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Head and Heart: American Christianities

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Garry Wills is one of my favorite writers on religion. He is himself a practicing Catholic, but he has not shrunk from criticizing the church when he feels it has gone over the edge, as in the abuse scandals of recent times. He has a certain fair-mindedness that is lacking in much religious writing. It was thus with some anticipation that I read through his recent book "Head and Heart: American Christianities." This is a very important document which follows the history of the two main streams of Christian religious thought in America - the Enlightened Religion (that of the Founders of our country) and Evangelical Religion (the mainly emotional appeal of being "saved"). Indeed, Wills thinks that we need both and that their avowed antagonism is to some extent overblown, but perhaps necessary to maintain some sort of balance.

For full disclosure I must note that I am a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) who considers himself agnostic on religion. I am, however, sympathetic to Buddhism, as well as the more compassionate streams of thought in all religions. I have had some contact as a representative of my Meeting with a number of other religious groups. Finally I am also a professional biological scientist. My background does in no way give me special insight to review this book, but it does warn the reader of my own possible biases.

It is, in fact, hard to review this over 600 page book with its many notes and do justice to its depth. Wills has researched his subject thoroughly and gives us the whole panoply of religious thought from the Puritans to the recent ascendancy of the televangelists and talk show ministers. The Puritans did not come to America (as is sometimes reported) to foster religious freedom, but to impose their brand of "purified" Anglican faith onto the people living around them, including the Native Americans. Wills speaks favorably of the later colonists, the Quakers (in fact dedicating his book to Anthony Benezet, an anti-slavery Quaker who worked with the more well known John Woolman), in their founding of Pennsylvania and their views on religious freedom. It has also been said that Quakers came to the New World to do good and did very well indeed - meaning that some became very wealthy. It is true that the Quakers, although often slave-holders themselves, were among the first to disavow the practice and were heavily involved in the underground railroad that helped runaway slaves reach the North.

The Founders of the United States were mostly Deists who, none the less, understood that religious freedom was necessary to the ultimate health of the new country. They (perhaps especially Madison) believed in a "free market" for religious ideas, thinking that in such an atmosphere the best religion would prevail without government aid. In fact, despite many opinions to the contrary, it is obvious that the United States was not founded as a Christian Nation, but as a society with respect and toleration for all points of view as long as they did not disrupt the fabric of civil society. Wills believes (accurately) that such a system fosters religious activity instead of destroying it, as some would have it (as the Baptists and other minority sects of the period were well aware). State sponsored religions tend to decline, as they have in some European countries with no separation of Church and State. Theocratic states tend to become violent and authoritarian before they decline. We should take some warning from Islamic states like Iran in this regard.

Evangelism has its pluses. Would anybody not brought up in the evangelistic traditions of the South ever have been able to give the speeches of a Martin Luther King?

Still, our country occasional gets out of balance between the two major trains of religious thought and recently it has gotten way out of balance toward (in my opinion) a mostly corrupted evangelism. Wills points to the gory "Left Behind" series and the dire pronouncements of the anger of God behind Katrina's devastation of New Orleans and the attack on the World Trade Center. To me this is a sign not of the End Times, but of man's inhumanity to man and a desire on the part of certain individuals to control the country. Christ said that his kingdom was not of this world and that worldly riches and power were not worthy pursuits, but (as Wills points out) there has been an American tradition of valuing wealth and power as a sign of God's favor. I sometimes think that some of these people don't read the same bible as the one I did.

In short Wills has presented a fascinating history of religion in the United States. This is another essential book for those who would like to understand how we got to this point in history.

