From a Model of the Nation to Models for Citizens: Religious References in U.S. Presidential Addresses

This paper represents the first effort to systematically analyze the patterns of religious referencing in presidential Inaugural and State of the Union Addresses over the nation's entire history. The evidence suggests that religious references have not changed much in quantity but have shifted significantly in purpose. This paper finds three important shifts in religious references. The first is a move away from references using religion to emphasize the special nature of the nation. The second is a move towards a use of religion to justify individual rights. The third shift is an increased use of religious references to instruct individual citizens in how they should serve their country and comport themselves. The speeches reveal no support for versions of the secularization thesis which assert that religion will become privatized and separate from the public sphere over time.