religious institutions and ideas on the political priorities of African-American and Latino communities. In addition, Religion, Politics, and American Identity includes introductory and concluding essays by leading scholars in the field of religion and politics that assess present and future directions for study.

Religion, Politics, and American Identity

Religion, Politics, and American Identity PDF Author: David S. Gutterman
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 0739160176
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 315

Get Book

Book Description
Scholarship on the role of religion in American public life has taken on a new urgency in the increasingly contentious wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001. This volume brings together an impressive group of scholars to build on past work and broaden the scope of this crucial inquiry in two respects: by exploring aspects of the religion-politics nexus in the United States that have been neglected in the past, and by examining traditional questions concerning the religious tincture of American political discourse in provocative new ways. Essays include examinations of religious rhetoric in American political and cultural discourse after September 11th, the impact of religious ideas on environmental ethics, religion and American law beyond the First Amendment, religious responses to questions of gay and lesbian rights, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and issues of free speech and public space in Utah, and the role of religious institutions and ideas on the political priorities of African-American and Latino communities. In addition, Religion, Politics, and American Identity includes introductory and concluding essays by leading scholars in the field of religion and politics that assess present and future directions for study.

Political Religion and Religious Politics

Political Religion and Religious Politics PDF Author: David S. Gutterman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136339280
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 170

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Book Description
Profound demographic and cultural changes in American society over the last half century have unsettled conventional understandings of the relationship between religious and political identity. The "Protestant mainline" continues to shrink in numbers, as well as in cultural and political influence. The growing population of American Muslims seek both acceptance and a firmer footing within the nation’s cultural and political imagination. Debates over contraception, same-sex relationships, and "prosperity" preaching continue to roil the waters of American cultural politics. Perhaps most remarkably, the fastest-rising religious demographic in most public opinion surveys is "none," giving rise to a new demographic that Gutterman and Murphy name "Religious Independents." Even the evangelical movement, which powerfully re-entered American politics during the 1970s and 1980s and retains a strong foothold in the Republican Party, has undergone generational turnover and no longer represents a monolithic political bloc. Political Religion and Religious Politics:Navigating Identities in the United States explores the multifaceted implications of these developments by examining a series of contentious issues in contemporary American politics. Gutterman and Murphy take up the controversy over the "Ground Zero Mosque," the political and legal battles over the contraception mandate in the Affordable Health Care Act and the ensuing Supreme Court Hobby Lobby decision, the national response to the Great Recession and the rise in economic inequality, and battles over the public school curricula, seizing on these divisive challenges as opportunities to illuminate the changing role of religion in American public life. Placing the current moment into historical perspective, and reflecting on the possible future of religion, politics, and cultural conflict in the United States, Gutterman and Murphy explore the cultural and political dynamics of evolving notions of national and religious identity. They argue that questions of religion are questions of identity -- personal, social, and political identity -- and that they function in many of the same ways as race, sex, gender, and ethnicity in the construction of personal meaning, the fostering of solidarity with others, and the conflict they can occasion in the political arena.

Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Religion

Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Religion PDF Author: Valerie Martinez-Ebers
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Religion is an introductory anthology that examines the history, current issues, and dynamics of minority groups in the United States. Featuring contributions from authors who are not only experts in their fields--which include political science, sociology, history, and religion--but who also belong to the minority groups about which they are writing, this collection provides students with the context to evaluate the roles that race, ethnicity, and religion play in the outcomes of American politics. Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Religion offers students a uniquely personal yet scientifically informed look at this significant subject. It also demonstrates how the structure and operation of our political system can obstruct the efforts of these groups to gain the full benefits of freedom and equal treatment promised under the American Constitution.

Religious Identity in US Politics

Religious Identity in US Politics PDF Author: Matthew R. Miles
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
ISBN: 9781626378094
Category : Identification (Religion)
Languages : en
Pages : 175

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Book Description
While existing scholarship addresses the influence of religious affiliation on political attitudes and behaviors in the United States, a number of puzzling questions remain unanswered. In response, Matthew Miles demonstrates that a more complete conceptualization of religion as a social identity can help to explain many of those puzzles. As he explores the impact, both positive and negative, of religious identity on political attitudes, he also shows that the religion-politics relationship is not a one-way street.

