Civil Religion, George W. Bush's Divine Mission, and an Ethics of Mission

Abstract

This paper explores George W. Bush's presentation of a US mission in his two Inaugural Addresses and six State of the Union Addresses. This articulation of mission as a divinely ordained plan to bring freedom to the rest of the world is placed within the context of other presentations of the US mission by past presidents. This history of US mission is compared to a shift in US civil religion described by Michael E. Bailey and Kristin Lindholm in their article, "Tocqueville and the Rhetoric of Civil Religion in the Presidential Inaugural Addresses." The final section of the paper offers an ethical analysis of two aspects of Bush's divine mission. First, Bush's rhetorical use of "freedom" is examined and it is argued that his use of the term as an idea that is simple, obvious, and uncontestable is unavoidably manipulative. Second, Bush's notion of mission itself is critiqued in light of the lessons learned in the field of missiology. It is argued that Bush's mission is similar to the older model of Christian mission, a paradigm characterized by paternalism and exploitation. Suggestions from the field are offered that value mutuality and solidarity.