-
Sacred Liberty
- America's Long, Bloody, and Ongoing Struggle for Religious Freedom
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $26.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Sacred Liberty offers a dramatic, sweeping survey of how America built a unique model of religious freedom, perhaps the nation’s “greatest invention”. Steven Waldman, the best-selling author of Founding Faith, shows how early ideas about religious liberty were tested and refined amid the brutal persecution of Catholics, Baptists, Mormons, Quakers, African slaves, Native Americans, Muslims, Jews, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. American leaders drove religious freedom forward - figures like James Madison, George Washington, the World War II presidents (Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower) and even George W. Bush. But the biggest heroes were the regular Americans - people like Mary Dyer, Marie Barnett, and W. D. Mohammed - who risked their lives or reputations by demanding to practice their faiths freely.
Just as the documentary Eyes on the Prize captured the rich drama of the civil rights movement, Sacred Liberty brings to life the remarkable story of how America became one of the few nations in world history that has religious freedom, diversity and high levels of piety at the same time. Finally, Sacred Liberty provides a road map for how, in the face of modern threats to religious freedom, this great achievement can be preserved.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Founding Faith
- Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America
- By: Steven Waldman
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The culture wars have distorted the dramatic story of how Americans came to worship freely. Many activists on the right maintain that the United States was founded as a "Christian nation". Many on the left contend that the Founders were secular or Deist and that the First Amendment was designed to boldly separate church and state throughout the land. None of these claims are true, argues Beliefnet.com editor in chief Steven Waldman.
-
-
Eye-opening
- By Michael on 06-28-08
By: Steven Waldman
-
Morality
- Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times
- By: Jonathan Sacks
- Narrated by: Jonathan Sacks
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With liberal democracy embattled, public discourse grown toxic, family life breaking down, and drug abuse and depression on the rise, many fear what the future holds. In Morality, respected faith leader and public intellectual Jonathan Sacks traces today's crisis to our loss of a strong, shared moral code and our elevation of self-interest over the common good.
-
-
The world needs to read this!
- By Isaac W on 02-11-21
By: Jonathan Sacks
-
On Faith
- Lessons from an American Believer
- By: Antonin Scalia, Christopher J. Scalia - editor, Edward Whelan - editor, and others
- Narrated by: Christopher J. Scalia
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Faith is an inspiring collection of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's reflections on his own faith, on the challenges that religious believers face in modern America, and on the religious freedoms protected by the Constitution. Featuring a personal introduction by Justice Scalia's son Father Paul Scalia, this volume will enrich every listener's understanding of the legendary justice.
-
-
A Man And Book That Changed Me
- By JustBill on 02-03-20
By: Antonin Scalia, and others
-
Dark Agenda
- The War to Destroy Christian America
- By: David Horowitz
- Narrated by: Phil Paonessa
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author David Horowitz exposes not only the progressive war against Christianity but also a war against America and its founding principles - which are Christian in their origin. Dark Agenda is about an embattled religion, but, most of all, it is about our imperiled nation. Tackling a broad range of issues from prayer in the schools to the globalist mindset, Horowitz traces the anti-Christian movement to its roots in communism.
-
-
Another Gem From David Horowitz
- By OhHaleYeah on 03-27-19
By: David Horowitz
-
Death of a Nation
- Plantation Politics and the Making of the Democratic Party
- By: Dinesh D'Souza
- Narrated by: Dinesh D'Souza
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who is killing America? Is it really Donald Trump and a GOP filled with white supremacists? In this audiobook, Dinesh D’Souza makes the provocative case that Democrats are the ones killing America by turning it into a massive nanny state modeled on the Southern plantation system. Death of a Nation's bracing alternative vision of American history explains the Democratic Party's dark past, reinterprets the roles of figures like Van Buren, FDR, and LBJ, and exposes the hidden truth that racism comes not from Trump or the conservative right but rather from Democrats.
-
-
Very informative.
- By Amahra on 08-11-18
By: Dinesh D'Souza
-
Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump
- By: John Fea
- Narrated by: Trevor Thompson
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“Believe me” may be the most commonly used phrase in Donald Trump’s lexicon. Whether about building a wall or protecting the Christian heritage, the refrain is constant. And to the surprise of many, about 80 percent of white evangelicals have believed Trump. Historian John Fea is not surprised - and in Believe Me he explains how we have arrived at this unprecedented moment in American politics. In this audiobook, Fea challenges his fellow believers to replace fear with hope, the pursuit of power with humility, and nostalgia with history.
-
-
Wonderful, challenging work
- By HBBC on 07-21-18
By: John Fea
-
Founding Faith
- Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America
- By: Steven Waldman
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The culture wars have distorted the dramatic story of how Americans came to worship freely. Many activists on the right maintain that the United States was founded as a "Christian nation". Many on the left contend that the Founders were secular or Deist and that the First Amendment was designed to boldly separate church and state throughout the land. None of these claims are true, argues Beliefnet.com editor in chief Steven Waldman.
-
-
Eye-opening
- By Michael on 06-28-08
By: Steven Waldman
-
Morality
- Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times
- By: Jonathan Sacks
- Narrated by: Jonathan Sacks
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With liberal democracy embattled, public discourse grown toxic, family life breaking down, and drug abuse and depression on the rise, many fear what the future holds. In Morality, respected faith leader and public intellectual Jonathan Sacks traces today's crisis to our loss of a strong, shared moral code and our elevation of self-interest over the common good.
-
-
The world needs to read this!
- By Isaac W on 02-11-21
By: Jonathan Sacks
-
On Faith
- Lessons from an American Believer
- By: Antonin Scalia, Christopher J. Scalia - editor, Edward Whelan - editor, and others
- Narrated by: Christopher J. Scalia
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Faith is an inspiring collection of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's reflections on his own faith, on the challenges that religious believers face in modern America, and on the religious freedoms protected by the Constitution. Featuring a personal introduction by Justice Scalia's son Father Paul Scalia, this volume will enrich every listener's understanding of the legendary justice.