I am currently reading RENEGERATION THROUGH VIOLENCE: THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE AMERICA FRONTIER 1600-1860, the first volume of Richard Slotkin's monumental three-volume. In the earliest pages of this work Slotkin writes of the dilemma that America was founded by secular deists who envisioned a future America that embraced the principles of Jeffersonian democracy, but that we instead within a few decades had become a nation that rejected Jefferson's rationalism to embrace a distinctly emotional form of religion epitomized by Jacksonian democracy. I've yet to work through Slotkin's depiction of the shift, but there are obvious parallels with Wills's subject matter. As Wills points out, American religious history has consisted largely of a tension between religious traditions that are rational and those that are far more emotional. Our national religious history is that of the struggle between the head and heart.

There is a wealth of information in this book and although I've read fairly extensively on American religious history in the past I learned a great deal. Wills illumines nearly every religious epoch that he discusses, from the Puritans to the Enlightenment Deists who founded the country to the crucial figures of the Second Great Awakening to the Transcendentalists to the Civil War to the beginnings of the evangelical movement to the Social Gospel to today's religious right. My own position to all this is complex. While Wills is a Roman Catholic who seems, to my Protestant eyes, indistinguishable from any mainstream Protestant in his religious belief, I am a former Southern Baptist (I left the Convention when they started approving such absurdities as insisting that women be subservient to men) who still believes in traditional Baptist beliefs (including separation of Church and State, something that Baptists have traditionally been avid supporters of), though I also am leery of emotionalism in religion (I find it is generally effective for evangelists in the short run, but bad for churches in the long run). I'm a paradox, a member of a religious tradition that emphasizes the heart, while I personally see more value in a religion of the head, orthodox theologically but rational about my spirituality. But I suppose in a way that this typifies many of the tensions in American history.

I think this book will be of enormous help to anyone wanting to understand many of the stresses in American religious and political life. For instance, he helps us understand why evangelicals are today politically conservative, even though historically they were quite progressive. His sections on William Jennings Bryan are instructive, a political progressive, unquestionably one of the most left-leaning presidential candidates in history, yet remembered today as a right-winger due to his involvement in the Scopes trial.

In the short run I hope his book has some influence on the ongoing nonsense generated by many fundamentalists (including, alas, many of my former fellow Southern Baptists, who have been abandoning the central tenets of their tradition with something akin to savage glee in recent decades), namely that America was founded as a Christian nation. One even finds immensely intelligent people like the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor stating that the Founders intended a larger role for religion than many now believe. This is just nonsense. It is blatant nonsense. While some states continued to establish religion for several decades following the ratification of the constitution, the intentions of the Founders -- especially Jefferson and Madison -- is crystal clear. One can only imagine them as believing that America was in any conceivable sense a Christian nation by completely ignoring their writings, which some unquestionably do. For instance, in the past year both a fellow Baptist and a Catholic have told me in conversations that talk of a wall separating church and state only arose in the 20th century (!). Of course, any student of the period knows that Jefferson, drawing on similar expressions by a number of 18th century writers, originated the phrase in his famous letter to the Baptist Church in Danbury. Wills takes on all the recent myths and counterfactual assertions that the founders intended America to be a Christian if nonsectarian nation and simply demolishes them. As both a deeply religious man and one of America's foremost constitutional historians he is uniquely qualified to undertake this task. My only quibble (and it is a minor one) is that he doesn't emphasize quite strongly enough (though he does bring it up briefly) what I have always considered to be the foremost proof that no one imagined that our constitution left any room for America as a Christian nation: the extremely widespread perception by clergy and laity in late 18th century America that the constitution was "godless." If, as many contemporary members of the Religious Right (as well as a few Catholics on the political right) fantasize, the Founders meant for America in some vague sense to be either a religious or Christian nation, why did no one at the time pick up on this? Instead, why did Madison, Jefferson, and even Adams defend the idea of a constitution that was steadfastly indifferent to religion? Why are there no contemporary accounts of ministers celebrating the establishment of religion by the Constitution? The answer is obvious: no one at the time had any such perception. And neither should anyone today at the beginning of the 21st century.

