The hidden motivations behind the religious discourse of George W. Bush and his decision to go to war in Iraq

Résumé du document

Today's American exeptionalism is not only related to the myth of the American dream and to the U.S. military and economic superiority, but also to the role of religion in the American domestic and foreign policy. The president, himself, a born again Christian, does not hesitate to use a moralistic and implicitly religious language in order to defend his policies which are very much in keeping with the preferences of evangelical Christians. The number of studies concerned with the fusion of religion and politics in the United States has increased exponentially, as has the number of textbooks, articles and magazines dealing with this topic. However, if religion is a fast expanding and increasingly contemporary subject, today's political situation makes it a dangerous topic to talk about. It is dangerous because almost everything one may say about it is controversial, mainly after the emergence of Islamic fundamentalist networks which use religion as a unifying force to change the world order and mobilize Muslims worldwide. On September 11, 2001 two airplanes crashed into the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York and another one into the Pentagon in Washington.

Extraits

[...] If it is not Saddam Hussein who initiated the 9/11 attacks, what are the hidden reasons behind the attack of Iraq? I shall try to analyse some answers to these questions in the following chapter CHAPTER THREE: THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION OF THE IRAQI WAR 59 Once the U.S president has been convinced that his country is cherished by God, it is easy to acknowledge that having been elected to lead that country, he has to be close to God in order to carry out his will. [...]

[...] * Iraq - Boisset, Yves. U.S.A : Le Blues des media. ARTE France: API Production - Poll: U.S.A is loosing Patience on Iraq.www.usatoday.com * Other - Aklah, Elias. The Iranian threat: the bomb or the euros? www.amin.org - Bin Laden's Fatwa. www.ps.org - In Touch Ministries. www.intouch.org - Seven. Dir. David Fincher. Perf : Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman. [...]

[...] Safer 2003 Dec 15-16 * 2003 Nov 14- Oct 24- Apr 22- Apr 10 + Less safe No change (vol.) No opinion Volunteered response (vol.) * Based on a half sample + Polls conducted entirely in one day, such as this one, are subject to additional error or bias not found in polls conducted over several days The Gallup organization. www.gallup.com 81 The Pew Research Center. Religion and Politics : Contention and Consensus www.peoplepress.org BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary sources : - Aronson, Raney.dir.George.W. Bush sous L'emprise de Dieu. Boston : Frontline Production - Balmer, Randall. Mine Eyes have seen the Glory : A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture of America. New-York : Oxford University Press - Balmer, Randall. Blessed Assurance : A History of Evangelicalism in America. [...]

[...] Active Faith: How Christians are changing the soul of American Politics. New-York: The Free Press - Shoenberger, R.ed. The American Right wing. New-York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston - Snowball, David. Continuity and change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority. NewYork: Praeger - Watson, Justin. The Christian Coalition: Dreams of Restoration, Demands for Recognition. New-York : St Martin's * Religion - Appelbay, R Scott. The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, violence and Reconciliation. New-York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers - Bruce, Steve. [...]

[...] The United Nations and their efforts to put an end to the Arab-Israel conflict for the control of the Holy Land of Jerusalem. Finally, Saddam Hussein could be an agent of Satan and an “evil doer” as described by George W. Bush17. An interesting question is the extent to which Americans share these apocalyptic views. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center in July 2003 (only 4 months after the invasion of Iraq) of Americans believe in the Biblical prophecy about the Jews and Jesus and 41% sympathize more with Jews than with Palestinians. [...]