Rapture or risk: signs of the end or symptoms of world risk society?
In this article, I argue that elements of contemporary fundamentalist Christian apocalyptic discourse are not only influenced by, but are a product of the rhetoric and fascination with the notion of risk. The world risk society thesis developed by the German sociologist Ulrich Beck will be utilised...
| Published in: | Culture and religion |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
[2014]
|
| In: |
Culture and religion
|
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Christianity
/ Fundamentalism
/ Apocalypticism
/ Risk community
/ Rapture
/ Dispensationalism
|
| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy CA Christianity CG Christianity and Politics NBQ Eschatology |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In this article, I argue that elements of contemporary fundamentalist Christian apocalyptic discourse are not only influenced by, but are a product of the rhetoric and fascination with the notion of risk. The world risk society thesis developed by the German sociologist Ulrich Beck will be utilised as a conceptual framework to measure one example of an online discourse centred on a Christian dispensationalist understanding of the rapture: Rapture Index. This popular website utilises a statistical probability index system based on 45 different categories that relate to global socio-political events; the higher the aggregate total the nearer the rapture. The Rapture Index is indebted to the impact of risk in contemporary society and it is a tool that exemplifies non-knowing: a product of the world risk society. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1475-5610 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Culture and religion
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/14755610.2014.982670 |