The long battle between exclusionary and inclusive versions of the American storyWas 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
"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
