Civil Religion in the Inauguration of Presidents of the United States
A new episode of the video series “Religion and Politics – Research Projects in Focus“
When a new president is inaugurated in the US, the entire world looks at the ceremonies in Washington. Historian Prof. Dr. Heike Bungert looks behind the scenes of inauguration ceremonies – a field that has so far received little academic attendance. The scholar is often the first person to research the sources in the archives – and discovers to what extent religion and politics are intertwined in the United States. What does it mean to be God's chosen people? What clerics and what denominations are present at the celebrations? Does the future President swear his oath on a bible? If so, which bible does he use? Which traditional elements of the ceremony does he leave out? How the historian provides answers to such questions and weaves them into an extensive history of inaugurations is explained in a new episode of the video series Research Projects in Focus. She gives insight into her research project “Civil Religion in Inaugurations of U.S. Presidents” at the Cluster of Excellence.(maz/vvm)