In a world where the media won't tell the truth and the best you can expect from a candidate is vagueness, how does someone who wants to vote in line with their religious morals really know where each person stands? The answer: You don't, unless you ask.

Stephen Mansfield did a great job with his book, Ask the Question. He ties the history of religion and politics in America to the modern-day problem we all face as we watch debates and read news stories, trying to sort out what a person really believes and how those beliefs will affect their presidency.

Mansfield encourages us to look at each person's story, more than their advertised statistics, to see how their beliefs have formed and how they may re-form in the future. Though I was disappointed that not all of the four major candidates taking up center stage at the moment were addressed, I appreciated the fairly in-depth profile of Hilary Clinton that Mansfield used to show us just what we should be looking at in a person's story if we want to see the truth. My two biggest takeaways from this book are that I don't know nearly enough about religion in general, and that I don't know anything about which candidates believe what - but I should.

Overall, a good read. Mansfield does a great job of keeping the reader engaged and informing us of the past, the present, and the possible future, without getting weird about it. Ask the Question is a thought-provoking book and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to review it for Baker Books through their blogger reviewers program.

Two subjects which are always hotbeds of discussion and really show the true depths of a person. Its complicated but I really love discussing/debting them as often as I can. And I just came across a book that feeds this morbid attraction of debat with others, Ask the Question by Stephen Mansfield not only demands but shares many thought out, invaluable points on both subjects. I know I will be using many of Mansfields words as case points while talking with anyone that wants to hear me. I am not a historical buff or have ever really enjoyed history courses, but I could have read more of the historical points more. It probably had to do with Mansfield easy style of reading or the fact that his words were enthralling, either way I devoured this book and can only say that I cannot wait for more to come from Mansfield. I received a copy from Baker Books and all opinions are my own.

In order to defend our religious freedom, the author gives many reasons why we should expect an answer to this all-important question.