I do hope that we will be entering a new age in American religious history. I am a member of the political left because of my own reading of the New Testament as a teenager. You simply can't read the Sermon on the Mount or the Gospel of Luke and take them seriously and come away calloused toward the poor or oblivious to the sufferings of others. Yet evangelicals for the past few decades have done precisely that. Instead, they have been obsessed with a host of cultural issues that are contrary to the spirit of the New Testament. Just as Jesus spent all his time with social outcasts, I believe were he among us today he would spend all his time with the very groups that evangelicals seem most intent to criticize. He would still spend his time with the poor, but he would also be constantly among homosexuals. And I think he would outrage religious leaders by the same kind of tolerance he showed during his life (except his intolerance for the intolerant - the only group Jesus really didn't seem to like was religious zealots). I would like to see my fellow evangelicals become more concerned with helping the poor than condemning sexuality. And to finally get away from the abortion issue (which as Wills correctly points out was never referred to in the Bible - and contrary to what many suppose, there were abortive techniques at the time in addition to the infanticide that was also practiced - if abortion is the paramount religious issue that evangelicals bizarrely assume it to be, why was the widely practiced abortion and infanticide of the time never mentioned once?). There are signs already of political splits in the evangelical movement over the poor (why support the GOP and its outrageous economic policy of favoring the very rich, a political tenet that is as anti-Christian as it is possible to imagine) and the environment. I hope that this continues.

Finally, I would like to add that the book is, as is always the case with a book by Wills, exceptionally clear and very finely written. He is about as close as one can get in our time to being a polymath. If it is no longer possible to master every field of knowledge as was the case with Aristotle, Leibniz, and Goethe, Wills nonetheless manages to master a great many fields.

Without question one of the most important books published this year, "Head and Heart: American Christianities" is an important, often insightful, history on the importance of religion to American life. Garry Wills has written a mesmerizing account of that history, and one that deserves as wide a readership as possible. For some it may be infuriating, simply because he reminds us - at a time in which we need such reminding - that the United States of America was founded, not as a Christian nation, but instead, as a democratic republic by Enlightenment Deists such as Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and Washington, who, while recognizing the importance of religion in American life, also realized the importance of a strict separation between church and state; a realization borne out of decades-old religious intolerance and persecution here, in the New World, itself. Indeed, Wills argues persuasively that this strict separation fostered the growth of devout religious belief in the United States during the first half of the 19th Century, by allowing religious liberty to thrive unfettered in a "free market" atmosphere of ideas. He also contends that American religious life has been dominated by two "poles", by "head and heart", or rather, by reason and emotion, throughout its history, and has seen its greatest success when it has used both to their fullest possible extent (For example, in the case of the Abolitionist crusade against slavery, which combined both Fundamentalist Protestant Christian religious fervor with a more rational religious outlook from the likes of Unitarians and Quakers.).

Wills demonstrates that the rise of religious tolerance in colonial America was not a foregone conclusion that we can gleam from our history textbooks. Instead, he demonstrates that Puritan America was a despotic theocracy in its infancy, relying upon expulsion and execution, to rid Massachusetts of religious dissenters, well into the 17th Century. Even Roger Williams is shown in a completely different, quite unflattering, light, as demonstrated by his own religious intolerance towards Quakers. Ironically, true religious intolerance didn't emerge in British North America unless it was imposed directly from London. The first colony that truly offered religious tolerance wasn't established for decades, until the formation of Pennsylvania by William Penn and his fellow Quakers. Ironically, by the mid 18th Century, religious life in the United States would be at its lowest ebb, despite a "Great Awakening" of the 1740s; this was due to the widespread embrace of the ideals of the Scottish Enlightenment by those who would become our Founding Fathers; men like Franklin, Adams, Washington, Jefferson and Madison (The only truly tangible "fruits" of that "Great Awakening" would be the establishment of Princeton, Columbia and Brown universities, among others, by those ministers who had been positively influenced by it.).

