119 - God in the White House: How Religion Has Changed the Modern Presidency

God in the White House: How Religion Has Changed the Modern Presidency
By Richard G. Hutchenson, Jr.
New York, Macmillan, 1988. 267 pp. $18.95.

This account of the impact of Christianity on the American presidency opens the window on a critically important area of interest for most readers. Combining several interviews with some of the leading figures with a careful selection of resources, Hutcheson raises the questions that are significant for all who consider the potential impact of the Christian faith in the public arena.

Hutcheson deals with these issues as he analyzes the ways in which Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan referred to their own religious convictions and were guided in critical moments by them. Hutcheson leads us into questions like these: is it possible for the president of the United States to become a unifying symbol of the varied religious perspectives in our country today? Or is he restrained from offering any references to those values that are at the most profound places in the lives of the American people?

There is not only more at stake here, but actually more going on here in the religious rhetoric of our presidents than we normally recognize. In some cases, the religious values and personal practices of the president have enhanced his leadership. In others, they were perceived quickly as weakness by important parts of his constituency. Rarely, however, is the religious viewpoint of the American president a neutral factor in his leadership.

Special interviews in the book will open some of the historical assumptions about the presidency to fresh discussion. The ethical and religious issue, however, will in the final analysis help us to struggle with the problems in every sphere of public leadership, even surprisingly in the area of our own preaching. A useful reference work for classes in religion and American history, this book could also stimulate valuable discussion in adult Sunday school classes.

Richard A. Ray
First Presbyterian Church
Bristol, Tenn.