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Faith And The Presidency Summary

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“Faith and the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush” was written by
Gary Scott Smith, the book goes in depth about how presidencies brought religion to America and its government. This book was written to be read by students and scholars looking to further their knowledge about the presidents’ religious views and how they used their views in office.
Gary Scott Smith is currently the chair and professor of history at Grove City College, were he graduated from in 1972 with a bachelor’s in art in Psychology. He also has his master’s in art in
American History from John Hopkins which he received in 1979. In 1981 he received his Ph. D in American History from John Hopkins as well (Faculty, par.1). He has received awards for being an excellent professor. In …show more content…

In the book Smith writes about the presidencies such as the following George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and George W. Bush. The book starts off with the following quote said by Jean Bethke Elshtain, “’Separation of church and state is one thing.
Separation of religion and politics is another thing altogether. Religion and politics flow back and forth in American civil society all the time – always have, always will. How could it be otherwise?’.” This quote means that it is okay for a president to use religion in his politics and bring a faithful aspect to the table. Separation of church and state is keeping Americans from facing their fears of having a national religion. Americans are religious, even though there are many religions that are practiced throughout the country, we need a president who believes in a
God to lead us. Many ask if the government needs religion and honestly yes we do. God has created this beautiful country for us to live on, and the government needs religion to help us

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