At Home and Abroad

At Home and Abroad PDF Author: Elizabeth Shakman Hurd
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231552904
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
From right to left, notions of religion and religious freedom are fundamental to how many Americans have understood their country and themselves. Ideas of religion, politics, and the interplay between them are no less crucial to how the United States has engaged with the world beyond its borders. Yet scholarship on American religion tends to bracket the domestic and foreign, despite the fact that assumptions about the differences between ourselves and others deeply shape American religious categories and identities. At Home and Abroad bridges the divide in the study of American religion, law, and politics between domestic and international, bringing together diverse and distinguished authors from religious studies, law, American studies, sociology, history, and political science to explore interrelations across conceptual and political boundaries. They bring into sharp focus the ideas, people, and institutions that provide links between domestic and foreign religious politics and policies. Contributors break down the categories of domestic and foreign and inquire into how these taxonomies are related to other axes of discrimination, asking questions such as: What and who counts as “home” or “abroad,” how and by whom are these determinations made, and with what consequences? Offering a new approach to theorizing the politics of religion in the context of the American nation-state, At Home and Abroad also interrogates American religious exceptionalism and illuminates imperial dynamics beyond the United States.

Religion in America

Religion in America PDF Author: Denis Lacorne
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231151004
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
Denis Lacorne identifies two competing narratives defining the American identity. Associated with the Founding Fathers and reflected in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers, an essentially secular line of reasoning is predicated on separating religion from politics to preserve political freedom from overpowering church interests. The second narrative is based on the premise that religion is a fundamental part of the American identity and emphasizes the importance of New England Puritans in the original settlement of America. Lacorne examines the role of religion in the making of these narratives and how key historians, philosophers, novelists, and intellectuals situate religion in American politics. New material addresses the role of religion in the 2012 United States presidential election.

Secular Surge

Secular Surge PDF Author: David E. Campbell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108918344
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
American society is rapidly secularizing–a radical departure from its historically high level of religiosity–and politics is a big part of the reason. Just as, forty years ago, the Religious Right arose as a new political movement, today secularism is gaining traction as a distinct and politically energized identity. This book examines the political causes and political consequences of this secular surge, drawing on a wealth of original data. The authors show that secular identity is in part a reaction to the Religious Right. However, while the political impact of secularism is profound, there may not yet be a Secular Left to counterbalance the Religious Right. Secularism has introduced new tensions within the Democratic Party while adding oxygen to political polarization between Democrats and Republicans. Still there may be opportunities to reach common ground if politicians seek to forge coalitions that encompass both secular and religious Americans.

From Politics to the Pews

From Politics to the Pews PDF Author: Michele F. Margolis
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022655581X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
One of the most substantial divides in American politics is the “God gap.” Religious voters tend to identify with and support the Republican Party, while secular voters generally support the Democratic Party. Conventional wisdom suggests that religious differences between Republicans and Democrats have produced this gap, with voters sorting themselves into the party that best represents their religious views. Michele F. Margolis offers a bold challenge to the conventional wisdom, arguing that the relationship between religion and politics is far from a one-way street that starts in the church and ends at the ballot box. Margolis contends that political identity has a profound effect on social identity, including religion. Whether a person chooses to identify as religious and the extent of their involvement in a religious community are, in part, a response to political surroundings. In today’s climate of political polarization, partisan actors also help reinforce the relationship between religion and politics, as Democratic and Republican elites stake out divergent positions on moral issues and use religious faith to varying degrees when reaching out to voters.

The American Identity and Self-Understanding

The American Identity and Self-Understanding PDF Author: Christian Bacher
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3638760731
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 29

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,0 (A), http: //www.uni-jena.de/ (Intercultural Economic Communications), course: Seminar: Goal Culture USA, language: English, abstract: The European awareness of America is based on old concepts and images. America was always seen as an "offspring" (PRISCHING 2003, S. 3) of Europe, so its perception is not focused on religious and political differences. The mistake within the European opinion is to underestimate the differences between Europe and America concerning the founding myths, the evolution of mentality, the economic and everyday culture and values and beliefs. But America keeps its own traditional attitude towards Europe as well. Besides mutual stereotypes and incongruent images there is a lack of awareness of semantic differences: In both cultures terms like moral good, justice or liberty look like the same but do not mean the same, although this obviously seems to be expected. To develop these expectations this paper aims to give a better understanding of the American identity by providing an overview of the background of American values - and answering the question: What is the American self? The first chapter defines basic terms, which are the prerequisites and tools for this paper, shows distinctness and examples of distinct American values. The second part tries to give insight into the origins, history and evolution - the 'where ... from?' - of the American identity by portraying the characteristics of selected American values. The last chapter will provide a conclusion on the current development of the American self-understanding and ideas about the future - the 'where to?' of the American self. But this 'identification' is based on my own - European or German - point of view as a part of the European or German 'collective mind', so that the following conclusions are not drawn on an objective selection of facts. This is an abstraction, neither I will not try

Nationalism and Religion in America

Nationalism and Religion in America PDF Author: Winthrop Still Hudson
Publisher: Gloucester, Mass. : P. Smith
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description