One Nation Under God

September 12, 2005
The simple contention of this fascinating study is that prayer has always been intertwined with America's cultural life. Moore, who teaches at McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, casts a broad net, beginning with Native American prayers before European colonization and culminating with the prayers of Americans after 9/11. He attends not only to prayers said around tables and in houses of worship but also to the way that the arts contribute to prayer: in the 19th century, artists like Thomas Cole penned prayers in art journals, and 20th-century Jewish composer Leonard Bernstein wrote a symphony that meditated on the Jewish kaddish. Indeed, Moore has really written a history of religion in America told through the lens of prayer; for example, his discussion of Shaker prayer is embedded in a discussion of Shakers' place in America's 19th-century religious landscape. Moore also addresses American policy about prayer, charting Supreme Court decisions about prayer in school. There are moments when the author, who has also written a biography of President Ford, allows his own political and cultural predilections to show through; his enthusiasm for President Bush can be distracting. However, this is a minor flaw in an otherwise terrifically engaging book.

June 1, 2002
U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for trade under Reagan, Moore tells the story of this country through the prayers offered by its populace over the centuries.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2005
News flash: George W. Bush is neither the first nor the only American public figure to pray. If Moore's hefty volume doesn't make that abundantly clear, you're not reading it. He traces prayer patterns from the earliest inhabitants on this continent to the later hordes of European immigrants and from the mountains and plains of the West to the Atlantic shores and boundaries north and south, revealing that the U.S. rivals any other country on earth in the number of public figures who have called upon, thanked, and petitioned a higher being or beings. Separation of church and state notwithstanding, just about every president, with or without formal religious affiliation, has either prayed or sanctioned public prayer of one sort or another. Here Moore draws an important line in the church-state sand; to wit, "Prayer is not the exclusive preserve of any one faith." Indeed, he asserts that while religion and religious tenets must be learned, "the human brain is 'hardwired' for prayer." And while he details the lives and prayer habits of people from all walks of public, private, industrial, religious, and military life, he allows that the debate over public prayer will likely not reach any conclusion soon. In the meantime, it's safe to say he has made his point.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

January 15, 2005
This reviewer must admit to having been skeptical about the very title of this book, but Moore (Georgetown Univ.), former secretary of commerce under President Reagan, has produced an extraordinary study of prayer in the political, cultural, social, and military history of the United States. He offers key figures from the founding colonists to the present day, citing events in U.S. history in which prayer has played an essential role, and points to a common denominator of prayer that has reached such diverse figures as Benjamin Franklin, Tupac Shakur, and many corporate tycoons. He skillfully weaves hymns, patriotic anthems, arts, and literature into a history of America that shows the introspection, vision, and devotion of key individuals and their reliance on prayer. There is also a profound retelling of the meeting between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill when the United States entered World War II in 1939 and of a prayer service aboard the HMS" Prince of Wales", where politicians and servicemen sang hymns and prayed together. Highly recommended. -L. Kriz, West Des Moines P.L., IA

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.