Wills concludes the book with a searing indictment of the current Bush administration's reliance upon "faith-based government". He delves into such issues as the Terri Schiavo case and, not surprisingly, the longstanding stem cell debate, which now, ironically, may be resolved due to some unexpected developments in medical research reported recently. He also briefly touches upon the so-called "creation vs. evolution" debate, but, to my amazement, does not explore at all, the important role which the Seattle, Washington-based Discovery Institute - Intelligent Design's principal "think tank" - has undertaken in trying to establish a more "Christian" America. These issues are explored after an extensive, in-depth look at Fundamentalist Protestant Christanity's engagement with American public life since the 1890s, well before the celebrated Scopes Trial of 1925. If nothing else, Wills' substantial examination of this engagement demonstrates the ongoing need for both a strict separation of church and state and for a religious course of action which emphasizes both the "head and heart" of "American Christianities".

Garry Wills has once again created an informative, insightful look into our politics and religion. As one of our leading scholars on the history of the US and its religion, he tackles the problems Madison and Jefferson faced by establishing a government which had religious tolerance: but, also establishing a complete separation between church and state. He begins with a detailed discussion of religion and government before our constitution was written, then discusses our forefathers goals. Wills' thesis is that the United States has always had to contend with the battle between our thinking heads (The philosophy of the Enlightenment) and our feeling hearts (religious tolerance). And he contends that many Christians today are blurring and confusing those lines our forefathers so carefully believed in. It is an interesting and thoughtful read. I also recommend reading his Nixon Agonistes, What Paul Meant and Lincoln at Gettysburg for great reads as well.

This book is not a history of religion in America--it is Garry Wills' commentary on both the history of American religion, the various historical studies of American religion and the current situation. So for those who are looking for a straightforward and balanced history of religion in American, look elsewhere. That said, I must say that I enjoyed reading it Wills is a very engaging writer and his basic argument--when religion and politics gets too close, religion is the loser--makes sense. His comments on the current situation are very instructive. It would be interesting to see what he has to say about the position of other non-Judeo-Christian religions in America such as Islam and Buddhism. I think the 21st century is going to see a remaking of the map of religion in America

I seem to be on a Garry Wills kick lately, not a bad thing to be on. Wills won two National Book Critics Award and has published numerous books, including translations (most notably of Augustine's Confessions), works of history and political criticism, and books about his own Roman Catholic faith. I had read Henry Adams and the Making of America (2005) and liked it.

So when Head and Heart: American Christianities went on sale at Amazon.com for $5.99 instead of the original $29.96, I bought it. It's an interesting and (at least to my neophyte eyes) original history of Christian religion in the United States. Head and Heart is uneven -parts of it are too schematic and would benefit from further fleshing out--but I found it a very helpful book and a pleasure to read. His thesis, that the rationalist strand and the evangelical strand in American religion benefited most in dialogue with each other and that in the era of Karl Rover, dialogue was in scarce supply, helped me to frame my own criticisms of the overly partisan nature of religious debate today. He made a convincing case for the benefit to religion, not solely to the secular state, of the separation of church and state: the church's involvement in politics often has corrupted religion and tends to divert the faithful from attention to issues of salvation and worship.

A man with an encyclopedic knowledge of history, theology, politics and the craziness of humankind, Gary Wills is an author on whose next book I always wait, wonder what it's going to be about. Head and Heart chronicles the intricate interplay between religion and politics from the time our nation was founded. He debunks the mistaken notion that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, when, in fact, our founders were very careful to ensure ours would be a nation in which a specific religion would neither be established nor gain control. Unfortunately, as Wills shows, this "wall of separation" desired by Washington, Jefferson, Adams and Madison, has been seriously eroded in the era in which we now live, seriously threatening the careful balance desired by our founders - a balance that has been of enormous benefit not only to the operation of our government - but to American religion itself. In no country where religion is supported by the state has religion flourished as it does in the United States. Equally, in no country where religion dominates the government has freedom flourished as it does in the United States.

