American Civil Religion from 1789 to 1981: A Content Analysis of Presidential Inaugural Addresses
This article reports a content analysis of the 49 inaugural addresses of the presidents of the United States. In it, two basic issues are addressed--whether or not there is a civil religious dimension present in the inaugural addresses, and, if present, what are its characteristics. The findings wer...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Springer
1983
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| In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 1983, Volume: 25, Issue: 1, Pages: 39-48 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | This article reports a content analysis of the 49 inaugural addresses of the presidents of the United States. In it, two basic issues are addressed--whether or not there is a civil religious dimension present in the inaugural addresses, and, if present, what are its characteristics. The findings were as follows: In all inaugural addresses the presence of a civil religious dimension was detected. Its content, as was suggested by Bellah (1970) and Cherry (1970), focuses around the themes of Exodus, Sacrifice, Destiny under God, and International Example. The prevalence of each was dependent upon the historical situation. A theoretical framework is built that suggests the presence and characteristics of civil religion perform three functions of culture building, culture affirmation, and, most importantly, legitimation. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3511310 |