Godly Republic: A Centrist Blueprint for America's Faith-Based Future: A Former White House Official Explodes Ten Polarizing Myths about Religion and

By John J. DiIulio Jr.

Book Overview

"Do you know if you are going to heaven?" Shortly after being appointed the first Director of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives--the "faith czar"--John J. DiIulio Jr. was asked this question. Suddenly DiIulio, a Catholic Democrat who pioneered programs for inner-city children, was acutely aware that he was no longer a private citizen who might have humored the television evangelist standing before him. Now he was, as he recalls in his introduction--"responsible for assisting the president in faithfully upholding the Constitution . . . and faithfully acting in the public interest without regard to religious identities."

Using his brief tenure in the George W. Bush administration as a springboard, this lively, informative, and entertaining book leaps into the ongoing debate over whether as a nation America is Christian or secular and to what degree church-state separation is compelled by the Constitution. Avoiding political pieties, DiIulio makes an impassioned case for a middle way. Written by a leading political scholar, Godly Republic offers a fast-paced, faith-inspired, and fact-based approach to enhancing America's civic future for one and all.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520258002
• ISBN13: 9780520258006
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Godly Republic - Great Read for the Open Minded

As someone only superficially schooled in the issues related to the separation of Church & State, I found this to be a even-handed attempt to debunk some of the popular myths that seem to stymie intelligent debate about those issues. Impressively, DiIulio critiques the often bombastic and purposely misleading advocates on both sides of the rigidly sectarian to pro-religious spectrum. Unfortunately, many of the ideologues (both in and out of government) that DiIulio quotes or notes, and many of whom he seems to know and respect, often willfully perpetuate these myths rather than attempt to have an honest dialogue that might lead to reconcilation and resolution of important community needs and issues.