The Church Fathers and the Ethics of Propaganda: A Christian Approach to Public Rhetoric
Although religious ethicists commonly assess the content of public communication to determine its merits, this article argues that the style and techniques of communication deserve similar analysis. Propaganda often employs rhetorical techniques that impress the recipient through persuasive sleight-...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Sage
2022
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In: |
Studies in Christian ethics
Year: 2022, Volume: 35, Issue: 1, Pages: 140-154 |
IxTheo Classification: | KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity NCD Political ethics |
Further subjects: | B
Augustine
B Patristics B Rhetoric B Propaganda B Jerome B Political Speech |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | Although religious ethicists commonly assess the content of public communication to determine its merits, this article argues that the style and techniques of communication deserve similar analysis. Propaganda often employs rhetorical techniques that impress the recipient through persuasive sleight-of-hand or emotional appeal. Drawing on the church fathers’ suspicion of classical rhetoric, as well as Augustine's guarded defense of a specific type of rhetoric, the author formulates two principles of ethical propaganda that may assist public communicators in persuading ethically. These two principles are the procedural movement of beauty from truth, and the use of caritas as a primary motivator in persuasion. |
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ISSN: | 0953-9468 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Studies in Christian ethics
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/09539468211045032 |