American Jesus: How the Son of God Became an American Icon
Stephen Prother
Religion, Boston University
顿补迟别:听February 10, 2004
Event Recap
In his book听American Jesus: How the Son of God Became an American Icon, Stephen Prothero, Professor of听Religion at Boston University, provides a cultural account听of how the idea of Jesus has听become assimilated, popularized,听and integrated into a variety听of American sub-cultures听and religions ranging from听Buddhism to the Ku Klux听Klan. Prothero traces the rise听of Jesus across American history听from a status as the Son of听God to that of an American听icon. He points out that in the听Colonial period, Jesus was a听relatively inconsequential figure听relative to the figure of God. Christian thinking in听this period was more Hebraic, emphasizing God the听Father. It was not until the early republican period when听Jefferson effectively begins to separate the idea of Jesus听from the system of Christianity that Jesus begins to take听on a separate and distinctive status that transcends听Christian religion. Prothero demonstrates Jesus鈥� evolution听into an American icon听with a collection of pictures,听postcards, and popular art听images that show how the听Jesus figure is appropriated听by new immigrant groups听that absorb him and make听his message their own in a听variety of ways. He discusses听that the United States听has moved, over the past听200 years, from being a听God-fearing nation to a听Jesus loving nation. The image of Jesus, Prothero contends,听has been particularly malleable because of the various听accounts that exist in the four Gospels that allow听him to be perceived in multiple ways.