God and war : American civil religion since 1945 / Raymond Haberski, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Haberski, Raymond J., 1968-

Series:

Ideas in Action

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Civil religion--United States.

Civil religion.

United States--History, Military--Religious aspects.

United States.

United States--Religion--1945-.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (301 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Americans have long considered their country to be good—a nation "under God" with a profound role to play in the world. Yet nothing tests that proposition like war. Raymond Haberski argues that since 1945 the common moral assumptions expressed in an American civil religion have become increasingly defined by the nation's experience with war. God and War traces how three great postwar “trials”—the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the War on Terror—have revealed the promise and perils of an American civil religion. Throughout the Cold War, Americans combined faith in God and faith in the nation to struggle against not only communism but their own internal demons. The Vietnam War tested whether America remained a nation "under God," inspiring, somewhat ironically, an awakening among a group of religious, intellectual and political leaders to save the nation's soul. With the tenth anniversary of 9/11 behind us and the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, Americans might now explore whether civil religion can exist apart from the power of war to affirm the value of the nation to its people and the world.

Contents:

Lincoln's bequest

Civil religion incorporated

Civil religion redeemed

Civil religion reborn

Civil religion at bay

Civil religion forsaken

Reckoning with American civil religion.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-280-49229-5

9786613587527

OCLC:

792688133