...
Show More
American Gospel Review
Jon Meacham takes a moderate stance in regard to his discussion of the impact on religion in the development of the nation. Spanning nearly the whole of US history, his book begins with the Founding Fathers, returning to them frequently, and ends by discussing the Reagan period, and the eras in between. Meacham does not argue that religion must be completely kept private, but he also believes that the Founders did not envision America as a Christian nation. He contends that American society is anchored on both a "public" and "private" religion, the private religion being individual belief in a certain religion, and the public form existing as a general sense of virtue from which inspiration for liberty and a fair moral code can be drawn. He posits that religion from the beginnings of our republic until today has played an important role in the cultural ethos that defines us as a society. In many ways, he argues, religious values anchor our civil relationships and bind us together. Moreover, he argues, the boundary separating Church and state is not so clearly defined a boundary as is often portrayed. Meacham draws the conclusion that, more or less, religion has existed mainly as a positive force for good in regard to American history.
His argument is extremely bland and very much lacking in historical insight. His claims are so neutral and lacking evidence that there is no real overarching argument to speak of. His writing may be scattered, but as to the merits of his claims themselves, if there were any insight at all to be gleaned from his work there would at least be some claims to critique. As it is, there is no tangible argument I can criticize: my only option is to highlight Meacham’s distinct lack of any structured argument whatsoever, and to express my deep disappointment regarding his tired, repeated attempts at constructing some notion of an analysis.
There are a few take aways, however. For me, one of them was the affirmation in my own beliefs that morality exists independent of religion, and that the threat of divine punishment is not the only thing encouraging me to act with integrity. As with his general claim, Meacham seems to take a middling stance on this topic, attributing religion to a positive influence on the actions and moral beliefs of historical figures, while still allowing for a sense of morality in individuals independent of their faith. Another take away was the realization that reasonable minds can disagree about how to apply policy regarding religion, but the goal is clear: to carry out the founders' plan of preserving religious liberty to the fullest extent possible in a pluralistic society. By enforcing the constitution, we have kept personal religious practice a matter for the individual conscience, not for government to impose on. While Meacham fails to take any sort of stance, choosing instead to take the route of neutrality, his book does provoke discussion about the basis of morality, the limits to freedom of religion, and the barrier between faith and politics.
That said, other than encouraging discussion, there is little redeeming about this book. He begins with a broad statement about religion’s impact on the formation of the United States: "If totalitarianism was the great problem of the twentieth century, then extremism is so far the great problem of the twenty-first century." If he were to back up this claim with any proof at all, it would be an acceptable assertion, but he fails to do so. Instead of relating, he delves into an almost philosophical reflection on the nature of the complexities of faith and life, and the importance of avoiding polemical politics. These vague statements set a precedent for many equally general statements to follow, claims that he fails to support with evidence, treating them nevertheless as fact. Meacham has a bizarre tendency of distracting the reader with quotes in order to hide his utter lack of any real understanding of the impact of religion on American history. He has a habit of making absurdly general statements, throwing in a quote or two with little to no relevance to whatever point he is trying to establish, and then flitting capriciously on to his next topic, all the while failing to produce any meaningful analysis or evidence at all. Not to say, however, that he does not attempt to provide such evidence. On the contrary, in fact: every page is littered with quotes from historical figures and writers, interspersed with general statements from Meacham relating the various virtues and effects of religion on history despite an obvious lack of countenance with the textual evidence he gives.
For an example of such ineptitude, look no further than his blanket statement that religion overall has more benefit than cost in America. When questioning whether “religion in America [is] a necessary evil” (31), or whether it can be a “positive force for good”, he immediately comes to the conclusion that “the benefits of faith in God have outweighed the costs”. This is a very radical statement to make, and it does nothing to further his claims, when throughout most of the introduction he talks solely about what the Founders believed in their vision for America, and his nebulous concept of “public religion”. He includes a quote by Alexander Hamilton, who states that the “sacred rights of mankind” were “written...by the Hand of Divinity itself” (31). This quote achieves nothing to support Meacham’s claim that religion had a positive influence on actual events in US history, only serving to further illustrate his previously established notion of public religion which he attributed to the Founders, and the idea of a fair moral code being established on a religious basis of God-given rights. In order to support his claim, he would need to discuss actual historical occurrences and how they were caused or influenced by religion or the religious beliefs of those involved, or how the actions of religious institutions had an impact on history. He does neither.
