Reviews

"Required reading for anyone seeking to understand the rise of the Religious Right . . . nothing has been published that can match Martin's book in sweep and substance." "--Christian Century"

"Martin's extraordinary primary research even-handedly catalogs all the contradictions that sprang up when the supposedly outsider Christians linked themselves with the country's most powerful leaders . . . [A] masterful history of the American religious right.""--New York Newsday"
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""The most complete and sympathetic treatment so far of this genuinely American conundrum."--"Dallas Morning News"

Martin (Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story, LJ 11/1/91), an authority on the history and sociology of religion, is well-qualified to examine the phenomenon of the religious right. Starting with an excellent summary of American religious history, he goes on to devote the bulk of his book to developments in the last 50 years. Martin puts his emphasis on the political and social influence of such groups as the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition. He explains the importance of such famous figures as Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, and Ralph Reed. Martin also examines the "culture wars" that fuel the struggle. There is a wealth of information and thoughtful analysis here that brings the reader's understanding down to the immediate present. Martin clearly understands the political danger of a powerful religious Right, which seeks to stifle all dissent. He fails, however, to acknowledge the equally heavy-handed agenda of the humanist Left, which, in part, has given rise to the problem. Recommended for public and academic libraries.‘C. Robert Nixon, M.L.S., Lafayette, Ind.