Robert Putnam and David Campbell's volume, American Grace, makes a considerable contribution to the study of religion and politics. It does so in two ways. First, the book provides a strong, well-developed social scientific study of religion in America. Second, the results are presented in a clear and easy-to-read fashion. Like Bowling Alone, this book is written in a fashion that allows laypersons and social scientists alike to discuss the work with each other. The major contribution of the book is that it allows us to better understand the religious aspect of American Exceptionalism. Scholars have long noted how deeply religion — and specifically, religious congregations — permeates American society. While we know this is the case for Judeo-Christian traditions, in America, groups outside of these traditions take on a similar congregational structure.

Given my own line of research, I was particularly interested in the authors' examination of ethnicity and diversity in American religion. Their case study of Bethel AME Church in Baltimore presents some of the good, the bad, and the ugly about the Black Church. The “good” is that Bethel is actively involved in its community, providing an outlet for members in the suburbs to have a positive impact on an urban area suffering from poverty. The “bad” may be the image of Dr. Reid, the pastor, as authoritarian. Dr. Reid is very vocal about his members' responsibility to follow his directions to the point where the congregation's new members class has a section dedicated to reinforcing his authority. The “ugly” is evident in the church's attempt to negotiate the hazards of Baltimore politics. All of three sides of Bethel AME speak to the special situation the church holds in the Black community. Together with their colleague and collaborator Shaylyn Romney Garrett, Putnam, and Campbell do an excellent job of showing Bethel as a multidimensional institution that exemplifies the greatness and problems of the Black Church.

Beyond their discussion of the Black Church, the authors' broader discussion of ethnicity and religion highlights how religion in America reaffirms ethnic attachments. This is highly apparent in the Black church, but to see a similar phenomenon in white mainline denominations as well as the Catholic Church further highlights the importance of religion in maintaining ethnic attachments. An essential aspect of this relationship between religion and ethnic attachments is the finding that white evangelicals are most likely to choose “American” as their ethnic attachment, which may be a reason why we see such high levels of religious nationalism among white evangelicals. For white evangelicals, religion reaffirms their attachment to America and its heritage, as opposed to some Lutherans, Catholics, or Black Protestants, whose religion often reaffirms past national attachments.

The most important concern of this book is, of course, the relationship between religion and politics. Religion has emerged as a salient cleavage in American politics, especially among the post baby-boom generation. Putnam and Campbell do an excellent job highlighting the generational differences among the combatants in the “culture wars.” Their discussion of how religion and partisanship are shaped by issue salience and party image is especially useful. As issues gain or lose salience, cleavages become less important. However, if parties are able to provide an image of being “friendly” to religion, they can maintain and reinforce these cleavages. Similar to Tasha Philpot's work on race and party image, it is fascinating to see how the major parties are attentive to the relevance of religion to their images. Putnam and Campbell's discussion presents important questions about how the parties manipulate religious messages to cast themselves as “religion friendly.” Bethany Albertson and others have begun to examine how religious cues shape candidate evaluations, but the discussion presented by Putnam and Campbell supports the need for more research along these lines. Given that Democrats are now working to evoke religious rhetoric to push their causes, it will be essential to see whether these efforts bear any fruit — and whether the consistent religious messages presented by President Barack Obama lay the groundwork for a more “religion-friendly” image for the Democratic Party. Perhaps the greatest contribution of American Grace is that it offers such new lines of research in compelling ways.

Although my review has focused on several particular aspects of the book, it offers much more with regard to the multiple ways that religion and politics intersect in the United States. The major take-away point of this important book is that it is a useful conversation starter. Putnam and Campbell do not answer all of the questions they raise about religion and politics; instead, they provide new questions and plausible answers. Similar to the work of Michael Dawson on Black politics, Putnam and Campbell have set forth a new agenda for research in religion and politics. American Grace will be a heavily cited source for social scientists and journalists. Further, it will also be a popular book among laypersons as it provides a great deal of information without an overuse of academic jargon. Thus, the book should have a lasting effect on both academic and popular discussions of religion.