Discourse in a religious mode

Review: <i>Civil Religion Today: Religion and the American Nation in Twenty-First Century</i>, edited by Rhys H. Williams, Raymond Haberski Jr., and Philip Goff

Civil religion in America has no church, denominations, or institutional center, and it cannot be traced to a single origin story. And yet, it operates as a religion in ways familiar to Americans—it has priests and pastors, altars and sacrifices, symbols, institutions, and liturgies. So, what, then, is civil religion? The term originates with the 18th-century French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), who proposed that the French nation needed a civil religion to replace the “unholy” alliance between the Catholic Church and the monarchy. Rousseau explained in book 4 of his Social Contract that he hoped a “purely civil profession of faith” would satisfy what he viewed as the popular need for something to believe in, to give one’s allegiance to, and even to give up one life’s for—a transcendent, unifying point of reference that existed beyond politics and in place of a denominational (most likely Christian) church. Thus, in philosophical terms, civil religion is the appropriation of religion for political ends. The American version of civil religion, though, differs from Rousseau’s idea by incorporating the nation’s Christian heritage more deeply into an understanding and judgment of America. In the American context, civil religion had to accommodate the country’s variety of faiths and Enlightenment rationalism, but was just as deeply influenced by the power of popular and elite religiosity to order American life. Thus, American civil religion has echoed Protestant values and assumptions, while enshrining the mythic nature of the Puritans, founding fathers, and common people who gave their lives in wars and conquest. Moreover, while Americans do not pray to their nation, they have no trouble praying for their nation; they see presidents and preachers as both serving in capacities that minister to the people in times of crisis, and they invest sacred meaning in events and documents to help them imagine that America is as much an idea as it is a place. Over time, American civil religion has also provided a narrative for a set of ideals, statements of purpose, and symbols to which all Americans, in theory, can appeal. Sociologist Robert N. Bellah (1927–2013) explained in a famous and significant essay titled “Civil Religion in America,” for the winter 1967 issue of the journal Daedelus, “American civil religion is not the worship of the American nation but an understanding of the American experience in the light of ultimate and universal reality.” He contended that Americans could call upon not only a common creed of ideals but also their civil religion to evaluate their nation’s actions. In parlance that became popular following World War II, the United States was a nation “under God,” meaning, as Bellah argued, “the will of the people is not itself the criterion of right and wrong. There is a higher criterion in terms of which this will can be judged; it is possible that the people may be wrong.”

Research suggests that political elites excel at controlling political and media information environments, particularly in times of national crisis, such as the events and aftermath of September 11. This study examines the creation and passage of the Patriot Act, which was proposed by the Bush administration following the terrorist attacks and quickly passed with strong support by the U.S. Congress. We argue that (a) the public communications of the Bush administration, particularly those by George W. Bush and John Ashcroft, and (b) news coverage about the legislation were instrumental in this outcome. Public communications by Bush and Ashcroft and news coverage about the Act were content analyzed to identify the timing of the messages and the themes and perspectives emphasized, and congressional debates and activities were examined for insight into their relation with administration and press discourse. Findings suggest that Bush and Ashcroft's communications, in combination with a press that largely echoed the administration's messages, created an environment in which Congress faced significant pressure to pass the legislation with remarkable speed.

Supporting adolescents in times of national crisis: potential roles for adolescent health care providers.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine adaptation in buyer–seller relationships in a time of crisis and to explore what consequences adaptation has for the actors involved. The authors are particularly interested in examining how suppliers and public buyers adapt in turbulent situations where public policy opens for interaction in a mode represented by studies in the industrial marketing and purchasing research approach. The COVID-19 pandemic represents such a unique research setting, as it opens up insights into how buyers and suppliers had to adapt in a matter of days in response to rapid and turbulent changes in their business environment. In this paper, the authors seek insights into the following research questions: What role do the actors’ interpretation of the situation play in the adaptation process? How do adaptation processes unfold in a time of national crisis? What are the actor and relationship-specific outcomes from adaptation in such a situation?Design/methodology/approachTo answer these questions, the authors present data from an exploratory case study of intra- and interfirm adaptation processes between public buyers and private suppliers in the health-care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic opened for access to a unique data from personal interviews and secondary data, from public reports and newspaper/media coverage at intervals during the outbreak and at the aftermath of the pandemic.FindingsThe authors find that the actors’ interpretation of the situation and their motivation to engage in adaptations play an important role in the adaptation processes. In particular, a normative commitment based on a moral duty to contribute to dealing with the turbulent situation of society is found to be a main driver. In these situations, shared sensemaking and alignment of mental models help to mobilise actors, resources and activities into new interaction patterns. At the same time, mutual affective commitment between the buyer and suppliers is not significant over time, thus constraining and eventually terminating the adaptation processes.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the understanding of interaction between public buyers and suppliers during turbulent situations. Changes in the adaptation context opens for extensive interaction, thus enabling actors to combine and exploit resources of value, but temporary adaptations do not create long-term effects on the ability to develop buyer–supplier interaction in public markets.

