I wanted to get an outside view of the history of different religions in America. After some research, I kept an eye on this book until it went on sale.
This book dedicates each chapter to a different religion and how it appeared and thrived (or not) in America. Some of the religions included are Buddhist, spiritualism (hippies), Latter Day Saints and others.
I found this book to be incredibly interesting. I never realized how important it was to the Puritans to maintain their idea of a "city on a hill." They actively tried to keep religions from gaining ground in America, even to the point of restricting what tombstones could look like. This debate still crops up occasionally.
This was a good book, but it's not going to be for everyone. There were times when I wasn't sure I could muster the motivation to read it, but it wasn't the book's fault. The writing was good, and it was well organized. I'm staying on the fence overall, because I'm struggling to write this review. When I like a book, I know what I want to say. With this one, I can only say I learned some interesting things. Also, looking this book up is something of a nightmare without full details. For some reason, a lot of people wanted to name their book, One Nation, Under God or a variation of it.
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