This volume opens a new avenue toward understanding the politics and policies of many US presidents. As the essays in this book reveal, religion has had an enormous impact on many critical presidencies in US history. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, these essays reveal the deeply religious side to Truman, Eisenhower, and Reagan, among others.

Introduction: Religion and the Presidency in Historical Perspective; M.J.Rozell & G.Whitney The Faith of George Washington; G.S.Smith Thomas Jefferson and the Myth of Separation; T.E.Buckley Religion in the Life, Thought, and Presidency of James Madison; V.P.Munoz Lincoln's Political Religion and Religious Politics; L.E.Morel "We Must Put on the Armor of God:" Harry Truman and the Cold War; E.E.Spalding Dwight D. Eisenhower: Civil Religion and the Cold War; J.Holl Secular Icon or Catholic Hero?: Religion and the Presidency of John F. Kennedy; T.J.Carty Jimmy Carter and the Politics of Faith; J.Walz Ronald Reagan's Faith and Attack on Soviet Communism; P.Kengor The Religion of Bill Clinton; J.M. Penning The Faith of George W. Bush: The Personal, Practical, and Political; C.Larson & C.Wilcox

"A commitment to religion has persisted across American history regardless of whether the president was a Federalist like Washington, a Jeffersonian like Madison, a Republican like Lincoln, Eisenhower, and Reagan, or a Democrat like Truman, Carter, and Clinton. Religion and the American Presidency is a scholarly benchmark in the presidency studies, and a pioneering new perspective on the highest office in the land. Students of the historical presidency, sociologists of religion, and all people of faith will thoroughly enjoy reading the essays in this volume. Thank you, Professors Rozell and Whitney." - Raymond Tatalovich, Professor of Political Science, Loyola University Chicago'There's no better place to explore the intersection between religion and the presidency than in this collection of fascinating case studies of American presidents. Its readability, scholarship, and balance should appeal to a broad audience of scholars, students, and the general public.' - William D. Pederson, American Studies Endowed Chair, Louisiana State University in Shreveport