Rhetoric Society Quarterly Apr 2009 Open Access

Jimmy Swaggart's Secular Confession

Dave Tell Schlumberger (Ireland)

Abstract

Following the exposure of televangelist Jimmy Swaggart's illicit rendezvous with a New Orleans prostitute, the Assemblies of God simultaneously orchestrated a massive attempt to silence those who would discuss the tryst and arranged the most widely publicized confession in American history theretofore. The coincidence of a “silence campaign” with the vast distribution of a public confession invites us to reconsider the nature of the public confession. For what place has a public confession, the discourse of disclosure par excellence, in a silence campaign? This question is best answered, I argue, if we understand public confession not as a stable a-historical form, but as a practice that is informed by multiple, competing traditions. I argue that by situating Swaggart's performance in a philosophically modern and secular tradition of public confession we can understand both its complicity in a silence campaign and, more generally, the political logic of the modern public confession.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2009-04-13
DOI
10.1080/02773940902766748
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
OA PDF Green
Topics
discourse analysis
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (48)

  1. (1988)
    San Francisco Chronicle
  2. Augustine (1961)
    Confessions
  3. (1982)
    The Literal Meaning of Genesis
  4. Bauer Susan Wise. (2008)
    The Art of the Public Grovel: How Leaders Return to Power after Sexual Sin
  5. Bell Daniel (1996)
    The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism,
Show all 48 →
  1. Browne Stephen H. (1999)
    10.1080/00335639909384252
    Quarterly Journal of Speech  ↗
  2. Buursma Bruce
    Chicago Tribune
  3. Darsey James Francis. (1997)
    The Prophetic Tradition and Radical Rhetoric in America
  4. Deneen Patrick J. (2005)
    Democratic Faith
  5. 10.1215/9780822398226-034
     ↗
  6. 10.1080/10570319309374430
     ↗
  7. Duin Julia (1988)
    Houston Chronicle
  8. Ellison Ralph Waldo (1980)
    Invisible Man
  9. Farrell Thomas B. (1993)
    Norms of Rhetorical Culture
     ↗
  10. Fliegelman Jay (1993)
    Declaring Independence: Jefferson, Natural Language & the Culture of Performance
     ↗
  11. Foucault Michel (1980)
    Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972–1977
  12. (1988)
    The History of Sexuality: An Introduction
  13. Garver Newton (1977)
    10.2307/2025768
    The Journal of Philosophy  ↗
  14. Giuliano Michael James. (1999)
    Thrice-Born: The Rhetorical Comeback of Jimmy Swaggart
  15. 10.2307/487859
     ↗
  16. Harding Susan Friend (2000)
    The Book of Jerry Falwell: Fundamentalist Language and Politics
     ↗
  17. ——— . “Swaggart Steps Down for ‘Sin'; Evangelist's Fall Is Latest Casualty in a Year of Scandal.”The Washingt…
  18. Harris Art
    The Washington Post
  19. Hart Roderick P. (1986)
    10.1080/10570318609374235
    Western Journal of Speech Communication  ↗
  20. Hartman Anne (2005)
    10.2979/VIC.2005.47.4.535
    Victorian Studies  ↗
  21. Kaufmann Joanne
    People Weekly
  22. King Wayne
    The New York Times
  23. Macey David (1995)
    The Lives of Michel Foucault: A Biography
  24. Marcus Frances Frank
    “Foe Who Also Lost Church Urges Prayers for Swaggart.”
  25. Markus R. A. (1970)
    Saeculum: History and Society in the Theology of St. Augustine
  26. 10.1017/CBO9781139167208
     ↗
  27. Medhurst Martin J. (2004)
    10.1353/rap.2005.0030
    Rhetoric & Public Affairs  ↗
  28. Muro Mark
    Boston Globe
  29. Ostling Richard N.
    Time
  30. 10.7208/chicago/9780226922638.001.0001
     ↗
  31. Rousseau Jean-Jacques (2000)
    Confessions
  32. Scott John T. (1998)
    Essay on the Origin of Languages and Writings Related to Music
  33. Masters Roger D. (1964)
    The First and Second Discourses
  34. (1967)
    The Social Contract and Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
  35. 10.1080/15295039709367020
     ↗
  36. Schultze Quentin J. (1991)
    Televangelism and American Culture: The Business of Popular Religion
  37. Seaman Ann Rowe. (1999)
    Swaggart: The Unauthorized Biography of an American Evangelist
  38. Starobinski Jean (1977)
    10.2307/2708907
    Journal of the History of Ideas  ↗
  39. (1988)
    Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Transparency and Obstruction
  40. Stepp Laura Sessions
    The Washington Post
  41. Taylor Charles (2007)
    A Secular Age
     ↗
  42. (1989)
    Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity
  43. Wuthnow Robert (1990)
    American Evangelicals and the Mass Media
CrossRef global citation count: 3 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    Historicizing critical discourse about emergent tools and technologies across 40 years of Computers and Composition ↗
    Meghan Velez; Kara Taczak; Matthew D. Bryan
    discourse analysis digital rhetoric
  2. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly May 2026
    Communicating Diversity and Inclusion in LinkedIn Job Advertisements ↗
    Rashid Ashraf; Said Badreddine; Mohamed I. Albeshr; Hamsa Al Ammari; Malik Muhammad Sheheryar Khan; Pranav Naithani
    discourse analysis professional writing race and writing
  3. Written Communication May 2026
    Untold Pushbacks: Synthesizing Discourse-Based and Phenomenological Interviewing to Explore Tacit Knowledges of Black and Latinx Writers ↗
    Ray Rosas
    discourse analysis
  4. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Apr 2026
    Bridging Curricula and Workplaces in China: A Needs-Based Model for Arabic Business Communication ↗
    Suo Yan Mei; Suo Yan Ju; Zarima Mohd Zakaria
    discourse analysis teacher development professional writing
  5. Res Rhetorica Apr 2026
    Logos in ancient Greek discourse on rhetoric: An overview ↗
    Arkadiusz Sokolnicki
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument