Of Prophets and Propaganda: An Exploration of Modern Christian Dispensationalism Using the Work of Martin Riesebrodt

Abstract

Modern dispensationalism in the United States has been a thorny sociological problem. The sociodiscursive mechanism(s) by which dispensationalist preachers are able to propagate their message has yet to be determined. The theoretical work of Martin Riesebrodt, specifically his discussion of salvific demand, legitimation, and discursive and behavior-regulating practices, sheds light on Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins's best-selling Left Behind series and the equally popular dispensationalist writings of John Hagee. Dispensationalists create a demand for their message through the interpretation of current events using the apocalyptic lens of the dispensational scenario, which points to the imminence of the rapture and the global doom that will follow. As part of the propagandizing discourse (discursive practices) that promises escape from this cataclysm, dispensationalists preach a set of behavior-regulating practices that seek to constrain and control the actions of their adherents.Keywords: dispensationalism, salvific demand, evangelicalism, fundamentalism. Konieczny for their substantive engagement with this project after the conference as well as the reviewers and editors of JSSR. Their suggestions and help have made this a much stronger article.

Theory as a Tool in the Social Scientific Study of Religion and Martin Riesebrodt's The Promise of Salvation

“…Finally, Reed (2012) makes use of Riesebrodt's work on religious propaganda together with the centrality of religious practices in his theory, emphasizing the roles of behavior‐regulating and discursive practices in his analysis of contemporary Christian dispensationalists in the United States. Reed, also a religious studies scholar, presents an analysis of how dispensationalist preachers constitute authority for their teachings.…”

“…Randall Reed (2012) applies Riesebrodt's theoretical insights about religious propaganda and conversion to the cases of Christian Zionist pastor, John Hagee, and the books of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins’s Left Behind series, in order to determine the basis for dispensationalists’ religious authority. He demonstrates that these dispensationalists create and legitimate the basis for their charismatic authority with believers through a two‐part mechanism involving the creation of salvific demand and the prescription of behavior‐regulating practices.…”

“…By bringing the issue of prophetic legitimacy in dispensationalism to the fore, Reed (2012) shows the usefulness of Riesebrodt's theory of religion, especially in its discussion of the role of salvific demand in religious propaganda, and its definition of behavior‐regulating practices. At the same time, Reed modifies and extends Riesebrodt's theory.…”