Embattled America : the rise of anti-politics and America's obsession with religion /
"Embattled America is a reinterpretation of conservative evangelical persecution claims. The centrality of such claims to American life is widely known. This book, however, argues against standard approaches to them. When scholars of religion weigh in on this charged subject, the focus has been...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York, NY :
Oxford University Press,
[2022]
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | "Embattled America is a reinterpretation of conservative evangelical persecution claims. The centrality of such claims to American life is widely known. This book, however, argues against standard approaches to them. When scholars of religion weigh in on this charged subject, the focus has been on institutional history, or overly reliant on journalistic conveniences like populism, or has tacked toward the self-understandings of evangelicals themselves. None of these approaches is sufficiently calibrated to decoding the why behind the fierce convergence of online conspiracy theory, public violence, white supremacy, and religious authoritarianism. Accepting the narrative of Embattlement on its own terms, or examining it as mere turbulence on the path of American pluralism, overlooks how such deeper structural conditions work through this discourse to undermine the actual practice of democratic politics. Thus, to continue focusing on the religiousness of recent impulses in American political life allows the deterioration of democratic culture to continue. Embattled America documents this deterioration by focusing on two groups of citizens, one insisting that religion is under assault and another charging religion with responsibility for our decline. The book interprets a range of controversial subjects and persons surrounding Embattled religion, from the Obama-to-Trump era: Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, the Tea Party, Wallbuilders, anti-sharia legislation, and birthers. The lesson of each episode is linked not to any iteration of religion but to a democratic fundament--authenticity, representation, publics, tradition, law, and birthright--that is obscured in the obsession with controversial religion"--Publisher's description. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Also issued in print: 2022. |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource |
| Audience: | Specialized. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780197623534 0197623530 9780197623527 0197623522 9780197623510 0197623514 |