The Rhetoric of Religion: Studies in Logology

by Kenneth Burke

"But the point of Burke's work, and the significance of his achievement, is not that he points out that religion and language affect each other, for this has been said before, but that he proceeds to demonstrate how this is so by reference to a specific symbolic context. After a discussion 'On Words and The Word,' he analysess verbal action in St. Augustine's Confessions. He then discusses the first three chapters of Genesis, and ends with a brilliant and profound 'Prologue in Heaven,' an imaginary dialogue between the Lord and Satan in which he proposes that we begin our study of human motives with complex theories of transcendence,' rather than with terminologies developed in the use of simplified laboratory equipment. . . . Burke now feels, after some forty years of search, that he has created a model of the symbolic act which breaks through the rigidities of the 'sacred-secular' dichotomy, and at the same time shows us how we get from secular and sacred realms of action over the bridge of language. . . . Religious systems are systems of action based on communication in society. They are great social dramas which are played out on earth before an ultimate audience, God. But where theology confronts the developed cosmological drama in the 'grand style,' that is, as a fully developed cosmological drama for its religious content, the 'logologer' can be further studied not directly as knowledge but as anecdotes that help reveal for us the quandaries of human governance." --Hugh Dalziel Duncan from Critical Responses to Kenneth Burke, 1924 - 1966, edited by William H. Rueckert (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1969).

Genres: Philosophy, Religion, Literary Criticism, Nonfiction, Criticism, Language, History

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 1970

About the author

Kenneth Duva Burke was a major American literary theorist and philosopher. Burke's primary interests were in rhetoric and aesthetics.

Reviews

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I believe Burke would have benefited from reading Schopenhauer, rather than Hegel, both in style and in content, he takes an interesting approach to religion, particularly Western Christianity. He is attempting to "transcend" theology by showing how the principles of Christianity exist implicitly within linguistics. Unfortunately, his notions of theology are quite vapid, often misconstrued, and always constrained by a Western academic worldview. I highly recommend reading his constructed dialogue between "the Lord" and "Satan" first, because he most coherently communicates his own logic in dialogue form. Burke is very much trapped in his own "logological" circle, formulated purely in Western terms and never really gets to his punchline in any compelling way, leaving the reader to make their own connections to Empire. Even so, for anyone examining the relationship between language and religion, this is a good start.

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of Burke's work is difficult, to say the least, but this one was especially so, with seemingly so much going on in each idea, concept, and chapter that keeping up was a serious challenge. Maybe this is because I don't understand Burke like I should (and this is probably at least some of the issue), but there is at least some fault to be laid at the feet of the author. There is probably a lot of valuable stuff to be found in his examples and ideas, and the concept of mortification is certainly useful and expounded elsewhere, too; but in general the prose here is convoluted and it felt like the whole of the book was too messy. I'm sure there is more to be gleaned here, and it is highly likely that I'll return to this well and fight for more understanding at a later date, but for now, I think this book is too unfocused to be of any real utility.

[Joe Juarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kenneth Burke’s analysis of religion derived on the study of a dramatic process. He stated that through order – how life or society revolved around – could only be broken through disorder. Through disorder, people’s lives change, society might crumble, and they find blame for the cause by looking at the person responsible – i.e. a scapegoat – to help purify said disorder: “If guilt, then the need for redemption, which involves sacrifice, which in turn allows for substitution” (p. 314). To highlight Burke’s analysis, he visualized a meeting between God (called “The Lord”) and Satan where the two discussed the meaning of perfection and how life’s pleasures could be both a benefit and drawback such as money and (possibly) love. Specifically the two discuss the symbols that lead to perfection and the words that associate with them like money, food, power, and punishment.

What defines perfection? In today’s society what people see on television or hear on the radio could define their lives (I say “could” because a person might not revolve his or her life via the media). For example, during the 2012 United States Presidential Election, voters had a chance to rely on the rhetoric of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Voters listened and decided what they believed. In other words, it was “Obama’s America” or “Romney’s America.”

Overall this book is recommended for anyone doing research in popular culture or in politics. In both these fields order is set according to a person or group. If that order is interrupted, then there is disorder, a thought different from the person or group that established order. It could be purified, according to Burke. But it could also turn to disorder over and over again.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book took me a really long time before i could get into it and dare i say understand it, i am not sure if i actually do understand it but there are some really interesting discussions, if you are interested in theory or a dialogue that Burke creates between the devil and god.