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American Kairos

Washington National Cathedral and the New Civil Religion

Richard Benjamin Crosby

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A history of Washington National Cathedral and the theory of an American civil religion.

In 1792, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the first city planner of Washington, DC, introduced the idea of a "great church for national purposes." Unlike L'Enfant's plans for the White House, the US Capitol, and the National Mall, this grand temple to the republic never materialized. But in 1890, the Episcopal Church began planning what is known today as Washington National Cathedral.

In American Kairos, Richard Benjamin Crosby chronicles the history of not only the building but also the idea that animates it...

A history of Washington National Cathedral and the theory of an American civil religion.

In 1792, Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the first city planner of Washington, DC, introduced the idea of a "great church for national purposes." Unlike L'Enfant's plans for the White House, the US Capitol, and the National Mall, this grand temple to the republic never materialized. But in 1890, the Episcopal Church began planning what is known today as Washington National Cathedral.

In American Kairos, Richard Benjamin Crosby chronicles the history of not only the building but also the idea that animates it, arguing that the cathedral is a touchstone site for the American civil religion—the idea that the United States functions much like a religion, with its own rituals, sacred texts, holy days, and so on. He shows that the National Cathedral can never be the church L'Enfant envisioned, but it can be a starting point for studying the conflicts over belonging, ideology, and America's place in the world that define the American civil religion. By examining correspondence between L'Enfant, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others, and by diving into Washington National Cathedral's archives, Crosby uncovers a crucial gap in the formation of the nation's soul.

While L'Enfant's original vision was never realized, Washington National Cathedral reminds us that perhaps it can be. The cathedral is one of the great rhetorical and architectural triumphs in the history of American religion. Without government mandate or public vote, it has claimed its role as America's de facto house of worship, a civil religious temple wherein Americans conduct some of their highest, holiest rituals, including state funerals and National Day of Prayer services.

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Reviews

In American Kairos, Richard Benajmin Crosby, an associate professor in the English department at Brigham Young University, examines what L'Enfant proposed and how successfully the cathedral has provided it. Crosby explains how the cathedral's identity has changed over time but concludes that because it is in the end a Christian, Episcopal church, the cathedral cannot fully be what L'Enfant envisioned.

American Kairos makes a powerful case for rethinking the basics of American democracy. Crosby deftly synthesizes history, theory, and applied criticism to open vistas more compelling, more timely, more necessary than ever.

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Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
288
ISBN
9781421446424
Illustration Description
27 b&w photos, 5 b&w illus.
Table of Contents

Preface: A Haunted House
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Pierre L'Enfant's Great Church for National Purposes
2. Henry Yates Satterlee's Westminster Abbey
3. The National Church in an Age of Nativism
4

Preface: A Haunted House
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Pierre L'Enfant's Great Church for National Purposes
2. Henry Yates Satterlee's Westminster Abbey
3. The National Church in an Age of Nativism
4. Francis B. Sayre the Prophet and Mary Edgar Budde the Pastor
5. Philip Hubert Frohman's Fourth Dimension: A Close Reading of Washington National Cathedral
6. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Sacred Time
7. The Bush Presidents' Rock of Religious Faith
8. Civil Seership: The Revelatory Project of Cameron Partridge and Gene Robinson OR The Revelation of Matthew Shepard
Conclusion: American Kairos
Notes

Author Bio