Product Details

Publishers Weekly

The confluence of politics and religion in American life is explored with insight and style in this important new book from Martin (A Prophet With Honor), a professor of sociology at Rice University. Focusing on the modern era, the author analyzes the significance of church and clergy in the tradition of social action, from the civil rights movement through the growth of the Christian Coalition. In a blend of fast-paced journalism and in-depth scholarship, the text incorporates numerous interviews with, and personal accounts by, key figures, weaving together many frayed threads of meaning in contemporary American political life. Scrupulously fair, pointing out what he sees as the media's biases and double standards, Martin details the events and personalities that have infused our politics with religious fervor. From JFK's Catholicism to Billy Graham's flirtation and subsequent disillusionment with politicians; from Jimmy Carter's born-again candidacy to the rise of evangelical political action groups; from Ronald Reagan's courtship of the Moral Majority to the current configuration of the surprisingly diverse religious right, Martin deftly guides the grand tour, putting the fiery social issues of our timesabortion, homosexuality, public education, AIDS and gun controlin the context of the conservative Christian agenda. Martin concludes with a masterful essay on the subtle interpretation of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison regarding separation of church and state, affirming their non-ironic proposition that the health of America's religious communities derives from being apart from the corrupting power of politics. Photos. Author tour. (Sept.)

Library Journal

Martin (Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story, LJ 11/1/91), an authority on the history and sociology of religion, is well-qualified to examine the phenomenon of the religious right. Starting with an excellent summary of American religious history, he goes on to devote the bulk of his book to developments in the last 50 years. Martin puts his emphasis on the political and social influence of such groups as the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition. He explains the importance of such famous figures as Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, and Ralph Reed. Martin also examines the "culture wars" that fuel the struggle. There is a wealth of information and thoughtful analysis here that brings the reader's understanding down to the immediate present. Martin clearly understands the political danger of a powerful religious Right, which seeks to stifle all dissent. He fails, however, to acknowledge the equally heavy-handed agenda of the humanist Left, which, in part, has given rise to the problem. Recommended for public and academic libraries.-C. Robert Nixon, M.L.S., Lafayette, Ind.

Kirkus Reviews

Published to coincide with a PBS series of the same title, this is a richly detailed, objective account of Christian fundamentalism in the last 50 years and its increasingly organized efforts at shaping public policy.

With extensive interviews and research, sociologist Martin (Rice Univ.; A Prophet With Honor: The Billy Graham Story, not reviewed) sets out to track the transformation of Christian conservatives from quiet, God-fearing Americans into one of the most potent political forces of the 1990s. He starts by revisiting the career of Billy Graham, then traces the ideas and careers of Graham's successors, including Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Ralph Reed, and the major fights over public policy that their movements have been involved in. Weaving together revealing details and first-person accounts, Martin recreates a number of important conflicts, including the sex education battles in Anaheim, Calif.; the Kanawha County, W.Va., textbook wars; the debate over how to treat AIDS patients; and the fight concerning Amendment 2, Colorado's overturned anti-homosexual law. Martin provides thorough reports but rarely offers pointed morals. He does, however, skewer hypocrisy where he finds it, as in his tracing of the racism evident in Jerry Falwell's early career and his subsequent disingenuousness about it. He also strays repeatedly into political history, such as chronicling presidential races. But the digressions are so well rendered that the reader shouldn't mind. Overall, Martin leaves one with heightened concern for the future of religious tolerance in America. He warns that "the level of religious conflict appears to be rising and the historically unprecedented extent of religious freedom may be in some danger."

Both reformers and religious conservatives should find in this penetrating narrative some incentive to work to maintain "the pluralism that has served us so well."