Religious Rhetoric in US Right-Wing Politics

ISBN-13: 9783030965525 / Angielski / Miękka / 2023

Chiara M. Migliori

Opis

This book seeks to understand white conservative Christians’ support for Donald Trump, using their own words. Drawing on the triangular relationship between the 45^th president, and his voters, and religious organizations, this work investigates the creation of the tale of Trump as the protector and enhancer of Christian values. The first part of the book discusses in detail the white conservative Christian constituency in the United States, and the development of feelings of displacement and resentment fostered by intergroup threat and nationalism. The central part focuses on the actor known as the “Religious Right,” through the rhetoric of one of their most representative organizations in the twenty-first century. The final part focuses on the character of Donald Trump and his peculiar relationship with religious discourse. The book demonstrates that while such discourse is expected of Trump as a Republican candidate, his approach to it is characterized by detachment and sloganized exploitation of Christian symbols. Ultimately, the book highlights the cultural tools that are crucial in the reproduction of structures of inequality and the ways they have been used by conservative politicians and groups to accumulate power.

Spis treści

Chapter 1: The Outsider and the White House

Chapter 2: “What happened?”

Chapter 3: Whiteness, Christianity, and Politics

Chapter 4: A Threatened Status

Chapter 5: Fighting for the Soul of the Nation

Chapter 6: A Rhetorical Weapon

Chapter 7: Trump Won. Deal with It

Chapter 8: Dispatches from the Swamp

Chapter 9: “He’s just a real dude”

Chapter 10: How Could Trump Happen?

O autorze

Chiara M. Migliori earned her PhD in 2020 from the Graduate School of North American Studies, John F. Kennedy Institute, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.

Blurb

“The subject of this book is an extremely timely and important one. Migliori’s work is the first large-scale qualitative study of how and why religious conservatism bolstered support for Trump despite his overt character flaws. Understanding the Trump phenomenon is absolutely essential due to its unprecedented nature in the U.S. and its similarity to right-wing authoritarian politics in other national contexts.”

 — Laura Olson, Thurmond Professor of Political Science, Clemson University, USA

This book seeks to understand white conservative Christians’ support for Donald Trump, using their own words. Drawing on the triangular relationship between the 45^th president, and his voters, and religious organizations, this work investigates the creation of the tale of Trump as the protector and enhancer of Christian values. The first part of the book discusses in detail the white conservative Christian constituency in the United States, and the development of feelings of displacement and resentment fostered by intergroup threat and nationalism. The central part focuses on the actor known as the “Religious Right,” through the rhetoric of one of their most representative organizations in the twenty-first century. The final part focuses on the character of Donald Trump and his peculiar relationship with religious discourse. The book demonstrates that while such discourse is expected of Trump as a Republican candidate, his approach to it is characterized by detachment and sloganized exploitation of Christian symbols. Ultimately, the book highlights the cultural tools that are crucial in the reproduction of structures of inequality and the ways they have been used by conservative politicians and groups to accumulate power.

Chiara M. Migliori earned her PhD in 2020 from the Graduate School of North American Studies, John F. Kennedy Institute, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.