IN THE PAST ten years, the foundation of military rule in Indonesia appears to have been set in concrete. On that foundation sits a structure-the New Order regime-made of less certain materials. Less certain still is the position of the architect and chief builder, President Suharto, who confronts a growing number of detractors from both within and outside the regime. Suharto's position in the New Order has been based on a number of factors: his leadership at a time of national crisis in 1965-66; his commitment to a central political and governmental role for the Armed Forces; his success in bringing Indonesia out of the economic chaos inherited from President Sukarno and outside the regime. Suharto's position in the New Order has been based on a number of factors: his leadership at a time of national crisis in 1965-66; his commitment to a central political and governmental role for the Armed Forces; his success in bringing Indonesia out of the economic chaos inherited from President Sukarno and in promoting economic growth during the first Five Year Plan; and his willingness to distribute the lion's share of the benefits of that growth among his supporters and potential opponents in the military and, to a lesser extent, civilian bureaucracies. Until 1973 Suharto seemed the master of Indonesian politics, dependent to be sure on continuation of the main lines of previous policies, but able to isolate and overcome his enemies, to maintain a broad intra-military consensus, and to govern the civilian sector (communists aside) with a relative minimum of direct coercion. In the fall of that year, General Sumitro, then head of the powerful Command for the Restoration of Security and Order (Kopkamtib) and Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces, mounted what was certainly a challenge to Presidential personal assistant Major General Ali Murtopo and perhaps to President Suharto as weJl. When student demonstrations in January 1974 turned into urban riots, Sumitro was forced to resign, students and intellectuals were arrested, and several newspapers were

: The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. . Although the language of that provision may seem clear, the history of the United States is replete with examples of restrictions upon free speech, particularly during times of national crisis. This paper examines the reasons for protecting speech as well as the reasons allowing limitations. It also examines the historical limitations placed upon free speech during times of national crisis and the response of the courts to those restrictions. Next, this paper explains the current state of constitutional law as it relates to First Amendment restrictions and applies that law to Osama bin Laden's fatwa against the United States. Finally, this paper argues and concludes that the current law is inadequate to protect the United States, given the Global War on Terrorism, and suggests a return to a prior standard that protects free speech to the maximum extent possible, consistent with the needs of national security.

Seeing language as a social practice and national identities as a product of discourse, the study intends to analyze discursive practices employed on social media to create the discourses of sameness and difference in times of national crisis. Following the discourse historical approach, I have illustrated how argumentative strategies and topos have been strategically employed to draw boundaries between Us and Them. In this exploration of exclusionary rhetoric, I have also underlined the use of images, memes and hashtags in the meaning-making process. The study illustrates not only the ways in which the discourse of national identities are constructed, but also how the existing pillars of Pakistani national identities have been transformed and dismantled on social media following a national tragedy. By investigating the digital practices and discourses, this study seeks to understand the construction of Pakistani national identities from bottom-up discourses.

This article explores the interplay between the nation and media in times of national crisis. Through a critical textual analysis of the AC Japan’s public service announcements (PSAs), I argue that the PSAs in the early post-earthquake period reproduce nationalistic discourses of the Japanese that resembles the core tenets of nihonjinron (discourse of Japaneseness) by 1) reiterating the homogeneity of the Japanese people; 2) reinventing particular cultural practices as deep-rooted traditions; and 3) urging social unity and solidarity. Each theme is legitimized by various discursive strategies, which transform a seemingly descriptive model of behaviours into socially sanctioned hegemonic practices. This study shows that the careful deconstruction of media texts can provide media scholars with ample resources for investigating the formation of a peculiar social reality.

