Book report analysis and summary

American Gospel

The book American Gospel by Jon Meacham presents a refresh comprehensible thinking, impartial and wise historical portrayal of religion and American politics at a time when such equality and understanding are much required (Maier, 2006). The author is one of our country's most brilliant thinkers about religion's impact on American society, giving a clear vision of the relationship of religion and politics in the United States in his book: as he writes:

The good news about America, Meacham writes, is that 'God is central to this country's experience, but faith is a matter of choice, not coercion (1).'"

Thus, the book is the religious right's attempts to redesign the Constitution and Declaration of Independence into supporting a state religion of Christianity when at odds with the spirit of religious freedom.

Analysis of Book

Jon Meacham, in his concise and thought provoking book, delve into the founding generation's "original understanding" of particular issue and its long time effect on American public life. According to Meacham the founders lived in a time like ours, that had the complete divisive arguments about God and politics and found a system to respect religion's place in the life of the nation and allowing people the freedom to have their own believes as per their wish (Maier, 2006).

Even though the book is difficult to classify, however it contains of chapters on following periods in America's religious past, starting from the first colonies through the Reagan presidency, along with some one hundred and twelve pages of notes and bibliography. Thus, the book is a work of historical scholarship. Although, it is difficult to narrate the story of religion in American public life in a highly selective manner, yet American Gospel is perhaps best described as an extensive historical essay (Maier, 2006).

One of the drawbacks of the book is that it begins and ends with Jefferson, who, along with Madison, led the fight to divide church and state in Virginia, where the new, fundamental form of religious freedom was first written into law (Maier, 2006). But again Virginia was not the United States as the six states had state-supported churches in 1789, and the remaining four disqualified non-Christians/non-Protestants from public office.

For example, the constitution of 1776 in Pennsylvania protected the civil rights of all who acknowledged the being of a God, and then required legislators to take oath on both testaments of the Bible that were open word of God. The case of North Carolina was the same while Massachusetts required its governor to vow he was Christian (Donahue, 2006).

Moreover, Meacham focused on the "political leadership of the new nation" and mentioned a number of usual suspects such as Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, John Jay, John and Samuel Adams, Hamilton and Washington showing as if their opinions on both religion and the role of the state were almost same.

Another drawback of the book is that it didn't have much perspective of what it has meant to be pluralistic or worldly in the context of the rest of the world. During the American Revolution, a country with no official religion was an odd idea. It was a general concept that the world had always been governed by a King by Grace of God, and in return protected God's true religion from heretics and blasphemers (Westerlund, 2006).

In addition, the author did not discuss the major difference between the "divisive arguments about God and politics" in the late eighteenth century and today. Thus, without state support, religion flourished in the United States, and now as today is the most religious nation in the Western world. The strength of Americans' religious faith enlightens the determination of a "public religion" that even now continue to worry unbelievers and secular thinkers (Westerlund, 2006). However, from a believer's perspective, it's difficult to identify the reason as to why someone would modify a system that has already performed so well in the cause of religion by giving respect to humanity's God-given freedom of thought (Westerlund, 2006).

Overall, Jon Meacham's reading is full of meaning and extensive, inspiring great confidence in the resulting text. In general, his writing style is elegant, powerful, and marked by shinning clarity (Westerlund, 2006). However, well beyond all this, his book on America's public religion is of significant importance in these troublesome times; offering both healing and hope (Donahue, 2006).