A learned academic study whose appeal will be limited to fellow scholars.
How the diversity of religion in America has furthered democratic ideals throughout the past century.
Wuthnow, former director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton, offers a detailed look at religion’s role in American democracy, particularly from the New Deal era onward. The author asserts that, despite many challenges, the varied contours of the American religious landscape have been beneficial overall to democracy. He structures his argument around a handful of wide-ranging historical issues and corresponding movements. First is the New Deal and the long-running Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Wuthnow explores the level of resistance many religious leaders and communities raised against Roosevelt’s social policy, balanced by the support of urban faith leaders who influenced policy and politics in significant ways. Wuthnow then examines issues of conscience, with a focus on World War II–era pacifism, expressed by a vocal minority of American faith communities and leadership. Then he moves on to freedom of assembly, describing how the conformist religious and social organizations of the 1950s set the groundwork for the organized activism of the following decade. Finally, the author explores human dignity, welfare, and wealth distribution, demonstrating the politicization of religious communities in recent decades and the widening rift between right and left. Wuthnow praises the role of diversity in allowing voices of dissent to find outlets amid transformative social and cultural issues. He warns, however, that “while diversity is present, it is overshadowed by polarization,” which “hasn’t been healthy either for religion or democracy.” The text is dense with evident scholarship and plenty of historical examples, but Wuthnow’s thesis is strained. In declaring diversity in religion good for democracy, the author seems mainly to argue that dissent in religion is good for democracy. The book is largely a history of dissent, and Wuthnow champions those religious traditions that spurn convention and the status quo.
A learned academic study whose appeal will be limited to fellow scholars.Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-691-22263-9
Page Count: 330
Publisher: Princeton Univ.
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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