The George W. Bush administration’s use of religious rhetoric has become one of its
defining features, commented on by friend and foe alike.
Beyond discussing openly his
personal conversion and convictions, the President has used religious terminology to
underpin such diverse policies as the No Child Left Behind Act, the Faith-Based
Initiative, and the War on Terror. Most recently, the language of religiously inspired just
war theory has entered the President’s vocabulary, as he strove to justify the US-led
intervention in Iraq.
This paper will focus on the Bush administration’s deployment of religious rhetoric
in a very specific sense: the use of religious language, particularly just war language, to
justify the use of military force in Afghanistan in 2001 and in Iraq in 2002. In particular,
this paper explores the relationship between the President’s understanding of just war
and the interpretation offered by one of the largest mainline Protestant denominations in
the United States, the United Methodist Church (the President’s own denomination).
The UMC’s position toward the war is significant to consider not only as the stance of a
major, mainline Protestant denomination, but also as the denomination shared by both
President George W. Bush and Vice President Cheney.
The paper argues that although the President did indeed use religious rhetoric, his
policy – particularly in Iraq – was at odds with the official position taken by his
denomination. It thus draws the conclusion that Bush is more directed by his personal
1
It must be noted that religion is not new in the language of presidential discourse – from the founding
fathers to Wilson, Roosevelt and the senior George Bush, numerous examples of the integration of
religious language and ideals with concepts of “American” values and justice exist.
2
President Bush’s official membership is with Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas.
2
Convention