Prodigal nation : moral decline and divine punishment from New England to 9 11

"Original and wide-ranging, Murphy's discerning and important study is another reminder that America is 'the nation with the soul of a church.'" - Journal of American History "A wide-ranging and thoughtful meditation on how the theo-political stories we Americans tell ourselves resonate with and sometimes even create the communities we inhabit. This book deserves an honored place among the oeuvre of work by political scientists and historians on the jeremiad." -- Politics and Religion "A significant contribution to the historical account of the role of religion in American politics." -- Perspectives on Politics " Prodigal Nation is a careful account of how theologies function politically and deserves attention from political scientists, political theologians, American historians, and others interested in the interface of religion and culture." -- Religious Studies Review "This highly original and wonderfully written analysis will be invaluable to anyone interested in the meaning of America." --Harry S. Stout, author of The New England Soul and Upon the Altar of the Nation "A brilliant analysis of the American jeremiad. Elegant, powerful, hopeful, and wise - Prodigal Nation is required reading for anyone who wishes to understand the fitful history of the American spirit." --James A. Morone, author of Hellfire Nation and The Democratic Wish America's Supposed Moral Decline From An Imagined Golden Age, And The Threat Of Divine Punishment For Straying From The Path Of Righteousness, Have Been Consistent Themes In Its Political And Religious Rhetoric. But Why Is This Myth So Compelling To Americans? Murphy Investigates The Jeremiad's Historical Roots And Probes The Ways In Which It Continues To Illuminate Larger Themes And Tensions In American Social And Political Life. He Examines Its Role In Colonial New England, Shows How It Was Employed During The Civil War, And Demonstrates Its Continued Power In Today's Political Climate. Far From Being Simply A Force For Conservatism - The Yearning For A Return To A Simpler Time--the Jeremiad Has Often Been Employed In Favor Of Progressive Causes. Americans Of All Political Stripes - Not Just Jerry Falwell And Pat Robertson, But Abraham Lincoln And Robert Kennedy - Have Used The Language Of Moral Decline For Political Purposes.--jacket. The American Jeremiad -- Puritan New England And The Foundations Of The American Jeremiad -- Decline, Slavery, And War : The Jeremiad In Antebellum And Civil War America -- Taking America Back : The Christian Right Jeremiad -- Competing Jeremiads -- Constructing A Usable Past -- The Jeremiad And The Culture Wars -- The Past, Present, And Future Of The American Jeremiad. Andrew R. Murphy. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [199]-222) And Index. "America's supposed moral decline from an imagined golden age, and the threat of divine punishment for straying from the path of righteousness, have been consistent themes in its political and religious rhetoric. But why is this myth so compelling to Americans? Murphy investigates the jeremiad's historical roots and probes the ways in which it continues to illuminate larger themes and tensions in American social and political life. He examines its role in colonial New England, shows how it was employed during the Civil War, and demonstrates its continued power in today's political climate. Far from being simply a force for conservatism - the yearning for a return to "a simpler time"--The jeremiad has often been employed in favor of progressive causes. Americans of all political stripes - not just Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, but Abraham Lincoln and Robert Kennedy - have used the language of moral decline for political purposes." --Résumé de l'éditeur Contents......Page 12 ONE: The American Jeremiad......Page 16 PART ONE: THREE AMERICAN JEREMIADS......Page 28 TWO: Puritan New England and the Foundations of the American Jeremiad......Page 30 THREE: Decline, Slavery, and War: The Jeremiad in Antebellum and Civil War America......Page 57 FOUR: Taking America Back: The Christian Right Jeremiad......Page 90 PART TWO: THE JEREMIAD IN AMERICAN CULTURE......Page 120 FIVE: Competing Jeremiads......Page 122 SIX: Constructing a Usable Past......Page 138 SEVEN: The Jeremiad and the Culture Wars......Page 155 EIGHT: The Past, Present, and Future of the American Jeremiad......Page 169 Notes......Page 186 Bibliography......Page 212 B......Page 236 C......Page 237 E......Page 238 H......Page 239 J......Page 240 M......Page 241 P......Page 242 S......Page 243 W......Page 244 Z......Page 245