Public administration and political science researchers have debated what constitutes effective ministerial leadership in presidential governments. Some argue that, looking at it from the chief executive's perspective, ministers ought to be capable of supporting her policy programs, but others, taking the bureaucrats' point of view, contend that ministers need to be experienced in managing agencies and executing policy correctly. However, there has been a lack of research on the public assessments of ministerial leadership, particularly in times of crisis. We contribute experimental evidence by analyzing original survey data on more than 1200 South Korean citizens collected during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We find that, overall, citizens are more likely to endorse ministers' technical expertise and management abilities than their political skills during a crisis. Moreover, as the impact of a national crisis becomes more severe, the levels of support enjoyed by ministers with technical expertise increase more than the support given to ministers with other skills.

America has had its share of crises lately. And in times of crisis, people typically look to religion for answers. In the wake of the trage dies at Columbine High School and other schools across America where students and teachers were gunned down by troubled youth, for example, an outcry arose across the country calling for a to relig ious values. Some have suggested that those murders took place be cause our schools no longer teach basic religious values: belief in God, regular prayer, and knowledge of Scripture. They argue that if public schools taught these basic religious truths, horrific acts such as the Col umbine murders would never have taken place. More recently, the tragic events of September 11, 2001 have led many to call for a return to God for answers not only about why the tragedy occurred, but also to give us the solace we need in a time of national crisis. Television preachers such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Rob ertson even suggested that the tragedy was God's doing, divine judg ment, the result of America's turning away from God, and that radical steps, including legislation encouraging public religious activity, are necessary to the nation to its religious roots, lest we suffer addi tional episodes of God's judgment.

Mun Seok-Hwan was one of the Hongju Righteous Army of 1906. Although Mun was not well-known, he was a member of 9 Hongju Martyrs and was captured in Tsushima for 1 year and 10 months by the Japanese government. Mun Seok-Hwan, author of Madoilgi, was born on October 16 of lunar calendar in 1870 at Habcheon, Chungcheongnamdo. In May of 1906 Mun Seok-Hwan joined Hongju Righteous Army under the commandership of Min Jong-Sik as a clerk. On May 30, he was captured with 82 others by the Japanese Imperial army and sent to Seoul. After the interrogation, he was sentenced for 4-year imprisonment on July 17. With other 8 Hongju martyrs, he was imprisoned in Tsushima Island on August 8,1906 and stayed until October 8, 1908. This study aims to see what kind of person he was from the reflected image of himself in his diary. As a Neo-Confucian scholar, Mun Seok-Hwan would be reexamined. From this, this study provides the information on the how the Neo-Confucian scholars reacted at the time of national crisis. At the same time, this study will find out the patriotism of the Neo-Confucianism especially a scholar belonged to the loyalty school. This study will focus on the first two months of his diary in captivity at Tsushima because it was a crucial period. Unfortunately, the diary begins with January 1907 and there is no evidence on his captivity before. Still, it was the time Mun was not fully adjusted to the captured life. Later study will find out how the captivity influenced him and his thought as well as his behaviors. From this, this study brings out the role and spirit of the scholars and the haves of the society at the time of crisis.

Trying To Do It All: Being a Physician-Mother during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

First set up in 1938, Gung Ho, the movement of Chinese Industrial Co-operatives (CIC), came about at a time of national crisis and within an atmosphere of ferment about the need for social change and economic renewal in China. With Japanese invasion threatening national extinction came the recognition that China’s very survival required a united effort to rebuild the nation. Gung Ho (also ‘Gong He’ which means ‘work together’) in many ways captured this spirit of the times.

Re-opening discussion of ‘American civil religion’ insights would have been much easier in the ashen glow of 9/11 than it is three years later. But the Bush administration’s war in Iraq and domestic Patriot Act, however invidious their version of patriotism, do not warrant academics’ or progressives’ repetition of possibly their biggest mistake of the 1960s and 70s. Their growing disdain for anything resembling national affirmation, along with their short-sighted discarding of Robert Bellah’s insights into an ‘American civil’ form of implicit religion, could well be argued to have eventually cost themselves, their country, its explicit religious institutions, and even the world, all too dearly. Renewed consideration of Bellah’s early ideas, expanded by old and new popular and academic perspectives, suggests Americans’ need for nurturing a mature civic faith that is surprisingly ‘traditional’ and cutting-edge critical. The nature, need, and good possibilities of such civic faith are shown first by rescuing the discussion from its mis-naming and premature burial, and then by re-animating it with Catholic perspectives from Andrew Greeley and G. K. Chesterton, with worldly wisdom from James Baldwin, with theological insights from postmodern Jewish thinkers, and with enduring discernment from H. Richard Niebuhr.