So Help Us, God: American Presidents and the Bible
The religious beliefs of America’s leaders and the role of religion in public life have long captivated the American public. In this book, historian Carl J. Richard looks at the many ways that the Bible has influenced America’s leaders in their personal and political lives. With chapters organized thematically, Richard discusses the educational system, familial influences, church experiences, and religious revivals that have immersed presidents in the Bible; their lifelong engagement with Scripture; their biblically-infused political rhetoric; their powerful belief in a divine Providence that protected them and guided their nation; their resultant belief in the power of prayer; their belief in God-given rights and spiritual equality; their belief in a national mission to advance the cause of liberty across the globe; their belief in the excellence of Christian ethics and in the necessity of religion to the survival and success of republican government; their belief in an afterlife; their religious differences; the influence of the founding presidents’ biblical conception of human nature on their establishment of constitutional checks and balances; and the effect of modern presidents’ more optimistic outlook on their willingness to undermine them. So Help Us, God: American Presidents and the Bible will appeal to all readers interested in American presidential history and the role of religion in public life.

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So Help Us, God: American Presidents and the Bible
The religious beliefs of America’s leaders and the role of religion in public life have long captivated the American public. In this book, historian Carl J. Richard looks at the many ways that the Bible has influenced America’s leaders in their personal and political lives. With chapters organized thematically, Richard discusses the educational system, familial influences, church experiences, and religious revivals that have immersed presidents in the Bible; their lifelong engagement with Scripture; their biblically-infused political rhetoric; their powerful belief in a divine Providence that protected them and guided their nation; their resultant belief in the power of prayer; their belief in God-given rights and spiritual equality; their belief in a national mission to advance the cause of liberty across the globe; their belief in the excellence of Christian ethics and in the necessity of religion to the survival and success of republican government; their belief in an afterlife; their religious differences; the influence of the founding presidents’ biblical conception of human nature on their establishment of constitutional checks and balances; and the effect of modern presidents’ more optimistic outlook on their willingness to undermine them. So Help Us, God: American Presidents and the Bible will appeal to all readers interested in American presidential history and the role of religion in public life.

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So Help Us, God: American Presidents and the Bible

So Help Us, God: American Presidents and the Bible

by Carl J. Richard
So Help Us, God: American Presidents and the Bible

So Help Us, God: American Presidents and the Bible

by Carl J. Richard

Overview

The religious beliefs of America’s leaders and the role of religion in public life have long captivated the American public. In this book, historian Carl J. Richard looks at the many ways that the Bible has influenced America’s leaders in their personal and political lives. With chapters organized thematically, Richard discusses the educational system, familial influences, church experiences, and religious revivals that have immersed presidents in the Bible; their lifelong engagement with Scripture; their biblically-infused political rhetoric; their powerful belief in a divine Providence that protected them and guided their nation; their resultant belief in the power of prayer; their belief in God-given rights and spiritual equality; their belief in a national mission to advance the cause of liberty across the globe; their belief in the excellence of Christian ethics and in the necessity of religion to the survival and success of republican government; their belief in an afterlife; their religious differences; the influence of the founding presidents’ biblical conception of human nature on their establishment of constitutional checks and balances; and the effect of modern presidents’ more optimistic outlook on their willingness to undermine them. So Help Us, God: American Presidents and the Bible will appeal to all readers interested in American presidential history and the role of religion in public life.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9798881806330
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 04/15/2025
Pages: 460
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Carl J. Richard is the author of several Rowman & Littlefield books including The Battle for the American Mind: A Brief History of a Nation’s Thought (2006), Greeks and Romans Bearing Gifts: How the Ancients Inspired the Founding Fathers (2008), Why We’re All Romans: The Roman Contribution to the Western World (2010), and The Founders and the Bible (2016). He is professor of history at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.

Table of Contents

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Influences

Chapter 2 - An Invaluable Guide

Chapter 3 - Heroes and Villains

Chapter 4 - Providence

Chapter 5 - Prayer

Chapter 6 - God-Given Rights and Equality

Chapter 7 - Israels: Old, New, and Restored

Chapter 8 - Faith, Morality, and the Survival of the Republic

Chapter 9 - The Afterlife

Chapter 10 - The Orthodox and the Unorthodox

Chapter 11 - Human Nature and Balanced Government

Epilogue

Appendix I - Presidential Terms and Denominations

Appendix II - Cherished Scriptures

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