Sacred Discourse and American Nationality

Introduction: Orientations and Arguments

Part One: Sacred Stories and American Political Ideas
1. Jumping Out of Ordinary Time: Sacred Rhetoric in American Political Discourse
2. Liberal Religion and Liberal Politics
3. Emerging Patterns in America’s Political and Religious Self-understanding

Part Two: National Identity and American Progressivism
Introduction to Part Two
4. Progressivism as a National Narrative
5. Progressivism Internationalism

Postscript: The 2008 and 2010 Elections in Recent Political Times

Master Bibliography: Master Bibliography

Eisenach (emer., Univ. of Tulsa) makes a significant contribution to the field of American political development with his latest book. Contemporary political science often fails to understand religion as anything more than just another social movement or variable in the equation. Eisenach, on the other hand, in what is arguably his best work to date, sheds considerable light on the broad, albeit often unperceived, influence of religion on American political ideology and identity. It is not simply that religious ideas motivate a particular party or interest group or movement, but rather that "religion is embedded in American political thought." Furthermore, Eisenach's argument is not theological but indeed epistemological. American political ideas and discourse are deeply informed by religious ways of thinking and speaking. American concepts of everything from time and history to justice and progress are shaped by religious thought patterns employed by believers and nonbelievers alike. Finally, the book not only offers a needed historical perspective, but analyzes the themes of religious discourse in contemporary US politics and political ideology. Students of American political development will likely be studying Eisenach's work for years to come. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, and research collections.