"The latest from reporter and author Dionne (Why Americans Hate Politics) is a highly worthy alternative to polarizing arguments regarding religion, whether pro or con ('neo-atheist' tracts like Christopher Hitchens's God Is Not Great). It's also a smart rebuke of those who would divert the faithful with a narrow set of 'values' rather than viewing religion in a broader political context. Declaring that 'the era of the religious Right is over,' Dionne looks to history, tradition, teachers and texts (including recent religious scholarship) to reassert both progressive and conservative views on how religion can play a legitimate role in matters of economics, social justice and morality. Dionne explodes the myth that George W. Bush was elected by evangelicals (he says gains among moderates were far more important); demonstrates the absurdity and unfortunate consequences of restricting religious political concerns to abortion and gay marriage (though he fully explores both); and examines the fate of governmental faith-based initiatives past and present. Along the way, Dionne considers the current crop of presidential candidates and provides a stinging analysis of the president and Congress's intervention in the Terri Schiavo case. Rousing and wry, Dionne's sensible voice makes a powerful case for broadening religious vision and visibility in the public square." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

E. J. Dionne gives us a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of Christianity's contributions to American politics. Critical of the exclusionary politics of both the Left and the Right, he calls for a new bond between religious conservatives and progressives rooted in our shared moral values and inspired by the wonder and awe that give birth to faith.

E. J. Dionne has a unique voice and special authority as a liberal spokesman on religion and politics in America. Here, he models how to lower the temperature of the public discussion about religion and politics so that real advances in understanding can take place. This book will further cement Dionne's standing as the leading voice in the mounting campaign to revive a broad-based, religiously liberal politics--something that we haven't seen since the days of Martin Luther King Jr.

E. J. Dionne is my favorite columnist. He is one of America's most insightful social commentators and a persistent articulator of the powerful but neglected vision of the common good that calls both Left and Right to moral accountability. is a crucial contribution to the new American discourse on faith and politics.

E. J. Dionne is this country's single most knowledgeable writer on religion and politics. Approaching this subject so central to the American experiment as a person of faith as well as a seasoned political reporter, Dionne brings an understanding and knowledge to the topic unique in the current debate.

For much of the last decade the notion has been abroad in the land that religion is a conservative influence in American politics. E. J. Dionne, a liberal and a Catholic and one of the wisest of American journalists, challenges this myth. As the country emerges from a dreadful era, Dionne provides a perspective from which to recover the wisdom that religion, like everything else in America, is politically pluralistic.

Any book by E. J. Dionne is a treat, and one about religion is especially to be savored. This is not simply the work of an astute political commentator but of a person of faith who writes gracefully and often prophetically. He has an enviable flair for moving the reader along almost effortlessly and yet making clear and compelling arguments. There are fresh insights here in abundance.

E. J. Dionne Jr. is a syndicated columnist for the "Washington Post", a regular political analyst on National Public Radio, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a professor at Georgetown University. His books include the best-selling "Why Americans Hate Politics" (Simon and Schuster), which won the "Los Angeles Times" book prize and was nominated for the National Book Award.