How faith sustained Jackie Robinson—both as an athlete and as an activist.The integration of Major League Baseball in 1947 was a triumph. But it was also a fight. As the first Black major leaguer since the 1880s, Jackie Robinson knew he was not going to be welcomed into America's pastime with open arms. Anticipating hostility, he promised Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey that he would "turn the other cheek" during his first years in the league, despit...

In the wake of the 2004 election, pundits were shocked at exit polling that showed that 22% of voters thought 'moral values' was the most important issue at stake. People on both sides of the political divide believed this was the key to victory for George W. Bush, who professes a deep and abiding faith in God. While some fervent Bush supporters see him as a man chosen by God for the White House, opponents see his overt commitment to Christianity as a dangerous and unprecedented bridging o...

A nuanced portrait of a great historical figure considered everything from a "God-haunted man" to a "stalwart nonbeliever"What did faith mean to Winston Churchill?Churchill was far from transparent about his religious beliefs and never regularly attended church services as an adult, even considering himself "not a pillar of the church but a buttress," in the sense that he supported it "from the outside." But Gary Scott Smith assembles pieces of Churchill's life and...

Methodism in the public and private lives of the politicianAfter more than forty contentious years in the public eye, Hillary Rodham Clinton is one of the best-known political figures in the nation. Yet the strong religious faith at the heart of her politics and personal life often remains confounding, if not mysterious, to longtime observers. Even many of her admirers would be surprised to hear Clinton state that her Methodist outlook has “been a huge part of who ...

In his highly praised book Faith and the Presidency, Gary Scott Smith cast a revealing light on the role religion has played in presidential politics throughout our nation's history, offering comprehensive, even-handed examinations of the role of religion in the lives, politics, and policies of eleven presidents. Now, in Religion in the Oval Office, Smith takes on eleven more of our nation's most interesting and influential chief executives: John Adams, James Madison, Joh...

Mark Twain's literary works have intrigued and inspired readers from the late 1860s to the present. His varied experiences as a journeyman printer, river boat pilot, prospector, journalist, novelist, humorist, businessman, and world traveller, combined with his incredible imagination and astonishing creativity, enabled him to devise some of American literature's most memorable characters and engaging stories. Twain had a complicated relationship with Christianity. He strove to understand, ...

Does heaven exist? If so, what is it like? And how does one get in? Throughout history, painters, poets, philosophers, pastors, and many ordinary people have pondered these questions. Perhaps no other topic captures the popular imagination quite like heaven. Gary Scott Smith examines how Americans from the Puritans to the present have imagined heaven. He argues that whether Americans have perceived heaven as reality or fantasy, as God's home or a human invention, as a source of inspiration...

We all say that we care about children. We all know that millions of children around the world, including in the United States, are suffering physically, materially, and emotionally and are unable to reach their full potential. Moreover, their material deprivation and physical ills often prevent them from responding to the gospel. Most of us conclude that we cannot do anything significant to help the impoverished children living in our own backyards let alone those living in the slums of N...

Now available in paperback, William C. Banfield’s acclaimed collection of interviews delves into the lives and work of forty-one Black composers. Each of the profiled artists offers a candid self-portrait that explores areas from training and compositional techniques to working in a exclusive canon that has existed for a very long time. At the same time, Banfield draws on sociology, Western concepts of art and taste, and vernacular musical forms like blues and jazz to provide a frame for t...

As accountability in education has become an increasingly prominent topic, teacher preparation programs are being asked to provide credible evidence that their teacher candidates can impact student learning.Teacher Work Samples, first developed 30 years ago, have emerged as an effective method of quantifying the complex set of tasks that comprise effective teaching and documenting the effectiveness of preservice teachers' impact on student learning. Hilda Rosselli, Mark Girod, and ...

Darkness, our most primitive fear since shadows first stirred.Within the pages of this horror anthology you will be taken back into the past, down to the depths of the ocean and across the borderline between our world and the next. You will see snapshots from the lives of small children, old-time cockney gangsters and aimless stoners. You will journey into the darkest house on the darkest street, wander hospital basements, and take a flight in the comfort of first ...

A mix of thematic essays, reference entries, and primary source documents covering the role of religion in American history and life from the colonial era to the present.Often controversial, religion has been an important force in shaping American culture. Religious convictions strongly influenced colonial and state governments as well as the United States as a new republic. Religious teachings, values, and practices deeply affected political structures and policie...