-
-
A Man And Book That Changed Me
- By JustBill on 02-03-20
By: Antonin Scalia, and others
-
Dark Agenda
- The War to Destroy Christian America
- By: David Horowitz
- Narrated by: Phil Paonessa
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author David Horowitz exposes not only the progressive war against Christianity but also a war against America and its founding principles - which are Christian in their origin. Dark Agenda is about an embattled religion, but, most of all, it is about our imperiled nation. Tackling a broad range of issues from prayer in the schools to the globalist mindset, Horowitz traces the anti-Christian movement to its roots in communism.
-
-
Another Gem From David Horowitz
- By OhHaleYeah on 03-27-19
By: David Horowitz
-
Death of a Nation
- Plantation Politics and the Making of the Democratic Party
- By: Dinesh D'Souza
- Narrated by: Dinesh D'Souza
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who is killing America? Is it really Donald Trump and a GOP filled with white supremacists? In this audiobook, Dinesh D’Souza makes the provocative case that Democrats are the ones killing America by turning it into a massive nanny state modeled on the Southern plantation system. Death of a Nation's bracing alternative vision of American history explains the Democratic Party's dark past, reinterprets the roles of figures like Van Buren, FDR, and LBJ, and exposes the hidden truth that racism comes not from Trump or the conservative right but rather from Democrats.
-
-
Very informative.
- By Amahra on 08-11-18
By: Dinesh D'Souza
-
Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump
- By: John Fea
- Narrated by: Trevor Thompson
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“Believe me” may be the most commonly used phrase in Donald Trump’s lexicon. Whether about building a wall or protecting the Christian heritage, the refrain is constant. And to the surprise of many, about 80 percent of white evangelicals have believed Trump. Historian John Fea is not surprised - and in Believe Me he explains how we have arrived at this unprecedented moment in American politics. In this audiobook, Fea challenges his fellow believers to replace fear with hope, the pursuit of power with humility, and nostalgia with history.
-
-
Wonderful, challenging work
- By HBBC on 07-21-18
By: John Fea
-
American Crusade
- Our Fight to Stay Free
- By: Pete Hegseth
- Narrated by: Pete Hegseth
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Join the political and cultural fight for America's freedom - and learn how to protect our nation from the leftist agenda - with this essential guide from Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Pete Hegseth. In American Crusade, Pete Hegseth explores whether the election of President Donald J. Trump was sign of a national rebirth, or instead the final act of a nation that has surrendered to Leftists who demand socialism, globalism, secularism, and politically correct elitism. Can real America still win? And how?
-
-
Beyond Expectations!
- By Matthew on 05-24-20
By: Pete Hegseth
-
Jesus and John Wayne
- How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
- By: Kristin Kobes du Mez
- Narrated by: Suzie Althens
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How did a libertine who lacks even the most basic knowledge of the Christian faith win 81 percent of the white evangelical vote in 2016? And why have white evangelicals become a presidential reprobate's staunchest supporters? Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping account of the last 75 years of white evangelicalism, showing how American evangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism.
-
-
Like reading a history of my evangelical life
- By Renee on 10-15-20
-
The Hidden Enemy
- Aggressive Secularism, Radical Islam, and the Fight for Our Future
- By: Michael Youssef
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What’s going on in our world? Why are suicide bombers attacking our cities? Why are shooters invading our workplaces and malls? Why are students attacking speakers at their colleges? Why are there two versions of the truth on the Internet and in the media? Michael Youssef, popular teacher and Middle Eastern expert, explains in detail what’s troubling today’s world. Aggressive secularism is stripping our nation of the vestiges of truth, as many Christians are browbeaten into silence.
-
-
Just great truth and interesting facts
- By HannyDaddy on 06-13-18
By: Michael Youssef
-
Still the Best Hope
- Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph
- By: Dennis Prager
- Narrated by: Erik Bergman
- Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this visionary book, Dennis Prager, one of America's most original thinkers, contends that humanity confronts a monumental choice. The world must decide between American values and its two oppositional alternatives: Islamism and European-style democratic socialism. Prager makes the case for the American value system as the most viable program ever devised to produce a good society. Those values are explained here more clearly and persuasively than ever before.
-
-
An Important Book, should be required reading
- By Beth on 07-18-12
By: Dennis Prager
-
Liberal Fascism
- The Secret History of the American Left
- By: Jonah Goldberg
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Fascists", "Brownshirts", "jackbooted stormtroopers" - such are the insults typically hurled at conservatives by their liberal opponents. Calling someone a fascist is the fastest way to shut them up, defining their views as beyond the political pale. But who are the real fascists in our midst?
-
-
Great book
- By Mark on 05-10-08
By: Jonah Goldberg
-
The Founding Myth
- Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American
- By: Andrew L. Seidel, Susan Jacoby - Foreword
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do "In God We Trust", the Declaration of Independence, and other historical "evidence" prove that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles? Are the Ten Commandments the basis for American law? A constitutional attorney dives into the debate about religion's role in America's founding.
-
-
Just 2 Issues
- By VIPER G on 09-01-19
By: Andrew L. Seidel, and others
-
God and Race in American Politics
- A Short History
- By: Mark A. Noll
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Noll demonstrates how supporters and opponents of slavery and segregation drew equally on the Bible to justify the morality of their positions. He shows how a common evangelical heritage supported Jim Crow discrimination and contributed powerfully to the black theology of liberation preached by Martin Luther King Jr.
