The Religious History of America
The Heart of the American Story from Colonial Times to Today
By Edwin S. Gaustad, Leigh Schmidt
Harper San Francisco - October 8, 2002
ISBN: 0060630574 - Hardcover
Nonfiction / History / Religion

Reviewed by George Weeaks, MyShelf.com
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God had a plan to fashion a nation that would stand unwavering as an example of His Word to every culture of the world.

"A Religious History of America" maps out the development of this nation. One nation under God, thru the early settlings of the Indians--as Columbus called them--to the French, the Spanish, and English. All bring their own spice of life to this new land: a melting pot of the whole world coming together to form one the most powerful nations built on the principles of God.

With all the early missionaries, this book forges its the way through the wilderness of this new land to the minds of its early settlers to form the religious foundations that would touch the souls of people around the world

American religious history scholar Edwin Gaustad and award-winning Princeton historian Leigh Schmidt have revised the 1966 version of "A Religious History of America," and the changes are for the better. Gaustad mentions in the preface that the changes not only make reading the text easier, but everything is now placed in the order of the calendar and clock, as you can see in the list of chapters below. Also included are black and white illustrations to go with each chapter and emphasis on African-American and Native American religious life and Eastern religions.

Age of Exploration
Age of Colonization
Age of Expansion
Age of Empire
Age of Limits

"A Religious History of America" satisfied the hungry in both my history and my spiritual side. I enjoyed reading the details of the different cultures that were involved in the forming of this country, from births to marriages to deaths. I recommend it to both history and religious readers.