Religion and Politics: Four Reviews Coming in Publishers Weekly on June 26

-- Publishers Weekly, 6/21/2006

Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers
Brooke Allen. Ivan R. Dee, $24.95 (256p) ISBN 1-56663-675-2

In this study of the religious lives of six framers of the Constitution, which began as an article in The Nation, Allen (Twentieth-Century Attitudes) ably demonstrates the uncontroversial thesis that many of the founding fathers were not very devout. Franklin was a skeptic and a humanist who displayed outright "contempt for the niceties of Christian observance." Washington was, like other Virginia gentry, a vestryman in his local Episcopal church, but he was not especially pious. Adams's Puritan heritage left him with a commitment to hard work but not to Calvinism. Jefferson, unsurprisingly, appears as a devotee of reason and a champion of religious freedom, a cause in which Madison joined him. Hamilton's piety was mainly "opportunistic," and the religiosity he evinced on his deathbed had "no effect" on his participation in American politics. In the concluding chapter, Allen summarizes the history of the Enlightenment, that philosophical watershed that "produced the founders," and she ends by warning that Enlightenment values are now under threat. Allen's sparring partners are, of course, those representatives of the religious right who claim that America was founded as a Christian nation. Unfortunately, they are not likely to read this book, and those readers already generally inclined to agree with Allen—including most serious students of American history—won't learn anything new. (Sept. 15)

Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History and Future
Newt Gingrich. Integrity, $14.99 (160p) ISBN 1-59145-482-4

This brief mandate by Gingrich, the architect of 1994's conservative congressional manifesto "The Contract with America," opens with a battle cry: "There is no attack on American culture more deadly and more historically dishonest than the secular effort to drive God out of America's public life." The book's arguments are predictable: Gingrich claims that references to God are sprinkled everywhere in our nation's founding documents; that most Americans believe in God; and our classrooms and courtrooms are the laboratories where such belief is being irrevocably eroded. He trots out quotations from founding fathers that suggest their allegiance to Christianity, or at least to theism, but conveniently ignores evidence that some of these men—particularly Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson—believed religion should have little, if any, role in the nation's government. If the book's thesis is tired and essentially unpersuasive, its unique contribution is its innovative, even brilliant, method of organization. Gingrich presents his arguments as a "walking tour" of the nation's capital, beginning with the National Archives and winding through the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Capitol, White House and other sites. This structure does much to freshen up a book that is otherwise indistinguishable from prior offerings by Pat Robertson and David Barton. (Aug. 22)

Jesus Rode a Donkey: Why Republicans Don't Have the Corner on Christ
Linda Seger. Adams Media, $24.95 (352p) ISBN 1-59337-619-7

Despite the provocative title, Seger, a theologian and commentator who has appeared on CNN, NPR and The O'Reilly Factor, disappointingly fails to deliver the "accounting of how Christian values are expressed through the Democratic Party" that she calls for in her introduction. Rather than juxtaposing Democratic Party platform ideas against her analysis of biblical references and Jesus' stand on topics ranging from abortion to the environment, health care, homosexuality and war, she instead defies her own battle cry to "stop the rhetoric." Much of the book is taken up with criticism of the current Republican administration, as well as conservative Christians and their actions, policies and hypocrisy. James Dobson and Focus on the Family figure more prominently in her debate than one might expect in a national overview of Christian Democrats. Sadly, Seger squanders the opportunity to provide Christian Democrats with a plan to showcase their religious values, much less bring new members to their party. The included study guide may serve for both personal and group reflection, and in the end, prove more useful than the uneven book that precedes it. (Aug.)

Mindful Politics: A Buddhist Guide to Making the World a Better Place
Edited by Melvin McLeod. Wisdom, $16.95 paper (304p) ISBN 0-86171-298-6

This collection of essays on a Buddhist approach to politics is far-ranging. We see contributions from Buddhists engaged in politics, whether religious figures like the Dalai Lama and Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh or Zen student and political leader Jerry Brown, as well as a wide variety of Buddhist teachers and practitioners. McLeod, who edits two Buddhist periodicals and an annual anthology of Buddhist writing, skillfully organizes the diverse writings by using the categories that describe Buddhism's noble eightfold path. Contributions vary in quality. Nhat Hanh is clear as a Zen sitting-room bell; the precepts of his Order of Interbeing community are specific, and he can draw on decades of peace work to illustrate that what he says is not merely possible but has already been done. Scholar Rita Gross offers fresh insight about the anger of righteousness that often motivates political involvement. Other contributions are woolly or left over from the 1960s; bell hooks's use of leftisms ("imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy") draws on stale ideology. Margaret Wheatley does important work in community and leadership development, but should avoid writing bad poetry to express her views. Despite unevenness, this anthology usefully disputes Buddhism's reputation as apolitical. Buddhism is quiet but not quietistic. (Aug.)