American Civil Religion - What Americans Hold Sacred by Peter Gardella (2013) [PDF] {VTS}

Title: American Civil Religion
Author: Peter Gardella
Category: Academic/Religion
Publisher: Oxford University Press (December 18, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195300181
ISBN-13: 978-0195300185



Promotional info/Publisher's summary - "The United States has never had an officially established national church. Since the time of the first British colonists, it has instead developed a strong civil religion that melds God and nation. In a deft exploration of American civil religious symbols-from the Liberty Bell to the Vietnam Memorial, from Mount Rushmore to Disney World-Peter Gardella explains how the places, objects, and words that Americans hold sacred came into being and how Americans' feelings about them have changed over time. In addition to examining revered historical sites and structures, he analyzes such sacred texts as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address, the Kennedy Inaugural, and the speeches of Martin Luther King, and shows how five patriotic songs-"The Star-Spangled Banner," "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," "America the Beautiful," "God Bless America," and "This Land Is Your Land"-have been elevated into hymns.
Arguing that certain values-personal freedom, political democracy, world peace, and cultural tolerance-have held American civil religion together, Gardella chronicles the numerous forms those values have taken, from Jamestown and Plymouth to the September 11, 2001 Memorial in New York."

Review:
"Each chapter provides illuminating discussions of history and current status as well as Gardella's interpretation of the symbolism/sacred meaning of each topic...Recommended." -CHOICE

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