-
-
American history requires God and Race to be whole
- By Adam Shields on 04-26-14
By: Mark A. Noll
-
Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections)
- The Battles That Define America from Jefferson's Heresies to Gay Marriage
- By: Stephen Prothero
- Narrated by: Tristan Morris
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though they may seem to be dividing the country irreparably, today's heated cultural and political battles between right and left, progressives and the Tea Party, religious and secular are far from unprecedented. In this engaging and important work, Stephen Prothero reframes the current debate, viewing it as the latest in a number of flashpoints that have shaped our national identity.
-
-
Resistance to Change
- By Joanne on 04-07-16
By: Stephen Prothero
-
Preparing for War
- The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism—and What Comes Next
- By: Bradley Onishi
- Narrated by: Bradley Onishi
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, was not a blip or an aberration. It was the logical outcome of years of a White evangelical subculture's preparation for war. Religion scholar and former insider Bradley Onishi maps the origins of White Christian nationalism and traces its offshoots in Preparing for War.
-
-
Religious Fundementalism and Freedom
- By John C. Morris on 06-06-24
By: Bradley Onishi
-
White Evangelical Racism
- The Politics of Morality in America
- By: Anthea Butler
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 3 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The American political scene today is poisonously divided, and the vast majority of white evangelicals plays a strikingly unified, powerful role in the disunion. These evangelicals raise a starkly consequential question for electoral politics: Why do they claim morality while supporting politicians who act immorally by most Christian measures? In this clear-eyed, hard-hitting chronicle of American religion and politics, Anthea Butler answers that racism is at the core of conservative evangelical activism and power.
-
-
As a White Evangelical ... or Formally So ...
- By Wigwam on 05-09-21
By: Anthea Butler
-
Freethinkers
- A History of American Secularism
- By: Susan Jacoby
- Narrated by: Rich Miller
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At a time when the separation of church and state is under attack as never before, Freethinkers offers a powerful defense of the secularist heritage that gave Americans the first government in the world founded not on the authority of religion but on the bedrock of human reason. In impassioned, elegant prose, celebrated author Susan Jacoby traces more than 200 years of secularist activism, beginning with the fierce debate over the omission of God from the Constitution.
-
-
Essential history of free thought in America
- By Clark Savage on 11-27-17
By: Susan Jacoby
-
The Evangelicals
- The Struggle to Shape America
- By: Frances FitzGerald
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 25 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This groundbreaking book from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Frances FitzGerald is the first to tell the powerful, dramatic story of the Evangelical movement in America - from the Puritan era to the 2016 presidential election. Evangelicals have, in many ways, defined the nation. They have shaped our culture and our politics. Frances FitzGerald's narrative of this distinctively American movement is a major work of history, piecing together the centuries-long story for the first time.
-
-
Great book
- By Gary LA on 12-27-17
Related to this topic
-
Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections)
- The Battles That Define America from Jefferson's Heresies to Gay Marriage
- By: Stephen Prothero
- Narrated by: Tristan Morris
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though they may seem to be dividing the country irreparably, today's heated cultural and political battles between right and left, progressives and the Tea Party, religious and secular are far from unprecedented. In this engaging and important work, Stephen Prothero reframes the current debate, viewing it as the latest in a number of flashpoints that have shaped our national identity.
-
-
Resistance to Change
- By Joanne on 04-07-16
By: Stephen Prothero
-
Founding Faith
- Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America
- By: Steven Waldman
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The culture wars have distorted the dramatic story of how Americans came to worship freely. Many activists on the right maintain that the United States was founded as a "Christian nation". Many on the left contend that the Founders were secular or Deist and that the First Amendment was designed to boldly separate church and state throughout the land. None of these claims are true, argues Beliefnet.com editor in chief Steven Waldman.
-
-
Eye-opening
- By Michael on 06-28-08
By: Steven Waldman
-
Freethinkers
- A History of American Secularism
- By: Susan Jacoby
- Narrated by: Rich Miller
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At a time when the separation of church and state is under attack as never before, Freethinkers offers a powerful defense of the secularist heritage that gave Americans the first government in the world founded not on the authority of religion but on the bedrock of human reason. In impassioned, elegant prose, celebrated author Susan Jacoby traces more than 200 years of secularist activism, beginning with the fierce debate over the omission of God from the Constitution.
-
-
Essential history of free thought in America
- By Clark Savage on 11-27-17
By: Susan Jacoby
-
The Evangelicals
- The Struggle to Shape America
- By: Frances FitzGerald
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 25 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This groundbreaking book from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Frances FitzGerald is the first to tell the powerful, dramatic story of the Evangelical movement in America - from the Puritan era to the 2016 presidential election. Evangelicals have, in many ways, defined the nation. They have shaped our culture and our politics. Frances FitzGerald's narrative of this distinctively American movement is a major work of history, piecing together the centuries-long story for the first time.
-
-
Great book
- By Gary LA on 12-27-17
-
Thinking Through Paul: Audio Lectures
- A Survey of His Life, Letters, and Theology
- By: Bruce W. Longenecker, Todd D. Still
- Narrated by: Bruce W. Longenecker, Todd D. Still
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The study of Paul and his letters can be exciting, challenging, and life-changing, but only if it is done well and only if listeners achieve more than a basic familiarity with the subject. This is exactly what Pauline experts Bruce W. Longenecker and Todd D. Still accomplish with Thinking Through Paul: Audio Lectures.
-
-
Very interesting and useful resource
- By NOAH T. SMITH on 03-09-23
By: Bruce W. Longenecker, and others
-
Thy Kingdom Come
- An Evangelical's Lament
- By: Randall Balmer
- Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For much of American history, evangelicalism was aligned with progressive political causes: nineteenth-century evangelicals fought for the abolition of slavery, universal suffrage, and public education. But contemporary conservative activists have defaulted on this majestic legacy, embracing instead an agenda virtually indistinguishable from the Republican Party platform.
