Is this America? Unfinished business with the U.S. national imaginary, religion and violence
This article first proposes definitions and raises questions about what it means to be a nation. I then analyze the national imaginary of the United States, and suggest that at its deepest core we find "substitute ultimates" regarding America's sacrificial war-culture. This cultural v...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[2019]
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In: |
Dialog
Year: 2019, Volume: 58, Issue: 1, Pages: 30-38 |
RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy CG Christianity and Politics KBQ North America NCD Political ethics |
Further subjects: | B
U.S. war-culture
B Nationalism B prophetic public theology B Violence B Religion B Sacrifice B Moral Injury |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
Summary: | This article first proposes definitions and raises questions about what it means to be a nation. I then analyze the national imaginary of the United States, and suggest that at its deepest core we find "substitute ultimates" regarding America's sacrificial war-culture. This cultural violence perpetuates destructive consequences, including the phenomena of "U.S. war-culture," and "moral injury" among military servicemembers and veterans. But widespread legitimation of the imaginary largely inhibits citizens from awareness about their own reality. Lastly, I inquire about the role of prophetic public theology to address nationalism, and engage in a thought experiment with an imagined community of diverse partners. |
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ISSN: | 1540-6385 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Dialog
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/dial.12451 |