04382nam a22005895i 4500 978-3-031-56160-3 DE-He213 20251030112636.0 cr nn 008mamaa 240718s2024 sz | s |||| 0|eng d 9783031561603 978-3-031-56160-3 10.1007/978-3-031-56160-3 doi BL60 JHB bicssc JFSR bicssc SOC039000 bisacsh JHB thema JBSR thema Gittinger, Juli L. author. aut http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut 80854 American Apocalyptic [electronic resource] : Beliefs, Rituals, and Expressions of Doomsday Culture in the US / by Juli L. Gittinger. 1st ed. 2024. Cham : Springer Nature Switzerland : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan, 2024. IX, 175 p. online resource. text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier text file PDF rda 1. Introduction -- Section 1. TEOTWAWKI -- 2. Cultural narratives of the apocalypse -- 3. Prepping as an American phenomenon. 4. Liberal Preppers -- Section 2. American Anxieties -- 5. Pandemic as apocalyptic event -- 6. Hoping for civil war: the Boogaloo movement -- 7. Climate apocalypse and Eco-piety -- 8. Conclusion. "Apocalypse is as American as apple pie, and if you've ever wondered why - from prepping to pandemics - you have come to the right book. Since the atomic blasts at Los Alamos, America has always had a special twist, a special take, on the end of the world, and Gittinger's audit of America's apocalyptic practice in this moment is more than just great fun and games, it's a revelation all its own. These apocalyptic anxieties teach us about ourselves, who we are, who we hope to be, and what we think is real and meaningful. Here is cultural philosophy as entertaining as it is enlightening." --Robert J. Joustra, Professor Politics & International Studies, Redeemer University, Canada In this book, Juli Gittinger argues that America’s fascination (obsession?) with the apocalypse is a synthesis of religion, popular culture, and politics in a way that is particular to the US and consonant with mythological-historical narratives of America. As a result, wecan identify American apocalypticism as a sort of religion in itself that is closely tied to “civil religion,” that has a worldview and rituals that create identifiable communities and connects American mythology to apocalyptic anxieties. Gittinger discusses how various cultures and groups form as a result of this obsession, and that these communities form their own rituals and responses in various forms of “prepping” or survivalist practices. She lays out an argument for a broad eschatology prevalent in the US that extends beyond traditional religious designations to form an apocalyptic worldview that is built into our narrative as a country, as well as furthered by popular culture and media’s contribution to apocalyptic anxieties. Subsequently, Gittinger uses case studies of apocalyptic events—current or speculative—that reveal how our anxieties about the end of the world (as we know it) inform our culture, as well as religious narratives that emerge from such crises. Juli Gittinger is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Georgia College, USA. Religion and sociology. 68604 Religions. 70064 America. 72288 Sociology. 57193 Ethnology America. 66658 Culture. 59159 Sociology of Religion. 68606 American Religions. 72291 Sociology. 57193 American Culture. 66659 SpringerLink (Online service) Springer Nature eBook Printed edition: 9783031561597 Printed edition: 9783031561610 Printed edition: 9783031561627 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56160-3 ZDB-2-REP ZDB-2-SXPR 61723 61723