-
-
Historical Reality
- By Cliff J on 08-10-07
By: Randall Balmer
-
Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections)
- The Battles That Define America from Jefferson's Heresies to Gay Marriage
- By: Stephen Prothero
- Narrated by: Tristan Morris
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though they may seem to be dividing the country irreparably, today's heated cultural and political battles between right and left, progressives and the Tea Party, religious and secular are far from unprecedented. In this engaging and important work, Stephen Prothero reframes the current debate, viewing it as the latest in a number of flashpoints that have shaped our national identity.
-
-
Resistance to Change
- By Joanne on 04-07-16
By: Stephen Prothero
-
Founding Faith
- Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America
- By: Steven Waldman
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The culture wars have distorted the dramatic story of how Americans came to worship freely. Many activists on the right maintain that the United States was founded as a "Christian nation". Many on the left contend that the Founders were secular or Deist and that the First Amendment was designed to boldly separate church and state throughout the land. None of these claims are true, argues Beliefnet.com editor in chief Steven Waldman.
-
-
Eye-opening
- By Michael on 06-28-08
By: Steven Waldman
-
Freethinkers
- A History of American Secularism
- By: Susan Jacoby
- Narrated by: Rich Miller
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At a time when the separation of church and state is under attack as never before, Freethinkers offers a powerful defense of the secularist heritage that gave Americans the first government in the world founded not on the authority of religion but on the bedrock of human reason. In impassioned, elegant prose, celebrated author Susan Jacoby traces more than 200 years of secularist activism, beginning with the fierce debate over the omission of God from the Constitution.
-
-
Essential history of free thought in America
- By Clark Savage on 11-27-17
By: Susan Jacoby
-
The Evangelicals
- The Struggle to Shape America
- By: Frances FitzGerald
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 25 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This groundbreaking book from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Frances FitzGerald is the first to tell the powerful, dramatic story of the Evangelical movement in America - from the Puritan era to the 2016 presidential election. Evangelicals have, in many ways, defined the nation. They have shaped our culture and our politics. Frances FitzGerald's narrative of this distinctively American movement is a major work of history, piecing together the centuries-long story for the first time.
-
-
Great book
- By Gary LA on 12-27-17
-
Thinking Through Paul: Audio Lectures
- A Survey of His Life, Letters, and Theology
- By: Bruce W. Longenecker, Todd D. Still
- Narrated by: Bruce W. Longenecker, Todd D. Still
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The study of Paul and his letters can be exciting, challenging, and life-changing, but only if it is done well and only if listeners achieve more than a basic familiarity with the subject. This is exactly what Pauline experts Bruce W. Longenecker and Todd D. Still accomplish with Thinking Through Paul: Audio Lectures.
-
-
Very interesting and useful resource
- By NOAH T. SMITH on 03-09-23
By: Bruce W. Longenecker, and others
-
Thy Kingdom Come
- An Evangelical's Lament
- By: Randall Balmer
- Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For much of American history, evangelicalism was aligned with progressive political causes: nineteenth-century evangelicals fought for the abolition of slavery, universal suffrage, and public education. But contemporary conservative activists have defaulted on this majestic legacy, embracing instead an agenda virtually indistinguishable from the Republican Party platform.
-
-
Historical Reality
- By Cliff J on 08-10-07
By: Randall Balmer
-
Speak of the Devil
- How the Satanic Temple Is Changing the Way We Talk About Religion
- By: Joseph P. Laycock
- Narrated by: Thomas Allen
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Speak of the Devil is the first book-length study of The Satanic Temple. Joseph Laycock, a scholar of new religious movements, contends that the emergence of "political Satanism" marks a significant moment in American religious history that will have a lasting impact on how Americans frame debates about religious freedom.
-
-
Excellent book about a misunderstood topic!
- By Deena M Engelmann on 09-24-20
-
White Christian Privilege
- The Illusion of Religious Equality in America
- By: Khyati Y. Joshi
- Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The United States is recognized as the most religiously diverse country in the world, and yet its laws and customs, which many have come to see as normal features of American life, actually keep the constitutional ideal of “religious freedom for all” from becoming a reality. Christian beliefs, norms, and practices infuse our society; they are embedded in our institutions, creating the structures and expectations that define the idea of “Americanness.”
-
-
Audible needs to allow longer headlines
- By Adam Shields on 07-28-20
By: Khyati Y. Joshi
-
Liberal Fascism
- The Secret History of the American Left
- By: Jonah Goldberg
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Fascists", "Brownshirts", "jackbooted stormtroopers" - such are the insults typically hurled at conservatives by their liberal opponents. Calling someone a fascist is the fastest way to shut them up, defining their views as beyond the political pale. But who are the real fascists in our midst?
-
-
Great book
- By Mark on 05-10-08
By: Jonah Goldberg
-
Baptists in America
- A History
- By: Thomas S. Kidd, Barry Hankins
- Narrated by: Jonathan Walker
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Baptists in America, Thomas S. Kidd and Barry Hankins explore the long-running tensions between church, state, and culture that Baptists have shaped and navigated. Despite the moment of unity that their early persecution provided, their history has been marked by internal battles and schisms that were microcosms of national events, from the conflict over slavery that divided North from South to the conservative revolution of the 1970s and '80s.
-
-
Baptist critics
- By Paul on 11-27-16
By: Thomas S. Kidd, and others
-
Did America Have a Christian Founding?
