Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History and Future

The next time someone says that God doesn't belong in the public square, stroll through Washington, D.C., with Newt Gingrich to view the significant monuments, memorials, and documents found in our nation's capital, and you will quickly find yourself on a profound and surprising walk of discovery and renewal. Your first stop will be the National Archives, where Thomas Jefferson's immortal words from the Declaration of Independence that all "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights," jump off the page with the inescapable truth that from day one in our country's history, the author of freedom was neither the state nor even the Founding Fathers. Building on the message from his bestselling book, Winning the Future, Gingrich sounds a clarion call for us to rediscover that America's greatness is firmly rooted in our ongoing history as a nation under God.

A simple walk through Washington, D.C. began a profound journey of personal discovery and renewal for Newt Gingrich, one of America’s most influential politicians and commentators. At the National Archives, the immortal words from the Declaration of Independence that we "are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights," jumped off the page and into his heart with the simple truth that from day one in our country’s history, the Author of freedom was not the state nor even the Founding Fathers. Our basic human rights and freedoms were-and are-"Creator-endowed." Gingrich sounds a clarion call for us to recognize that the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness that we hold so dear are inseparable from a sincere and humble acknowledgement that these gifts are only the Creator’s to give. As a bonus, the book includes a "walking tour" of Washington, D.C.

This brief mandate by Gingrich, the architect of 1994's conservative congressional manifesto "The Contract with America," opens with a battle cry: "There is no attack on American culture more deadly and more historically dishonest than the secular effort to drive God out of America's public life." The book's arguments are predictable: Gingrich claims that references to God are sprinkled everywhere in our nation's founding documents; that most Americans believe in God; and our classrooms and courtrooms are the laboratories where such belief is being irrevocably eroded. He trots out quotations from founding fathers that suggest their allegiance to Christianity or at least to theism, but conveniently ignores evidence that some of these men-particularly Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson-believed religion should have little, if any, role in the nation's government. If the book's thesis is tired and essentially unpersuasive, its unique contribution is its innovative, even brilliant, method of organization. Gingrich presents his arguments as a "walking tour" of the nation's capital, beginning with the National Archives and winding through the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Capitol, White House and other sites. This structure does much to freshen up a book that is otherwise indistinguishable from prior offerings by Pat Robertson and David Barton. (Aug. 22) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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