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Theistnormativity and the Negation of American Atheists in Presidential Inaugural Addresses

Bibliographic Data

ID12465360
AuthorsKristina M Lee (corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume23
Issue2
Pages255-291
Publication date2020-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueRhetoric and Public Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1094-8392 • E-ISSN: 1534-5238
PublisherMichigan State University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.14321/rhetpublaffa.23.2.0255
OpenAlexW3045726137
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited36

This paper aims to address the need in rhetorical scholarship to recognize the obstacles that atheists face in the public sphere. I propose that, within the United States, there is a systematic normalization of theism, which I refer to as theistnormativity. While theistnormativity is advanced through various systems within a society, I argue that presidents reinforce theistnormativity through their use of religious political rhetoric. I reason that the theistnormativity that is prominent in presidential inaugural addresses from 1933 to 2017 contributes an ideal space that privileges theists and marginalizes atheists

Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Ideal (ethics · Law and economics · Linguistics · Negation · Normalization (sociology · Political science · Politics · Presidential system · Rhetoric · Rhetorical question · Scholarship · Social science · Sociology · Theism · Theology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Rhetoric and Communication Studies

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Unique citing works1
Citations per year1
Citation span2025 - 2025 (1)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 1

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