David Domke

This is a statistical analysis of targeted word & reference counting in presidential speeches and proclamations over the last 70 years. As such, it's a useful and enlightening tool for understanding religious trends in American politics. The down side is that it is only part of the puzzle; which is perfectly okay as it doesn't pretend to be anything else. The last chapter is a bit of a rumination on politics and religion (with an avowed bias towards their separation), but the main thrust of the book is academic.

Other books and studies are better at teasing out why and how political positions have become increasingly "biblicized" over the last 30 years; this book simply establishes (quite authoritatively) that they have.… (mer)