- Separating Modern Myth from Historical Truth
- By: Mark David Hall
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this new audiobook, Hall makes the airtight case that America's Founders were not deists; that they did not create a "godless" Constitution; that even Jefferson and Madison did not want a high wall separating church and state; that most Founders believed the government should encourage Christianity; and that they embraced a robust understanding of religious liberty for biblical and theological reasons. In addition, Hall explains why and how the Founders' views are absolutely relevant today.
-
-
Yes.
- By Philip D. Larson on 02-04-20
By: Mark David Hall
-
The Founding Myth
- Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American
- By: Andrew L. Seidel, Susan Jacoby - Foreword
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do "In God We Trust", the Declaration of Independence, and other historical "evidence" prove that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles? Are the Ten Commandments the basis for American law? A constitutional attorney dives into the debate about religion's role in America's founding.
-
-
Just 2 Issues
- By VIPER G on 09-01-19
By: Andrew L. Seidel, and others
-
Unholy
- Why White Evangelicals Worship at the Altar of Donald Trump
- By: Sarah Posner
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this taut inquiry, Posner digs deep into the radical history of the religious right to reveal how issues of race and xenophobia have always been at the movement’s core, and how religion often cloaked anxieties about perceived threats to a white, Christian America. Fueled by an antidemocratic impulse, and united by this narrative of reverse victimization, the religious right and the alt-right support a common agenda.
-
-
How We Got Here
- By D. Sooley on 06-16-20
By: Sarah Posner
-
It's Dangerous to Believe
- Religious Freedom and Its Enemies
- By: Mary Eberstadt
- Narrated by: Margaret Winston
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In It's Dangerous to Believe, Mary Eberstadt documents how people of faith - especially Christians who adhere to traditional religious beliefs - face widespread discrimination in today's increasingly secular society. Eberstadt details how recent laws, court decisions, and intimidation on campuses and elsewhere threaten believers who fear losing their jobs, their communities, and their basic freedoms solely because of their convictions.
-
-
Not about Freedom of Religion
- By A. A. Gunnarsdóttir on 01-29-19
By: Mary Eberstadt
-
We the Fallen People
- The Founders and the Future of American Democracy
- By: Robert Tracy McKenzie
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We the Fallen People presents a close look at the ideas of human nature to be found in the history of American democratic thought. McKenzie, following C. S. Lewis, claims there are only two reasons to believe in majority rule: because we have confidence in human nature - or because we don't. The Founders subscribed to the biblical principle that humans are fallen and their virtue is always doubtful, and they wrote the US Constitution to frame a republic intended to handle our weaknesses.
-
-
Thoughtful reflection and historical perspective, but ultimately no easy answer
- By Brandon on 03-28-23
-
These Truths
- A History of the United States
- By: Jill Lepore
- Narrated by: Jill Lepore
- Length: 29 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the most ambitious one-volume American history in decades, award-winning historian Jill Lepore offers a magisterial account of the origins and rise of a divided nation. In riveting prose, These Truths tells the story of America, beginning in 1492, to ask whether the course of events has proven the nation's founding truths or belied them.
-
-
Good Story but distracting sound engineering
- By MindSpiker on 11-21-18
By: Jill Lepore
-
Still the Best Hope
- Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph
- By: Dennis Prager
- Narrated by: Erik Bergman
- Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this visionary book, Dennis Prager, one of America's most original thinkers, contends that humanity confronts a monumental choice. The world must decide between American values and its two oppositional alternatives: Islamism and European-style democratic socialism. Prager makes the case for the American value system as the most viable program ever devised to produce a good society. Those values are explained here more clearly and persuasively than ever before.
-
-
An Important Book, should be required reading
- By Beth on 07-18-12
By: Dennis Prager
-
Protestants
- The Faith That Made the Modern World
- By: Alec Ryrie
- Narrated by: Tim Bruce
- Length: 20 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this dazzling global history that charts five centuries of innovation and change, Alec Ryrie makes the case that Protestants made the modern world. Protestants introduces us to the men and women who defined and redefined this quarrelsome faith. Some turned to their newly accessible bibles to justify bold acts of political opposition, others to support a new understanding of who they were and what they could and should do. Above all, they were willing to fight for their beliefs.
-
-
A secular history protestantism.
- By SakuraHB on 07-19-17
By: Alec Ryrie
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Human Factor
- Gorbachev, Reagan, and Thatcher, and the End of the Cold War
- By: Archie Brown
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 21 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To understand the significance of the parts played by Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher in East-West relations in the second half of the 1980s, Brown addresses several specific questions: What were the values and assumptions of these leaders, and how did their perceptions evolve? What were the major influences on them? To what extent were they reflecting the views of their own political establishment or challenging them? How important for ending the East-West standoff were their interrelations?
-
-
Compelling story of important events
- By Edward C. on 07-13-20
By: Archie Brown
-
Task Force Hogan
- The World War II Tank Battalion That Spearheaded the Liberation of Europe
- By: William R. Hogan
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A fourth-generation soldier tells the story of his father’s tank battalion, the “Spearhead,” that selflessly led the charge on the front lines from Normandy into Germany—against impossible odds, technologically superior weaponry, and a fanatical enemy on its home turf—and the heroes whose sacrifice won World War II.
-
-
Very realistic
- By Rock Bottom on 11-14-23
By: William R. Hogan
-
The Plateau
- By: Maggie Paxson
- Narrated by: Maggie Paxson
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a remote pocket of Nazi-held France, ordinary people risked their lives to rescue many hundreds of strangers, mostly Jewish children. Was this a fluke of history, or something more? Anthropologist Maggie Paxson, certainties shaken by years of studying strife, arrives on the Plateau to explore this phenomenon: What are the traits that make a group choose selflessness?
-
-
Remarkable. Masterpiece.
- By JWu on 09-02-19
By: Maggie Paxson
-
The Long Reckoning
- A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam
- By: George Black
- Narrated by: Elyse Dinh
- Length: 17 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides.
