Ask the Question: Why We Must Demand Religious Clarity from Our Presidential Candidates

by Stephen Mansfield, David Aikman (Foreword by)

Overview

For most of American history, the conventional wisdom was that religion was too private a matter to ask a political candidate about. But in a political landscape in which we will see Muslims, atheists, Mormons, Buddhists, and Christians of all stripes running for high office, we cannot afford to avoid religious questions. It's within American voters' rights to know what their candidates believe about God and religion, because those beliefs shape policy and thus action. In both small and significant ways, a candidate's religious views (or lack thereof) define political leadership. And the time for skirting the question or giving vague answers is over.

In this rousing call to action, Stephen Mansfield shows readers
- what religion will mean in the 2016 presidential race
- how the media, both left and right, get religion wrong
- the reasons the faith of candidates such as JFK, Mitt Romney, and Barack Obama caused issues with both the electorate and even their own advisors
- how to ask the right questions to get honest answers
- what giving candidates a "religious pass" can cost the country
- how religion in American politics impacts America's role in the world
- and more

Frustrated and confused voters across the country and on both sides of the aisle will find here a balanced and essential guidebook to actively and intelligently participating in America's political system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493403271
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/02/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Stephen Mansfield is the New York Times bestselling author of The Faith of George W. Bush, The Faith of Barack Obama, and Lincoln's Battle with God, among other works of history and biography. Founder of The Mansfield Group, a research and publishing firm, he is also an in-demand speaker and consultant. He holds a doctorate in history and literature and makes his home in Nashville, Tennessee, and Washington, DC, with his wife, Beverly.

Table of Contents

Foreword David Aikman 13

Prologue 19

Introduction 27

Profile: Forty-Nine Truths about Religion in America 41

1 Kennedy at Houston 45

2 Test of the Fathers 65

3 Noah's Wife Was Joan of Arc 83

Profile: Religion, Politics, and the Media 101

4 Three Words 105

5 Thomas Jefferson Was a None 125

Profile: Milestones in American Religion and Politics 145

6 A Faith to Shape Her Politics 151

7 The Narrative of Faith 173

Epilogue 201

Three Speeches 205

John F. Kennedy's Speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association Ronald Reagan's "Remarks at a Dallas Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast" Barack Obama's "Call to Renewal" Speech

Acknowledgments 233

Select Bibliography 237

Notes 241