Christian Nationalism in Noah Webster’s Lexicography

2019 ◽  
pp. 152-167
Author(s):  
Edward Finegan

Finegan explores the expression of Noah Webster’s religious convictions and nationalistic beliefs as expressed in An American Dictionary of the English Language. He reviews Webster’s changing values over the course of his life, from idealistic enthusiasm surrounding the American Revolution to political disillusionment and intensified religious conviction later in his life. Becoming a born-again Christian in 1808, Webster adopted religious beliefs that shaped not only his personal life but also his etymologies, choice of illustrative quotations, and the very tone of his 1828 American Dictionary as a whole. While the definitions in the 1828 work are now most notably promoted in conservative religious contexts, Webster’s earlier and more secular Compendious Dictionary, first published in 1806, is consulted in a wider span of viewpoints in the United States today.

Author(s):  
Paul C. Gutjahr

After the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1776, the English Royal copyright on the Bible no longer held sway in the newly formed United States. Beginning in 1777, American publishers began to produce English-language Bibles. Over the next two and half centuries, four distinct waves of American Bible publishing moved from the use of hand-powered printing presses to computers to produce billions of copies of the scriptures that have been distributed around the world. This chapter examines the publishing technologies, the distribution methods, and the key social and religious developments that have been critical in shaping the production and distribution of the Protestant Bible in the United States.


2020 ◽  
pp. 303-310
Author(s):  
Bruce A. Thyer

Already registered with the Selective Service as a conscientious objector due to his long-held religious convictions, Ted Studebaker volunteered to serve for 2 years in Vietnam, where he coordinated community organization projects in a small village of Di Linh. Toward the end of his 2-year tour of duty, in 1979 he was killed by Viet Cong troops who broke into his house. Although decidedly antiwar, Studebaker volunteered to fulfill his duties as a citizen of the United States, a country he loved. Studebaker made his choices based upon his religious beliefs. His efforts were a small counterbalance to the immense resources devoted to waging war. Studebaker’s life and death as a civilian social worker in a combat zone during active war illustrates an alternative path for social workers who brave dangerous conditions to serve others.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (16) ◽  
pp. 15-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henriette W. Langdon ◽  
Terry Irvine Saenz

The number of English Language Learners (ELL) is increasing in all regions of the United States. Although the majority (71%) speak Spanish as their first language, the other 29% may speak one of as many as 100 or more different languages. In spite of an increasing number of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who can provide bilingual services, the likelihood of a match between a given student's primary language and an SLP's is rather minimal. The second best option is to work with a trained language interpreter in the student's language. However, very frequently, this interpreter may be bilingual but not trained to do the job.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Rigoli

Research has shown that stress impacts on people’s religious beliefs. However, several aspects of this effect remain poorly understood, for example regarding the role of prior religiosity and stress-induced anxiety. This paper explores these aspects in the context of the recent coronavirus emergency. The latter has impacted dramatically on many people’s well-being; hence it can be considered a highly stressful event. Through online questionnaires administered to UK and USA citizens professing either Christian faith or no religion, this paper examines the impact of the coronavirus crisis upon common people’s religious beliefs. We found that, following the coronavirus emergency, strong believers reported higher confidence in their religious beliefs while non-believers reported increased scepticism towards religion. Moreover, for strong believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus threat was associated with increased strengthening of religious beliefs. Conversely, for non-believers, higher anxiety elicited by the coronavirus thereat was associated with increased scepticism towards religious beliefs. These observations are consistent with the notion that stress-induced anxiety enhances support for the ideology already embraced before a stressful event occurs. This study sheds light on the psychological and cultural implications of the coronavirus crisis, which represents one of the most serious health emergencies in recent times.


Contention ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
AK Thompson

George Floyd’s murder by police on 26 May 2020 set off a cycle of struggle that was notable for its size, intensity, and rate of diffusion. Starting in Minneapolis, the uprising quickly spread to dozens of other major cities and brought with it a repertoire that included riots, arson, and looting. In many places, these tactics coexisted with more familiar actions like public assemblies and mass marches; however, the inflection these tactics gave to the cycle of contention is not easily reconciled with the protest repertoire most frequently mobilized during movement campaigns in the United States today. This discrepancy has led to extensive commentary by scholars and movement participants, who have often weighed in by considering the moral and strategic efficacy of the chosen tactics. Such considerations should not be discounted. Nevertheless, I argue that both the dynamics of contention witnessed during the uprising and their ambivalent relationship to the established protest repertoire must first be understood in historical terms. By considering the relationship between violence, social movements, and Black freedom struggles in this way, I argue that scholars can develop a better understanding of current events while anticipating how the dynamics of contention are likely to develop going forward. Being attentive to these dynamics should in turn inform our research agendas, and it is with this aim in mind that I offer the following ten theses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312098511
Author(s):  
Samuel Stroope ◽  
Heather M. Rackin ◽  
Paul Froese

Previous research has shown that Christian nationalism is linked to nativism and immigrant animus, while religious service attendance is associated with pro-immigrant views. The findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between religious ideologies and practices when considering how religion affects politics. Using a national sample of U.S. adults, we analyze immigrant views by measuring levels of agreement or disagreement that undocumented immigrants from Mexico are “mostly dangerous criminals.” We find that Christian nationalism is inversely related to pro-immigrant views for both the religiously active and inactive. However, strongly pro-immigrant views are less likely and anti-immigrant views are more likely among strong Christian nationalists who are religiously inactive compared with strong Christian nationalists who are religiously active. These results illustrate how religious nationalism can weaken tolerance and heighten intolerance most noticeably when untethered from religious communities.


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