In the paragraph Meacham then goes on, as a sort of rebuttal to his previous claim which lacked any analysis to begin with, to list some of the various heinous human rights violations committed throughout US history, briefly acknowledging the “destruction of Native American cultures, the ravages of slavery, the horrors of the Civil War, and the bitterness of Jim Crow” (31). He brushes over all these heinous events casually, attributing them to the inherent struggle that any developing civilization faces, and concludes that in conquering such atrocities America “has created the most inclusive, freest nation on Earth” (31). He does not even attempt to reconcile this sharp juxtaposition with his previous assertion that religion is a force for good, going on to claim, without providing any evidence at all, that “other major Western powers have had a worse time of it than America” (31). He states that the Founder’s efforts to promote “cultivation of moral virtue” and the “supremacy of the individual” were inspired by their religious beliefs, and that these beliefs in “the divine origin of human rights fundamentally shaped our national character” such that so “all people...were thus entitled to dignity and respect” (32). In typical Meacham fashion, he does not provide evidence for how such a view came to shape American history so thoroughly as he claims, simply makes the assertion and moves on to another point.
Indeed, this is hardly the only time he fails to connect his evidence and his claims; this is but one example illustrating Meacham’s approach throughout the entire book. My initial summary above was what I could best extrapolate from what little context Meacham provides, the loose collection of poorly compiled quotes that pervades the text, and his attempts to tie those quotes into his oversimplified argument. There is no lack of quotes for the readers to interpret for themselves, but there is absolutely no insight to what any of it really means in relation to Meacham’s main points, or how it pertains to his central argument as a whole. If there is any corroboration between his failed efforts to expand his thesis and the long, unedited quotes pervading his writing, it is difficult to piece together a semblance of any such coherent argument in its bloated 400 page length. To address his central claim, flimsy though it is, I personally believe that religion certainly influenced the Founders, for better or for worse; there is no denying that. To what extent that affected their vision for a fair society, however, remains unclear. Ultimately, this book fails to make any thoughtful observation on how religion affected US history and the development of our nation.
Jon Meacham takes a moderate stance in regard to his discussion of the impact on religion in the development of the nation. Spanning nearly the whole of US history, his book begins with the Founding Fathers, returning to them frequently, and ends by discussing the Reagan period, and the eras in between. Meacham does not argue that religion must be completely kept private, but he also believes that the Founders did not envision America as a Christian nation. He contends that American society is anchored on both a "public" and "private" religion, the private religion being individual belief in a certain religion, and the public form existing as a general sense of virtue from which inspiration for liberty and a fair moral code can be drawn. He posits that religion from the beginnings of our republic until today has played an important role in the cultural ethos that defines us as a society. In many ways, he argues, religious values anchor our civil relationships and bind us together. Moreover, he argues, the boundary separating Church and state is not so clearly defined a boundary as is often portrayed. Meacham draws the conclusion that, more or less, religion has existed mainly as a positive force for good in regard to American history.
His argument is extremely bland and very much lacking in historical insight. His claims are so neutral and lacking evidence that there is no real overarching argument to speak of. His writing may be scattered, but as to the merits of his claims themselves, if there were any insight at all to be gleaned from his work there would at least be some claims to critique. As it is, there is no tangible argument I can criticize: my only option is to highlight Meacham’s distinct lack of any structured argument whatsoever, and to express my deep disappointment regarding his tired, repeated attempts at constructing some notion of an analysis.
There are a few take aways, however. For me, one of them was the affirmation in my own beliefs that morality exists independent of religion, and that the threat of divine punishment is not the only thing encouraging me to act with integrity. As with his general claim, Meacham seems to take a middling stance on this topic, attributing religion to a positive influence on the actions and moral beliefs of historical figures, while still allowing for a sense of morality in individuals independent of their faith. Another take away was the realization that reasonable minds can disagree about how to apply policy regarding religion, but the goal is clear: to carry out the founders' plan of preserving religious liberty to the fullest extent possible in a pluralistic society. By enforcing the constitution, we have kept personal religious practice a matter for the individual conscience, not for government to impose on. While Meacham fails to take any sort of stance, choosing instead to take the route of neutrality, his book does provoke discussion about the basis of morality, the limits to freedom of religion, and the barrier between faith and politics.
