The Relevance of Religion

Starred review from November 1, 2015

Former attorney general of Missouri Danforth follows his 2006 book, Faith and Politics, about the dangers of religion in politics with this volume detailing how religious values should impact political behavior. After a brief history of his experience as an ordained minister and politician, the author focuses on the place of virtue in civic life. Although conservative, he faults both parties for pandering to citizen's self-interests, failing to care about others, and elevating opinions to an idolatrous level that makes compromise impossible. Danforth carefully shows how these practices are contrary to religious principles and, as a result, tear the country and government apart. One key phrase states, "I do not think that the gift of religion to politics is the advocacy of...any particular position on an issue. The gift of religion to politics is the insistence that we must serve interests that are greater than our own." The book finishes with a call for faithful believers to impact politics in clear steps that are not typical but that will change the tone and substance of politics. Danforth lays out a clear pathway for transformation that includes both political and religious shifts. VERDICT Readers interested in politics will enjoy this volume, regardless of their political affiliation. Recommended for all libraries.--Ray Arnett, Fremont Area Dist. Lib., MI

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2015
Former U.S. Senator Danforth is also an Episcopal priest who brought communion to shut-ins during his congressional tenure. But politics has been his abiding passion, he confesses. Opening this book, he explains how religion can positively affect politics. Politics and religion are separate realms, and the former is not the realm of absolute truth or the battleground of good and evil. Politically involved Americans should be advocates for the common good, strive to bind America together, and promote compromise. To do so, Danforth says, is to practice the ministry of reconciliation that is at the heart of all religion. With anecdote and reason, he goes on to argue for a more virtuous citizenry (in a very long chapter that includes cogent critiques of libertarianism, Tocqueville, and sensationalizing reportage and documentary filmmaking), re-creating national community, and making Congress perform its constitutional duty to create fair laws in a timely manner. Danforth is the rare politician who has lived long and thoughtfully enough to become a statesman.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)