An authoritative account of the long battle between exclusionary and inclusive versions of the American storyWas the United States founded as a Christian nation or a secular democracy? Neither; argues Philip Gorski in American Covenant. What the founders actually 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 ambitious book; Gorski shows why this civil religious tradition is now in peril―and with it the American experiment.Gorski traces the historical development of prophetic republicanism from the Puritan era to the present day. He provides close readings of thinkers such as John Winthrop; Thomas Jefferson; Frederick Douglass; W.E.B. Du Bois; and Hannah Arendt; along with insightful portraits of recent and contemporary religious and political leaders such as Jerry Falwell; Pat Robertson; Ronald Reagan; George W. Bush; and Barack Obama. Gorski shows how the founders' original vision for America is threatened by an internecine struggle between two rival traditions; religious nationalism and radical secularism. Religious nationalism is a form of militaristic hyperpatriotism that imagines the United States as a divine instrument in the final showdown between good and evil. Radical secularists fervently deny the positive contributions of the Judeo-Christian tradition to the American project and seek to remove all traces of religious expression from the public square. Gorski offers an unsparing critique of both; demonstrating how half a century of culture war has drowned out the quieter voices of the vital center.American Covenant makes the compelling case that if we are to rebuild that vital center; we must recover the civil religious tradition on which the republic was founded.
#94794 in Books Princeton University Press 2007-07-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.14 x .81 x 6.31l; 1.10 #File Name: 0691133867352 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Interesting and painful historyBy Raja A.Puts into focus the source of a political ideology . Easy reading; but redundant examples. Anyone interested in race and class politics already knows much of this. Well written and logically organized.4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Great historical read!By Brian T WalkerThis book pulled back the covers of what actually happened with the demographic changes in the city of Atlanta and the inner suburbs later on. Behind the moniker of "The City Too Busy to Hate" was a carefully constructed coalition of moderate white businessmen and black clergy that presided over incremental changes to comply with desegregation orders. Ultimately this alliance broke down but the insight of how Atlanta did not have bus boycotts as Montgomery did or schoolhouse standoff as Little Rock did is simply fascinating and little discussed in the interest of revisionist history. I do not view white flight solely as a race issue but as a class issue as middle class whites heavily leveraged local government investments in parks and schools as the battlecry and initially fought the efforts of middle to upper class blacks to move out of the overcrowded areas of the city and into their neighborhoods. A must read by anyone seeking to understand Atlanta's past and even present!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Stephen B.A great read
