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Gingrich on God in American History

By W. James Antle, III on 11.14.07 @ 11:01AM

Last night, I attended the premiere of Rediscovering God in America, a film produced by Citizens United and hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich. Essentially, it is a look at the influence of religion on American public life from the founding through the present, illustrated in part by a tour of the many Washington, D.C. area monuments containing explicit references to God.

The production quality is high, making the stroll through Arlington National Cemetery and trip to the Lincoln Memorial quite attractive, and the former House speaker's narration is as effective as you would expect. The film also features historians Douglas Brinkley and Walter Issacson, former Attorney General Ed Meese, TAS contributor and intellectual Michael Novak, and Wallbuilders President David Barton, among others. Some of the quotes from Founding Fathers and great presidents on the importance of religion as a support for the American republic are familiar; others less so.

Rediscovering God is an effective rebuttal to those who would banish religion from the public square, without overstating the historical case as some conservative "Christian nation" exponents tend to do. The film offers a balanced look at church and state in the United States, emphasizing that the idea that our rights come from God extends liberty to many faiths or none at all. The DVD wouldn't make a bad stocking stuffer.

topics:
Religion, Founding Fathers