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A new book shows how a cohort of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews altered the nation; from the Social Gospel movement through anti-Communism, Civil Rights and even into the rise of the religious right.

He wrote to his mother, saying, more or less, Jesus was only a man and a man is on his own. It’s clear that there was a lot of anguish in that decision. If anything, untethering his conscience from religion put more pressure on him to prove himself and his sincerity. When Evan was manacled to the bars of his cell in Fort Leavenworth because of his absolute refusal to serve the army, his friend (and President Wilson’s son-in-law’s brother) John Nevin Sayre went to Wilson on his behalf and repeatedly described Evan to Wilson as Christ-like. Evan would have hated that description, but clearly part of him wanted that and needed that kind of commitment.

As Archbishop Gomez argues, it is Catholics who “have a special duty today to be the guardians of the truth about the American spirit and our national identity.” In fact, Archbishop Gomez argues, immigrant Catholics “without proper documentation,” who share the values of “faith, family, and community” are “the key to American renewal.” Yes, Archbishop Gomez is arguing that unauthorized immigrants not only deserve the chance to adjust their status to live legally in the United States, but also hold the promise of a renewed and reinvigorated “next America.”

The latest bloggingheads.

But opposition is more intense.

How cross-pollination helped build the religious right.

Marriage, kids, suburbs, the whole deal.

Reporting from Iowa on the role of religion and anti-government rhetoric in the GOP landscape.

In asking “Is Rick Perry Dumb?” Politico notes he’s reading a book by a Southern Baptist minister.

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s 36 Arguments for the Existence of God is a novel that steers clear of both strident attacks against religion and sanctimonious pieties. Instead, it explores the reality of religious fervor and examines the merit of both religious and anti-religious stances. And yet… because it is so respectful, patient, and level-headed, Goldstein’s novel may be actually more subversive than other, more straightforward anti-theistic tracts.