Synopses & Reviews
This volume opens a new avenue toward understanding the politics and policies of many US presidents. For years, leading scholars have largely ignored the religious factor in their studies of presidents. Yet, as the essays in this book reveal, religion has had an enormous impact on many critical presidencies in US history. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, these essays reveal the deeply religious side to such presidents as Truman, Eisenhower, and Reagan, among others.
Review
"A commitment to religion has persisted across American history regardless of whether the president was a Federalist like Washington, a Jeffersonian like Madison, a Republican like Lincoln, Eisenhower, and Reagan, or a Democrat like Truman, Carter, and Clinton. Religion and the American Presidency is a scholarly benchmark in the presidency studies, and a pioneering new perspective on the highest office in the land. Students of the historical presidency, sociologists of religion, and all people of faith will thoroughly enjoy reading the essays in this volume. Thank you, Professors Rozell and Whitney."--Raymond Tatalovich, Professor of Political Science, Loyola University Chicago “Theres no better place to explore the intersection between religion and the presidency than in this collection of fascinating case studies of American presidents. Its readability, scholarship, and balance should appeal to a broad audience of scholars, students, and the general public.”--William D. Pederson, American Studies Endowed Chair, Louisiana State University in Shreveport
Synopsis
This volume opens a new avenue toward understanding the politics and policies of many US presidents. As the essays in this book reveal, religion has had an enormous impact on many critical presidencies in US history. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, these essays reveal the deeply religious side to Truman, Eisenhower, and Reagan, among others.
About the Author
Mark J. Rozell is a professor of Public Policy at George Mason University and the author of numerous studies on religion and politics, the presidency, interest groups and other topics in American politics. His latest book is Executive Branch Czars and the Erosion of Democratic Controls (with Mitchel A. Sollenberger, 2012). Gleaves Whitney is the director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Importance of Religion to Understanding the Presidency--Harold F. Bass, Mark J. Rozell, and Gleaves Whitney * The Faith of George Washington--Gary Scott Smith * Thomas Jefferson and the Myth of Separation--Thomas E. Buckley * Religion in the Life, Thought, and Presidency of James Madison--Vincent Phillip Munoz * Lincolns Political Religion and Religious Politics--Lucas E. Morel * "We Must Put on the Armor of God:" Harry Truman and the Cold War--Elizabeth Edwards Spalding * Dwight D. Eisenhower: Civil Religion and the Cold War--Jack M. Holl * Secular Icon or Catholic Hero?: Religion and the Presidency of John F. Kennedy--Thomas J. Carty * Jimmy Carter and the Politics of Faith--Jeff Walz * Ronald Reagans Faith and Attack on Soviet Communism--Paul Kengor * The Religion of Bill Clinton--James M. Penning * The Faith of George W. Bush: The Personal, Practical, and Political--Carin Larson & Clyde Wilcox * President Barack Obama and his Faith--Robert P. Jones and Daniel Cox * The Obama Faith-Based Office: Continuity and Change--Douglas L. Koopman