Public Education—America's Civil Religion

Public Education—America's Civil Religion PDF

Author: Carl L. Bankston

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2015-04-18

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 0807771139

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In this volume, the authors argue that public education is a central part of American civil religion and, thus, gives us an unquestioning faith in the capacity of education to solve all of our social, economic, and political problems. The book traces the development of America's faith in public education from before the Civil War up to the present, exploring recent educational developments such as the No Child Left Behind legislation. The authors discuss how this faith in education often makes it difficult for Americans to think realistically about the capacities and limitations of public schooling. Bringing together history, politics, religion, sociology, and educational theory, this in-depth examination: raises fundamental questions about what education can accomplish for the citizens of the United States; points out that many supposedly opposing viewpoints on public education actually arise from the same root assumptions; exposes the gaps between our pursuit of equity in schools and what we really accomplish with students; looks at ways in which education can be organized to serve a diverse population.

The Tragedy of U.S. Foreign Policy

The Tragedy of U.S. Foreign Policy PDF

Author: Walter A. McDougall

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2018-11-22

Total Pages: 425

ISBN-13: 0300224516

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A fierce critique of civil religion as the taproot of America’s bid for global hegemony Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Walter A. McDougall argues powerfully that a pervasive but radically changing faith that “God is on our side” has inspired U.S. foreign policy ever since 1776. The first comprehensive study of the role played by civil religion in U.S. foreign relations over the entire course of the country’s history, McDougall’s book explores the deeply infused religious rhetoric that has sustained and driven an otherwise secular republic through peace, war, and global interventions for more than two hundred years. From the Founding Fathers and the crusade for independence to the Monroe Doctrine, through World Wars I and II and the decades-long Cold War campaign against “godless Communism,” this coruscating polemic reveals the unacknowledged but freely exercised dogmas of civil religion that bind together a “God blessed” America, sustaining the nation in its pursuit of an ever elusive global destiny.

American Covenant

American Covenant PDF

Author: Philip Gorski

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2019-06-25

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 0691191670

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The long battle between exclusionary and inclusive versions of the American story Was America founded as a Christian nation or a secular democracy? Neither, argues Philip Gorski in American Covenant. What the founders envisioned was a prophetic republic that would weave together the ethical vision of the Hebrew prophets and the Western political heritage of civic republicanism. In this eye-opening book, Gorski shows why this civil religious tradition is now in peril—and with it the American experiment. American Covenant traces the history of prophetic republicanism from the Puritan era to today, providing insightful portraits of figures ranging from John Winthrop and W.E.B. Du Bois to Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama. Featuring a new preface by the author, this incisive book demonstrates how half a century of culture war has drowned out the quieter voices of the vital center, and demonstrates that if we are to rebuild that center, we must recover the civil religious tradition on which the republic was founded.

The Rhetoric of American Civil Religion

The Rhetoric of American Civil Religion PDF

Author: Jason A. Edwards

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2016-09-30

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1498541496

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The tie that binds all Americans, regardless of their demographic background, is faith in the American system of government. This faith manifests as a form of civil, or secular, religion with its own core documents, creeds, oaths, ceremonies, and even individuals. In The Rhetoric of American Civil Religion: Symbols, Sinners, and Saints, contributors seek to examine some of those core elements of American faith by exploring the proverbial saints, sinners and dominant symbols of the American system.

Civil Religion Today

Civil Religion Today PDF

Author: Rhys H. Williams

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2021-10-26

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1479809845

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"An important concept that scholars have used to help understand the relationship between religion and the American nation and polity has been 'civil religion.' A seminal article by Robert Bellah appeared just over fifty years ago. A multi-disciplinary array of scholars in this volume assess the concept's origins, history, and continued usefulness. In a period of great political polarization, considering whether there is hope for a unifying value and belief system seems more important than ever"--

American Civil Religion

American Civil Religion PDF

Author: Peter Gardella

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0195300181

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Peter Gardella explores the monuments, texts, and images that embody the spirit of the United States.