The God Strategy How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America

This volume offers a timely and dynamic study of the rise of religion in American politics, examining the public messages of political leaders over the past seventy-five years. The authors show that U.S. politics today is defined by a calculated, deliberate, and partisan use of faith that is unprecedented in modern politics. Beginning with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, America has seen a no-holds-barred religious politics that seeks to attract voters, identify and attack enemies, and solidify power. Domke and Coe identify a set of religious signals sent by both Republicans and Democrats in speeches, party platforms, proclamations, visits to audiences of faith, and even celebrations of Christmas. The updated edition of this ground-breaking book includes a new preface, an updated analysis of the last Bush administration, as well as a new final chapter on the Jeremiah Wright controversy, the candidacies of Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin, and Barack Obama's victory.

Introduction A New Religious Politics; Chapter One One Nation Under God, Divisible; Chapter Two Political Priests; Chapter Three God and Country; Chapter Four Acts of Communion; Chapter Five Morality Politics; Chapter Six Religious Politics and Democratic Vitality; Chapter Seven Act II; Appendixes A to E

David Domke is Professor of Communication at the University of Washington and the author of God Willing: Political Fundamentalism in the White House, the War on Terror, and the Echoing Press. Kevin Coe is Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Arizona.