-
-
same thing over and over
- By C. Brieant on 12-02-23
By: George Black
-
The Lost River
- By: Michel Danino
- Narrated by: Vishal Menon
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Indian subcontinent was the scene of dramatic upheavals a few thousand years ago. The Northwest region entered an arid phase, and erosion coupled with tectonic events played havoc with river courses. One of them disappeared. Celebrated as Sarasvati in the Rig Veda and the Mahabharata, this river was rediscovered in the early 19th century through topographic explorations by British officials. Recently, geological and climatological studies have probed its evolution and disappearance, while satellite imagery has traced the river's buried courses....
-
-
Superb introductory history "Indus Civilization"
- By DesiBOOKworm on 08-11-20
By: Michel Danino
-
VC
- An American History
- By: Tom Nicholas
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
VC tells the riveting story of how the industry arose from the United States' long-running orientation toward entrepreneurship. Venture capital has been driven from the start by the pull of outsized returns through a skewed distribution of payoffs - a faith in low-probability but substantial financial rewards that rarely materialize. Whether the gamble is a whaling voyage setting sail from New Bedford or the newest startup in Silicon Valley, VC is not just a model of finance that has proven difficult to replicate in other countries.
-
-
Could have been better if it was a shorter book
- By Gaerbear on 12-19-19
By: Tom Nicholas
-
The Human Factor
- Gorbachev, Reagan, and Thatcher, and the End of the Cold War
- By: Archie Brown
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 21 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To understand the significance of the parts played by Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher in East-West relations in the second half of the 1980s, Brown addresses several specific questions: What were the values and assumptions of these leaders, and how did their perceptions evolve? What were the major influences on them? To what extent were they reflecting the views of their own political establishment or challenging them? How important for ending the East-West standoff were their interrelations?
-
-
Compelling story of important events
- By Edward C. on 07-13-20
By: Archie Brown
-
Task Force Hogan
- The World War II Tank Battalion That Spearheaded the Liberation of Europe
- By: William R. Hogan
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A fourth-generation soldier tells the story of his father’s tank battalion, the “Spearhead,” that selflessly led the charge on the front lines from Normandy into Germany—against impossible odds, technologically superior weaponry, and a fanatical enemy on its home turf—and the heroes whose sacrifice won World War II.
-
-
Very realistic
- By Rock Bottom on 11-14-23
By: William R. Hogan
-
The Plateau
- By: Maggie Paxson
- Narrated by: Maggie Paxson
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a remote pocket of Nazi-held France, ordinary people risked their lives to rescue many hundreds of strangers, mostly Jewish children. Was this a fluke of history, or something more? Anthropologist Maggie Paxson, certainties shaken by years of studying strife, arrives on the Plateau to explore this phenomenon: What are the traits that make a group choose selflessness?
-
-
Remarkable. Masterpiece.
- By JWu on 09-02-19
By: Maggie Paxson
-
The Long Reckoning
- A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam
- By: George Black
- Narrated by: Elyse Dinh
- Length: 17 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The American war in Vietnam has left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides.
-
-
same thing over and over
- By C. Brieant on 12-02-23
By: George Black
-
The Lost River
- By: Michel Danino
- Narrated by: Vishal Menon
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Indian subcontinent was the scene of dramatic upheavals a few thousand years ago. The Northwest region entered an arid phase, and erosion coupled with tectonic events played havoc with river courses. One of them disappeared. Celebrated as Sarasvati in the Rig Veda and the Mahabharata, this river was rediscovered in the early 19th century through topographic explorations by British officials. Recently, geological and climatological studies have probed its evolution and disappearance, while satellite imagery has traced the river's buried courses....
-
-
Superb introductory history "Indus Civilization"
- By DesiBOOKworm on 08-11-20
By: Michel Danino
-
VC
- An American History
- By: Tom Nicholas
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
VC tells the riveting story of how the industry arose from the United States' long-running orientation toward entrepreneurship. Venture capital has been driven from the start by the pull of outsized returns through a skewed distribution of payoffs - a faith in low-probability but substantial financial rewards that rarely materialize. Whether the gamble is a whaling voyage setting sail from New Bedford or the newest startup in Silicon Valley, VC is not just a model of finance that has proven difficult to replicate in other countries.
-
-
Could have been better if it was a shorter book
- By Gaerbear on 12-19-19
By: Tom Nicholas
-
Vigilance
- The Life of William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad
- By: Andrew K. Diemer
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born free in 1821 to two parents who had been enslaved, William Still was drawn to anti-slavery work from a young age. Hired as a clerk at the Anti-Slavery office in Philadelphia after teaching himself to read and write, he began directly assisting enslaved people who were crossing over from the South into freedom. Andrew Diemer captures the full range and accomplishments of Still’s life, from his resistance to Fugitive Slave Laws and his relationship with John Brown before the war, to his long career fighting for citizenship rights and desegregation until the early 20th century.
-
-
Important history of a brave man
- By Kathleen Dalton on 11-07-23
By: Andrew K. Diemer
-
Breaker Morant
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Cameron Goodall
- Length: 23 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most Australians have heard of the Boer War of 1899 to 1902 and of Harry 'Breaker' Morant, a figure who rivals Ned Kelly as an archetypal Australian folk hero. Born in England and emigrating to Queensland in 1883 in his early 20s, Morant was a charming but reckless man who established a reputation as a rider, polo player and writer. He submitted ballads to The Bulletin that were published under the name 'The Breaker' and counted Banjo Paterson as a friend.
