June 1, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute
One Electorate Under God? A Dialogue on Religion and American Politics, edited by E.J. Dionne Jr., Jean Bethke Elshtain, and Kayla M. Drogosz, is a collection of essays that explore how religious beliefs relate to the obligations and responsibilities of American policy makers. Anchoring the book is a dialogue between Mario Cuomo, the former New York governor and a liberal Catholic, and Rep. Mark Souder of Indiana, a conservative evangelical, in which they disagree on how politicians should be guided by their faith. Mr. Cuomo emphasizes the shared traditions of all religions, while Mr. Souder says it is “unfair” to ask believers to “check those beliefs at the door.” The book’s other contributors, who include journalists, politicians, and experts from across the political spectrum, weigh in on how to strike a balance between the freedom to worship and the separation of church and state. In an essay by John J. DiIulio Jr., the former head of the White House office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives suggests ways in which the Bush administration can better support religious groups at the grass-roots level and translate “compassionate conservatism” into political reality. The volume is part of the Pew Forum Dialogues on Religion and Public Life.
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036; (202) 797-6258 or (800) 275-1447; fax (202) 797-2960; bibooks@brookings.edu; http://www.brookings.edu; 239 pages; $17.95.
