James A. Morone - Hellfire Nation. The Politics of Sin in American History [2004][A]

This extraordinary retelling of American political history shows that—despite the clear separation of church and state—religion lies at the heart of American politics.
“This is American history the way I like it, prodigiously researched and vivaciously told. Mr. Morone has a knack for peeling off veneers, for locating the surprising fact, for adopting the unexpected and illuminating slant. He is a rarity, a scholar who is never boring.”—Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of a New Machine
“Hellfire Nation [places] much of our public life in its proper soul-searching context—and its careful anatomy of the hand-in-glove relations between the American state and the American faithful is both welcome and illuminating.”—Chris Lehmann, Washington Post Book World

Editorial Review
From Booklist
Almost 60 years after Gunnar Myrdal argued that America's distinctive moral consciousness might prove "the salvation of mankind," Morone finds that same characteristic at least as likely to legitimate invidious discrimination as to inspire utopian strivings. As he probes the sermonizing style of moral politics that has so profoundly shaped America, Morone highlights two contrasting impulses: a Victorian censoriousness and a Social Gospel communalism. The narrative first traces the Victorian impulse--arising from Puritan fears of witchcraft and debauchery--as it inspires the fervor of nineteenth-century abolitionists and twentieth-century prohibitionists. Later, readers witness the emergence of a long nascent Social Gospel--springing from Puritan pledges of mutual love--as it stirs the visionary hopes behind the New Deal and the civil rights movement. Though a partisan of Social Gospel politics and a critic of Victorian conservatism, Morone illuminates the complexities in both impulses. Readers trying to peer into the nation's post-9/11 moral future will thank Morone for clarifying the path along which righteous fervor has already impelled us. Bryce Christensen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"In a beautifully written book, Morone has integrated the history of American political thought with a perceptive study of religion's role in our public life. Seeing the American story as a moral tale is always instructive, and Morone shows how it is impossible to grapple with our continuing effort to 'redeem and reform' ourselves absent an understanding of the nation's faith-communities. May Hellfire Nation encourage Americans to discover (or rediscover) the ‘moral dreams that built a nation.’”—E. J. Dionne Jr., syndicated columnist and author of Why Americans Hate Politics and They Only Look Dead

About the Author
James A. Morone, professor of political science at Brown University, is also the author of The Democratic Wish: Popular Participation and the Limits of American Government.