-
-
Horrors of war
- By David R. on 04-15-21
By: Peter FitzSimons
-
Café Europa Revisited
- How to Survive Post-Communism
- By: Slavenka Drakulic
- Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An immigrant with a parrot in Stockholm, a photo of a girl in Lviv, a sculpture of Alexander the Great in Skopje, a memorial ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the Soviet led army invasion of Prague: these are a few glimpses of life in Eastern Europe today. Three decades after the Velvet Revolution, Slavenka Drakulic, the author of Cafe Europa and A Guided Tour of the Museum of Communism, takes a look at what has changed and what has remained the same in the region in her daring new essay collection.
-
The Revolutionary Paul Revere
- By: Joel J. Miller
- Narrated by: John Behrens
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Always smack dab in the thick of things, he was an ordinary citizen living in extraordinarily turbulent times. Revere played key roles in colonial tax fights and riots, the infamous Boston Massacre, the Tea Party, the Battle of Lexington and Concord, and even the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. In this fast-paced, dramatic account, Paul Revere’s life pulses with energy as author Joel J. Miller explores his family and church life along with his revolutionary contribution as a spy, entrepreneur, express rider, freemason, and commercial visionary.
-
-
Great
- By Grace on 03-11-24
By: Joel J. Miller
-
The Fatal Alliance
- A Century of War on Film
- By: David Thomson
- Narrated by: David Thomson
- Length: 19 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Fatal Alliance the acclaimed film critic David Thomson offers us one of his most provocative books yet—a rich, arresting, and troubling study of that most beloved genre: the war movie. It is not a standard history or survey of war films, although Thomson turns his typically piercing eye to many favorites—from All Quiet on the Western Front to The Bridge on the River Kwai to Saving Private Ryan.
-
-
I enjoy David Thomson's books
- By Boxing Fan on 08-05-24
By: David Thomson
-
The Map of Knowledge
- A Thousand-Year History of How Classical Ideas Were Lost and Found
- By: Violet Moller
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The foundations of modern knowledge - philosophy, math, astronomy, geography - were laid by the Greeks, whose ideas were written on scrolls and stored in libraries across the Mediterranean and beyond. But as the vast Roman Empire disintegrated, so did appreciation of these precious texts. Christianity cast a shadow over so-called pagan thought, books were burned, and the library of Alexandria, the greatest repository of classical knowledge, was destroyed. Yet some texts did survive and The Map of Knowledge explores the role played by seven cities around the Mediterranean....
-
-
Terrible narration.
- By nathan535 on 11-05-19
By: Violet Moller
-
Soldiers Don't Go Mad
- A Story of Brotherhood, Poetry, and Mental Illness During the First World War
- By: Charles Glass
- Narrated by: Edward Glass
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the moment war broke out across Europe in 1914, the world entered a new, unparalleled era of modern warfare. Soldiers faced relentless machine gun shelling, incredible artillery power, flame throwers, and gas attacks. Within the first four months of the war, the British Army recorded the nervous collapse of ten percent of its officers; the loss of such manpower to mental illness left the army unable to fill its ranks. Soldiers Don't Go Mad tells for the first time the story of the soldiers and doctors who struggled with the effects of industrial warfare on the human psyche.
-
-
Healing from Hell
- By Josiah Olsson on 02-15-24
By: Charles Glass
-
Hell's Angels
- The True Story of the 303rd Bomb Group in World War II
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although the United States declared war against Germany in December 1941, a successful assault on Nazi-occupied Europe could not happen until Germany’s industrial and military might were crippled. The first target was the Luftwaffe—the most powerful and battle-hardened air force in the world. The United States Army Air Forces joined with Great Britain’s already-engaged Royal Air Force to launch a strategic air campaign that ultimately brought the Luftwaffe to its knees. One of the standout units of this campaign was the legendary 303rd Bomb Group—Hell’s Angels.
-
-
Captivating
- By rswaf86 on 11-12-21
By: Jay A. Stout
-
Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent
- By: Pranay Lal
- Narrated by: Vikrant Chaturvedi
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the oldest rocks, formed three billion years ago in Karnataka, to the arrival of our ancestors 50,000 years ago on the banks of the Indus, the author meticulously sifts through wide-ranging scientific disciplines and through the layers of earth to tell us the story of India, filled with a variety of fierce reptiles, fantastic dinosaurs, gargantuan mammals and amazing plants.
-
-
Fascinating telling of the story of the earth and it's people.
- By Randy on 08-04-24
By: Pranay Lal
-
Overstated
- A Coast-to-Coast Roast of the 50 States
- By: Colin Quinn
- Narrated by: Colin Quinn
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The United States is in a 50-states-wide couples’ counseling session, thinking about filing for divorce. But is that really what we want? Can a nation composed of states that are so different possibly hang together? Colin Quinn, comedian, social commentator, and writer and star of Red State Blue State and Unconstitutional, calls us out state-by-state, from Connecticut to Hawaii. He identifies the hypocrisies inherent in what we claim to believe and what we actually do.
-
-
Some authors shouldn't read their own book
- By D. Goss on 04-01-21
By: Colin Quinn
-
The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve
- By: Stephen Greenblatt
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bolder even than the ambitious books for which Stephen Greenblatt is already renowned, The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve explores the enduring story of humanity's first parents. Comprising only a few ancient verses, the story of Adam and Eve has served as a mirror in which we seem to glimpse the whole long history of our fears and desires, as both a hymn to human responsibility and a dark fable about human wretchedness.
-
-
For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return
- By Darwin8u on 02-11-18
-
The Boy Who Drew Auschwitz
- A Powerful True Story of Hope and Survival
- By: Thomas Geve, Charlie Inglefield
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In June 1943, after long years of hardship and persecution, 13-year-old Thomas Geve and his mother were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Separated upon arrival, he was left to fend for himself in the men’s camp of Auschwitz I. During 22 harsh months in three camps, Thomas experienced and witnessed the cruel and inhumane world of Nazi concentration and death camps. Nonetheless, he never gave up the will to live. Miraculously, he survived and was liberated from Buchenwald at the age of 15.