That said, other than encouraging discussion, there is little redeeming about this book. He begins with a broad statement about religion’s impact on the formation of the United States: "If totalitarianism was the great problem of the twentieth century, then extremism is so far the great problem of the twenty-first century." If he were to back up this claim with any proof at all, it would be an acceptable assertion, but he fails to do so. Instead of relating, he delves into an almost philosophical reflection on the nature of the complexities of faith and life, and the importance of avoiding polemical politics. These vague statements set a precedent for many equally general statements to follow, claims that he fails to support with evidence, treating them nevertheless as fact. Meacham has a bizarre tendency of distracting the reader with quotes in order to hide his utter lack of any real understanding of the impact of religion on American history. He has a habit of making absurdly general statements, throwing in a quote or two with little to no relevance to whatever point he is trying to establish, and then flitting capriciously on to his next topic, all the while failing to produce any meaningful analysis or evidence at all. Not to say, however, that he does not attempt to provide such evidence. On the contrary, in fact: every page is littered with quotes from historical figures and writers, interspersed with general statements from Meacham relating the various virtues and effects of religion on history despite an obvious lack of countenance with the textual evidence he gives.
For an example of such ineptitude, look no further than his blanket statement that religion overall has more benefit than cost in America. When questioning whether “religion in America [is] a necessary evil” (31), or whether it can be a “positive force for good”, he immediately comes to the conclusion that “the benefits of faith in God have outweighed the costs”. This is a very radical statement to make, and it does nothing to further his claims, when throughout most of the introduction he talks solely about what the Founders believed in their vision for America, and his nebulous concept of “public religion”. He includes a quote by Alexander Hamilton, who states that the “sacred rights of mankind” were “written...by the Hand of Divinity itself” (31). This quote achieves nothing to support Meacham’s claim that religion had a positive influence on actual events in US history, only serving to further illustrate his previously established notion of public religion which he attributed to the Founders, and the idea of a fair moral code being established on a religious basis of God-given rights. In order to support his claim, he would need to discuss actual historical occurrences and how they were caused or influenced by religion or the religious beliefs of those involved, or how the actions of religious institutions had an impact on history. He does neither.
In the paragraph Meacham then goes on, as a sort of rebuttal to his previous claim which lacked any analysis to begin with, to list some of the various heinous human rights violations committed throughout US history, briefly acknowledging the “destruction of Native American cultures, the ravages of slavery, the horrors of the Civil War, and the bitterness of Jim Crow” (31). He brushes over all these heinous events casually, attributing them to the inherent struggle that any developing civilization faces, and concludes that in conquering such atrocities America “has created the most inclusive, freest nation on Earth” (31). He does not even attempt to reconcile this sharp juxtaposition with his previous assertion that religion is a force for good, going on to claim, without providing any evidence at all, that “other major Western powers have had a worse time of it than America” (31). He states that the Founder’s efforts to promote “cultivation of moral virtue” and the “supremacy of the individual” were inspired by their religious beliefs, and that these beliefs in “the divine origin of human rights fundamentally shaped our national character” such that so “all people...were thus entitled to dignity and respect” (32). In typical Meacham fashion, he does not provide evidence for how such a view came to shape American history so thoroughly as he claims, simply makes the assertion and moves on to another point.
Indeed, this is hardly the only time he fails to connect his evidence and his claims; this is but one example illustrating Meacham’s approach throughout the entire book. My initial summary above was what I could best extrapolate from what little context Meacham provides, the loose collection of poorly compiled quotes that pervades the text, and his attempts to tie those quotes into his oversimplified argument. There is no lack of quotes for the readers to interpret for themselves, but there is absolutely no insight to what any of it really means in relation to Meacham’s main points, or how it pertains to his central argument as a whole. If there is any corroboration between his failed efforts to expand his thesis and the long, unedited quotes pervading his writing, it is difficult to piece together a semblance of any such coherent argument in its bloated 400 page length. To address his central claim, flimsy though it is, I personally believe that religion certainly influenced the Founders, for better or for worse; there is no denying that. To what extent that affected their vision for a fair society, however, remains unclear. Ultimately, this book fails to make any thoughtful observation on how religion affected US history and the development of our nation.
