About this item
Highlights
- The long battle between exclusionary and inclusive versions of the American story Was America founded as a Christian nation or a secular democracy?
- About the Author: Philip Gorski is professor of sociology and religious studies at Yale University.
- 336 Pages
- Social Science, Sociology
Description
Book Synopsis
The long battle between exclusionary and inclusive versions of the American story
Was America founded as a Christian nation or a secular democracy? Neither, argues Philip Gorski in American Covenant. What the founders envisioned was a prophetic republic that would weave together the ethical vision of the Hebrew prophets and the Western political heritage of civic republicanism. In this eye-opening book, Gorski shows why this civil religious tradition is now in peril--and with it the American experiment. American Covenant traces the history of prophetic republicanism from the Puritan era to today, providing insightful portraits of figures ranging from John Winthrop and W.E.B. Du Bois to Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama. Featuring a new preface by the author, this incisive book demonstrates how half a century of culture war has drowned out the quieter voices of the vital center, and demonstrates that if we are to rebuild that center, we must recover the civil religious tradition on which the republic was founded.From the Back Cover
"Much has been written about how deeply divided we Americans are. Philip Gorski's American Covenant is an enormously thoughtful, innovative, and helpful book aimed at reopening conversation across our religious, cultural, and political divides. Even readers who disagree with him and with where he locates a new 'vital center' will profit from his deep understanding of American history and his brave effort to find a way for us to step aside what so often feels like an eternal culture war."--E. J. Dionne Jr., author of Souled Out and Why the Right Went Wrong
"Philip Gorski's stimulating and original history of civil religion restarts a conversation begun by Robert Bellah at the height of the American involvement in Vietnam. It is a vital conversation again in the contemporary United States and Gorski offers a compelling vision of a patriotism that steers between a belligerent nationalism and a dismissal of all religious contributions. It's a learned and even necessary book."--John T. McGreevy, author of American Jesuits and the World
"Philip Gorski practices sociology in the grand tradition. American Covenant will be read and debated for decades to come. And it comes at just the right moment."--Alan Wolfe, Boston College
"This engaging and ambitious book offers a sobering analysis that at the same time suggests hope for moving past the malignant divisiveness with which our nation is currently afflicted."--Robert Wuthnow, author of In the Blood: Understanding America's Farm Families
"Gorski provides a deep intellectual backdrop to the political mess we find ourselves in today."--John Durham Peters, author of The Marvelous Clouds: Toward a Philosophy of Elemental Media
Review Quotes
"Essential reading for this moment."--David Brooks, New York Times
"[Gorski] charts one way to political reconciliation in these divisive times. . . . This is an important work, one that returns us to our national origins."--Kirkus Reviews
"A rich, detailed account of the history of efforts to define American religion."--Sarah Posner, American Prospect
"Indispensable reading for lay readers and specialists alike."--Michael R. Whitenton, Reading Religion
"Sweeping and exhilarating."--Publishers Weekly
"Writing as both a citizen and a scholar, Gorski wraps his passionate appeal for the common good in a thoroughly documented and convincing argument. A remarkable achievement."--Choice
About the Author
Philip Gorski is professor of sociology and religious studies at Yale University. His books include The Protestant Ethic Revisited and The Disciplinary Revolution: Calvinism and the Rise of the State in Early Modern Europe.