-
-
powerful
- By Kathy M. on 07-29-21
By: Thomas Geve, and others
What listeners say about Sacred Liberty
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Charles Cumiskey
- 05-23-19
Great insights
Steven Waldman writes a wonderful chronicle on our evolution on religious freedom in this country. Mob rule, ignorance, and narcissistic tendencies are alive and well in America. I wonder if religion causes ignorance or intolerance or is the consequence of blind faith???
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 06-25-24
A disappointing introduction to the subject
Waldman's work is a largely whig history tale of gradually increasing religious freedom rights and separation of church and state pushed forward by wise personalities and the diverse beliefs that have either arisen in or moved to the United States over its history. There are interesting anecdotes throughout and the work does engage with the attacks on religious freedom of slaves and Native Americans that are frequently ignored in these discussions. But as one of the first criticisms I'll be making in this review, the book does caveat the residential schools by talking about some survivors of the system who praise their religious education as a mitigating factor which is not something the author felt the need to do for any other example of religious persecution in the book. That some individuals were successfully convinced by a policy of blatant and self-aware cultural genocide is in no way a mitigation of those actions and that this is the only case that is brought up is disappointing.
Another failure of the work is a failure of discussing how economics played a large role in the formation of different religious beliefs and how religious toleration (or lack thereof) came from this. For instance, in the discussion of the end of Quaker domination of Pennsylvania, Waldman does discuss how German non-Quakers disapproved of Quaker accommodations to Native Americans (though framed through the notion of "Native American attacks" and not "German theft of Native lands"). A discussion here could have noted that the German migrants were largely farmers who benefited from expansionism while Quakers were urban merchants/tradesmen who benefited more from peaceful co-existence. This could be a start point to discuss how changing ways of economic production helped encourage pro-toleration forces as urbanization advanced, and a model of how to do this can be found in Albion's Seed, but instead this entire angle is ignored.
In addition, in later portions of the book covering the 20th century, only the contributions from religious people are considered with the advance of religious liberty and the establishment clause. Very notable in this is how the Engel v. Vitale case only gets a one line mention on school prayer, instead focusing on a different case, which is notable as one in which an atheist plantiff was involved. Also no discussion occurs of the Scopes Monkey Trial or evolution versus creationism in public schools at all. The omissions give the impression that the author only wants to discuss religious people's contributions to religious liberty and the separation of church and state and not secular people's contributions.
But most disappointing is the lengthy discussion about Muslims in America that manages to avoid talking about American foreign policy at all. This is simply malpractice. The Bush administration is given immense praise for drawing lines between extremist Islam and the broader concept of Islam without any reflection on how US foreign policy under that administration, from the invasion of Iraq to support for the Saudi state and Israel, helped fuel the very terrorism cited for increasing anti-Muslim sentiment. Waldman manages to also avoid talking about legal cases brought by the Bush administration against Muslim charities, most notably the at the time largest charity the Holy Land Foundation, merely stating that surveillance of mosques happened and were apparently "understandable" given terrorism that had occurred. This is a total distortion, the case against The Holy Land Foundation was nearly entirely evidence free and is cited by Human Rights Watch as a miscarriage of justice (read more here: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/11/after-israels-designation-human-rights-groups-terrorists-biden-should-release).
Also, even when Waldman accurately calls out a geopolitical player the US is aligned with, Saudi Arabia, as spreading backward beliefs. But even here the discussion of continued US support for the Saudis does not take place, nor the evidence that was already accumulating about Saudi governmental involvement in the 9/11 attacks. As early as 2004's 9/11 Commission Report Saudi fundraising was known, by 2016 deeper Saudi involvement was partially public from the 28 redacted pages of the report, and since then lawsuits have revealed deep Saudi complicity. But continued American support of that state is not discussed as contributing to the problems of terrorism and therefore the problems of religious intolerance.
Furthermore talking about anti-Western sentiment in places like Iran without even mentioning how this arose from US support of the Shah and a prior coup to overthrow secular, democratically elected prime minister Mossadegh, is absurd. Perhaps a reason why Waldman and political leaders he praises found themselves unable to stem the rising tide of Islamophobia of the 21st century is because they fail to engage with the actual reasons why extremist Islam spreads and terrorism occurs. Instead giving weak responses that concede points about the ideas coming from Islam being a problem rather than this being a response to American foreign policy.
Ultimately, the story Waldman clearly wants to tell with this book is one of religious intolerance being a problem of a combination of ignorance and single denomination demographic dominance being overcome by wise leadership and increasing diversity largely divorced from economic influences and geopolitical concerns and entirely being a discussion between believers with no significant non-believer influence. This story is highly incomplete and does a disservice to those wanting an introduction to America's struggles over the 1st Amendment's religious freedom and separation of church and state. I would only recommend this to those who want to understand how people with Waldman's perspective, largely American center-left liberalism, think about the subject and not really to learn about the subject directly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chad
- 07-02-20
Indefensible Liberal Bias
If cherry-picking were an Olympic Sport, Steve Waldman would have earned a gold. His unashamed bias skews his interpretation so harshly, it is difficult to digest his overall presentation.
Without offering a real debate, Waldman merely dismisses Conservative Christian values as either bigoted or out of date. His smugness and condescension towards Evangelicals smacks of the arrogant intolerance typical of modern liberals. Of course, presuming his own enlightenment, he assumed a voice of moral authority that he not only lacks, but seems to have no foundation to support- save his own opinion.
Typical liberal propaganda dressed in historical anecdotes! Read with caution, coffee and a double dose of critical evaluation.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful