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OverviewFrom Reagan's regular invocation of America as ""a city on a hill"" to Obama's use of spiritual language in describing social policy, religious rhetoric is a regular part of how candidates communicate with voters. Although the Constitution explicitly forbids a religious test as a qualification to public office, many citizens base their decisions about candidates on their expressed religious beliefs and values. In Religious Rhetoric and American Politics, Christopher B. Chapp shows that Americans often make political choices because they identify with a ""civil religion,"" not because they think of themselves as cultural warriors. Chapp examines the role of religious political rhetoric in American elections by analyzing both how political elites use religious language and how voters respond to different expressions of religion in the public sphere. Chapp analyzes the content and context of political speeches and draws on survey data, historical evidence, and controlled experiments to evaluate how citizens respond to religious stumping. Effective religious rhetoric, he finds, is characterized by two factors-emotive cues and invocations of collective identity-and these factors regularly shape the outcomes of American presidential elections and the dynamics of political representation. While we tend to think that certain issues (e.g., abortion) are invoked to appeal to specific religious constituencies who vote solely on such issues, Chapp shows that religious rhetoric is often more encompassing and less issue-specific. He concludes that voter identification with an American civic religion remains a driving force in American elections, despite its potentially divisive undercurrents. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Christopher B. ChappPublisher: Cornell University Press Imprint: Cornell University Press Dimensions: Width: 15.50cm , Height: 1.90cm , Length: 23.50cm Weight: 0.454kg ISBN: 9780801451263ISBN 10: 0801451264 Pages: 192 Publication Date: 13 November 2012 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of Contents1. A Theory of Religious Rhetoric in American Campaigns 2. Religious Rhetoric in American Political History 3. Religious Rhetoric and the Politics of Identity 4. Religious Rhetoric and the Politics of Emotive Appeals 5. The Consequences of Religious Language on Presidential Candidate Evaluations 6. Civil Religion Identity and the Task of Political Representation 7. The Rhetorical Construction of Religious Constituencies Notes References IndexReviews<p> Religious Rhetoric and American Politics provides the reader with a detailed understanding of just how central identity and emotion are to politicians' religious rhetoric. Just as important, it shows how these rhetorical features influence public perceptions. Christopher B. Chapp's impressive book is a valuable addition to the literature. -Kevin Coe, University of Arizona, coauthor of The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America Whether we like it or not, religious rhetoric is part of the American political landscape, but this book provides some sorely needed perspective for policymakers seeking to understand what kind of spiritual language appeals to most Americans. Conscience (2013) Author InformationChristopher B. Chapp is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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