Author To Lecture on Religion in White House

October 12, 2004

David Domke, author of God Willing? Political Fundamentalism in the White House, the "War on Terror," and the Echoing Press, will lecture at USC Monday, Oct. 25.

During his presentation, Domke will provide an assessment of the role of religion in the political leadership of President George W. Bush. The event will be sponsored by the Knight Program in Media & Religion at the USC Annenberg School for Communication.

“In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush and his administration offered a ‘political fundamentalism' that capitalized upon the fear felt by many Americans,” Domke said.

“Political fundamentalism is the adaptation of a conservative religious worldview, via strategic language choices and communication approaches, into a policy agenda that feels political rather than religious,” he said. “These communications dominated the political agenda and public opinion for months on end — and came at a significant cost for democracy.”

Domke has focused on the relationships among U.S. politics, journalism and public opinion for more than two decades. He worked as a journalist for several newspapers in the 1980s and early 1990s, including The Orange County Register and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

He currently is a communications professor at the University of Washington.

The lecture — free and open to the public — will be held at 5:30 pm in the USC Annenberg School Auditorium. A book signing follows.

This is the inaugural event in an ongoing forum on media and religion organized by Diane Winston, holder of the Knight Chair in Media and Religion at the USC Annenberg School for Communication.

Domke's talk is co-sponsored by the Jesse M. Unruh Institute for Politics at USC.