The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics. [Hardcover]

Susan Friend Harding (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2000

National polls show that approximately 50 million adult Americans are born-again Christians. Yet most Americans see their culture as secular, and the United States is viewed around the world as a secular nation. Further, intellectuals and journalists often portray born-again Christians, despite their numbers, as outsiders who endanger public life. But is American culture really so neatly split between the religious and the secular? Is America as "modern" and is born-again Christian religious belief as "pre-modern" as many think?

In the 1980s, born-again Christians burst into the political arena with stunning force. Gone was the image of "old-fashioned" fundamentalism and its anti-worldly, separatist philosophy. Under the leadership of the Reverend Jerry Falwell and allied preachers, millions broke taboos in place since the Scopes trial constraining their interaction with the public world. They claimed new cultural territory and refashioned themselves in the public arena. Here was a dynamic body of activists with an evangelical vision of social justice, organized under the rubric of the "Moral Majority."

Susan Harding, a cultural anthropologist, set out in the 1980s to understand the significance of this new cultural movement. The result, this long-awaited book, presents the most original and thorough examination of Christian fundamentalism to date. Falwell and his co-pastors were the pivotal figures in the movement. It is on them that Harding focuses, and, in particular, their use of the Bible's language. She argues that this language is the medium through which born-again Christians, individual and collective, come to understand themselves as Christians. And it is inside this language that much of the born-again movement took place. Preachers like Falwell command a Bible-based poetics of great complexity, variety, creativity, and force, and, with it, attempt to mold their churches into living testaments of the Bible. Harding focuses on the words--sermons, speeches, books, audiotapes, and television broadcasts--of individual preachers, particularly Falwell, as they rewrote their Bible-based tradition to include, rather than exclude, intense worldly engagement. As a result of these efforts, born-again Christians recast themselves as a people not separated from but engaged in making history. The Book of Jerry Falwell is a fascinating work of cultural analysis, a rare account that takes fundamentalist Christianity on its own terms and deepens our understanding of both religion and the modern world.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In the early 1980s, Harding (anthropology, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz) followed Jerry Falwell's rising Christian fundamentalist movement. Focusing on Falwell's subtle dance between American evangelicalism and Bible-based fundamentalism, she calls her study not theology but the vernacular of Bible believers. By interpreting sermons, speeches, direct mail, videos, and TV broadcasts, she labors to elucidate this "language of cultural ferment" that ultimately serves, through the personal witness of Falwell, to bring fundamentalism out from its separatist tendencies and into a political revolution to save America in the 1980s. This is a highly readable book, though Harding can be a tad defensive of Falwell. When the media lumps him with the "telescandals" of lesser evangelists, she hedges on the line between participant and observer. Still, she remains true to her post-structuralism agenda, finding in the rhetoric of Falwellian fundamentalism the catalyst for social change and political fervor. Recommended.
-Sandra Collins, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Lib., Pittsburgh
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Harding has brought the finely tuned eyes and ears of an anthropologist to her research inside Falwell's fundamentalist Baptist community. Her analysis is incisive and empathetic. (Linda L. Giedl The Christian Science Monitor )

This is a highly readable book. . . . (Library Journal )

Harding's central subject is the rhetoric of fundamentalism, the language of its persuasion. But she also explains how Falwell, and others like him, have brought the fundamentalist community into politics . . . Harding's headlong exuberance propels [the book] and carries us deep into the mind and heart of a subculture that is increasingly mainstream. (Ronald D. Elving Washington Post )

An eloquent and incisive study of religious fundamentalism in the United States. . . . [A] theoretically rich and highly original work. (Jeremy Stolow Sociology of Religion )

Harding's own mastery is on display throughout her book. . . . By the end . . . she has skillfully shown the myriad ways in which fundamentalist rhetoric created and transformed both the fundamentalist community itself and the wider American culture. Her work should be required reading not only for students of American religion, but for anyone who wishes to study sympathetically and fruitfully a different religious culture. (Jonathan Moore Christian Century )

So much has been written about resurgent Christian fundamentalism that it is difficult to imagine that someone might find something fresh to say about it. Yet Susan Friend Harding gives us some amazing glimpses into contemporary fundamentalism's heart and soul. . . . [A] bold, artful, and largely convincing book. (Joel Carpenter Journal of Religion )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (March 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691059896
• ISBN-13: 978-0691059891
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #872,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, November 29, 2002

By 

www.DavidLRattigan.com (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics. (Paperback)

Harding does not attempt an expose, per se, although readers will be disturbed, perplexed and perhaps shocked by some of this book. For her research, the author immersed herself in the world of evangelical fundamentalism, getting to know the people, even becoming (in a sense) an insider herself. The fruit of her time is The Book of Jerry Falwell, an exploration of the way words are used in the fundamentalist "subculture" (though I am not sure if this is a designation Harding herself uses), specifically in the ministry of one of modern fundamentalism's key figures, televangelist Jerry Falwell.

The author's analysis rings true to life, for over the course of the past couple of years I have been on a pilgrimage away from my fundamentalist past, and can identify with many of her observations. For example, nowadays in conversation with fundamentalists I find I have to adapt my language and way of thinking to their language and way of thinking. When I have connected my worldview (still Christian, just not fundamentalist) to theirs, I can start to understand. Similarly, I find myself having to suspend my own mental system when talking to my new-age friends, and learn how words work in the world they inhabit. For this reason, Harding's perceptive commentary on fundamentalist political and religious speech resonates with my own perceptions, and thus emerges as fascinating, incisive and authentic.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good mix of history and cultural study, August 15, 2004

By 

Casper Denck (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics. (Paperback)

This book offers a survey of Fundamentalist politics from the perspective of the fundamentalist leader Jerry Falwell. Harding weaves together historical analysis with anthropological commentary whilst also letting the subjects speak for themselves through the inclusion of lengthy quotes from fundamentalist preachers.

One of Harding's main comments is on the often misunderstood rehetorics of fundamentalist political language and she explains how they what fundamentalists hear when Falwell speaks is often different to how other hear the same words. The book is divided into chapters (obviously!) with each dealing with a different topic (eg abortion, creationism etc). The strength of this book is that it gives a context through fundamentalist history of contemporary positions. The end result is a very readable fairminded glimpse into the different world that is christian fundamentalist politcs and one that is recommended for those interested in the subject.

My one major criticism is that their is often a lack of theological grasp of some of the issues involved which of course you cannot particularly blame Harding for (she is an anthropologist). This is a book that would have benefitted from a co-author (Mark Noll immediately springs to mind).

Overall though this is definitely recommended.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review., March 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics. (Hardcover)

Harding's provocative title promises in no uncertain terms to tell a good story. I experienced suspense as the Book of Jerry Falwell carefully delineated an important dimension of the story of America, then, more broadly and intensely, the story of speech, and of listening, making calmly powerful suggestions about the nature of both. With the hint of an irony that is at once intelligent and warm, Harding has written a rare book, a familiar book, about a culture often seen, from the corner of our eyes, in the side-view mirrors of our cars, one much closer than it appears. This author doesn't need to stray from a thorough elucidation of her subject to meditate intently upon larger questions, which is a continual delight. This book augurs well for anthropology in America.