American Gospel

God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation

By: Jon Meacham

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

In American Gospel (literally meaning the "good news about America"), New York Times bestselling author Jon Meacham sets the record straight on the history of religion in American public life. As Meacham shows, faith --meaning a belief in a higher power, and the sense that we are God's chosen people-- has always been at the heart of our national experience, from Jamestown to the Constitutional Convention to the Civil Rights Movement to September 11th. And yet, first and foremost, America is a nation founded upon the principles of liberty and freedom. Every American is free to exercise his own faith or no faith at all. And so a balance is struck, between public religion and private religion; and religious belief is distinct from morality. As Meacham explains, the well-known "wall" between church and state has always separated private religion from the business of the state, yet religious belief is part of the basic foundation of government. Brilliantly articulating an argument that links the Founding Fathers to an insightful contemporary point of view, American Gospel renews our understanding of history, and what public religion has meant in America, so that we can move beyond today's religious and political extremism toward a truer understanding of the place of faith in American society.©2006 Jon Meacham; (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Thoughtful and superbly written, but too delicate for the foolish.

A clear, thoughtful, nuanced, well researched, and (as usual, for Mecham), superbly written account of the history of public religion in the United States. Well worth reading for any literate and moderately educated American. If, however - like many of the reviewers here – you bring to the fray a silly preconception based on your own dogmatic view of faith, don’t waste your money. The topic is too complex for you.

As usual, Grover Gardner’s narration is excellent.

Worth Hearing!

Again, Americans should be reminded of the beginning and the historical impact of that beginning. The Founders intention and the nation's process. Consideration and reflection.

A Sing Song on Religion: An American Tune

American Gospel, by Jon Meacham, presents a balanced case displaying the place of religion in our personal lives and therein projects his discernment of religion’s persistence into our political affairs. He accomplishes the task by surveying situations where religion and political matters have come together in competition with and in support of goodness. He then adds to his storytelling by reiterating short commentaries of persons who were contemporaries of the coming-together occurrences.

At first, the reader may be discombobulated, but hang in there and experience the joy of learning the importance of truth in preserving the Constitutional political system. Our forefathers were well-read in the classics and knew how to apply their erudition. Meachum just tells their story in soft words and meaningful considerations.

A guide for us less devote

I have and continue to be troubled by the dogmas of our current times. I intellectually know that the main difference between the extremism of the past and now is the enormous efficiency of today’s communication.

This is a story about the struggle for balance. My admiration for the author could not reach higher than with this well researched walk through the battles of old to teach us for today.

Powerful

American history pure yet not so simple. Look at what religious freedom meant to the founding fathers from their writings, and how that impacts our understanding of our most challenging freedo even to this day. Great listen!