Brian Kaylor
Books
Published in 2011 by Lexington Books.
Winner of the 2011 Bruce E. Gronbeck Political Communication Research Award from the Carl Couch Center for Social & Internet Research
When a Bible-quoting Sunday School teacher, Jimmy Carter, won the 1976 presidential election, it marked the start of a new era of presidential campaign discourse. The successful candidates since then have followed Carter's lead in publicly testifying about their personal religious beliefs and invoking God to justify their public policy positions and their political visions. With this new confessional political style, the candidates have repudiated the former perspective of a civil-religious contract that kept political leaders from being too religious and religious leaders from being too political. This book covers the religious-political discourse used by presidential nominees from 1976-2008, and then details key characteristics of their confessional rhetoric that represent a substantial shift from the tenets of the civil-religious contract. This new confessional political style is characterized by religious-political rhetoric that is testimonial, partisan, sectarian, and liturgical in nature. In order to understand why candidates have radically adjusted their God talk on the campaign trail, important religious-political shifts in American society since the 1950s are examined, which demonstrate the rhetorical demands evangelical religious leaders have placed upon our would-be national leaders. Kaylor utilizes Michel Foucault's work on the confession—with theoretical adjustments—to critique the significant problems of the confessional political era.
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For God's Sake Shut up!: Lessons for Christians on How to Speak Effectively and When to Remain Silent
Published in 2007 by Smyth & Helwys.
One of the greatest problems in the Christian community in America today is a general inability to effectively communicate without polarizing or driving people away. This book offers numerous insights for Christians who desire to share their beliefs in more effective ways. It draws upon lessons learned during communication studies, experiences as a pastor, and insights from being a communications specialist for a church organization. These principles are developed with the use of personal anecdotes and news stories to provide specific examples of what to do or what not to do when attempting to communicate. Kaylor critiques many famous Christians for saying things that ultimately hurt the cause. Thus, the book’s tone is often humorous/satirical. You should find the book to be a worthwhile read with many important issues to consider along with relevant and current examples. The book deals with thirteen areas related to effective communication.
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