Rev. Dr. David Sammons,
Visiting Professor of Unitarian Universalist Heritage and Ministry
Starr King School for the Ministry

Christianity in America is as varied as it is fervent, as diverse as it is constant. In Head and Heart, Gary Wills gives us a rich, thorough, and at many (not all) points celebratory history of Christian pluralism in America. Throughout his historical survey, Wills points out that American Christianities can be divided into two basic groups: "head" religions, which look towards the rational side of things, and "heart" religion, which focuses on the emotional side of religious experience. American Christian history, Wills intimates, may be best viewed as the interplay between these two "styles."

The first group we encounter, colonial Puritanism is a "heart" religion, focusing more on religious emotion and supernaturalism than rationalism. We then turn to the American founding, where "head" religions like deism were at a high. Emphasis was on "natural theology" - human attempt to experience God through reason rather than revelation. Wills then takes us through the first and second "great awakenings," the advent of Fundamentalism and Dispensationalism, ("heart" religions all), through post-war Progressivism ("head" religion), up to the very present resurgence of Fudanmentalism. All the while, Wills is a master story teller: as thorough as he is engaging.

While Wills is respectful to all of his subjects (with the exception of the current Rove-driven "religious right"), he will score few points with right-leaning readers. Section 2 ("Enlightened Religion") makes much of the idea that while many founders were religious, their primary reliigion was a deism that was unitarian and tended to reject much of the Bible, making it hard to see ours as a nation founded on fervent Christianity. As already mentioned, the final section of the book ("Religious Nation") takes a lamenting tone when talking about current state of religious influence in American politics and the Bush Adminstration.

Through all, though, Wills stresses the necessity of a constant push-and-pull between "head" and "heart" religions. "The point, for purposes of this book, is that the populist pole of religiosity needs interaction with the elitist pole" (from the chapter "Evangelicals Brough Low," p. 422). The former group, tending towards the "heart" side, keeps religion alive and vibrant, while the latter, "head" oriented group keeps religion within rational bounds. Leave the one unchecked, and you either strip religion of its heart or mind. The picture Wills paints serves to remind us that religion functions best when there is a delicate balance between "head and heart."

I first read Wills when he was a syndicated political columnist during the Nixon administration; I rather liked his ability to write clearly and intelligently while all about him were losing their heads--I won't say he wrote "objectively," because his own opinion was usually obvious, but he could give the other side its due. In this book he continues to write clearly and intelligently about both sides, while he does let his admiration for one man (Anthony Benezet), and his disapproval of another (Karl Rove), show pretty plainly.

This is a history of religion in America from the Puritans to the 2006 midterm elections, presented mostly in terms of the tension between "head" (the more intellectual side: Enlightenment, Deism, Transcendentalism) and "heart" (the more emotional side: revivalist, Evangelical, Fundamentalist)--not always the same thing as politically "liberal" and "conservative," as Wills points out several times.

The perspective of the book changes over time: the earlier parts are covered at a higher level, the names mentioned are mostly big well-known ones; once we're into the 20th century there's more names, he goes into more detail about more individuals; and the last three chapters, "The Karl Rove Era," get quite the current-events treatment. I would even say that there's a real disconnect when Wills moves from the 20th to the 21st century, the writing changes so.

I didn't learn much that was surprising and new (did learn more about the theological underpinnings and growth of Premillennarian Dispensationalist Fundamentalism, though), but the writing was a pleasure to read.

If you are interested in a meaty discussion of religion in America from a historical perspective, this is the book for you. Wills doesn't rely just on his interpretation of the beliefs of religious practitioners, he extensively quotes them. As his title suggests, he contrasts the beliefs of fundamentalist Christians -those whose theology is "heart" based- with more rationalist Christians -emphasis on "head." It's a fascinating subject and one that is continuing to influence life in the US.