Sound Bites of Civil Religion: Politics, Popular Culture, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Abstract

The Presidential Medal of Freedom originated under the administration of John F. Kennedy to honour peacetime service by United States civilians. Emerging at the dawn of the television age, this new addition to the symbolism of American civil religion reflects the increased interdependence between political and popular culture beginning in the mid-twentieth century. Even as Anglo-Protestant culture has continued to wane in political influence, the “pop pioneers” of Kennedy’s award have effectively demarcated the boundaries of the American nation under successive presidencies. Kennedy’s Medal exemplifies the transformation of American civil religion from the written and spoken word to the crafted and consumed image.