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God's Own Country: Tales from the Bible Belt | 
 enlarge | Author: Stephen Bates
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Category: Book
Buy New: $30.76
New (4) Used (5) from $25.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 977760
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0340909269
Dewey Decimal Number: 291
EAN: 9780340909263
ASIN: 0340909269
Publication Date: May 28, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New Book. Shrink wrapped and dispatched from NY within 3 to 5 days. Returns accepted. Satisfaction guarantee.
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Product Description
Right-wing evangelical Christianity has come to dominate American political and social life in recent years, dividing the country and sparking cultural and moral battles whose outcome will determine how the world’s only superpower is shaped in the 21st Century. High politics and low tactics frame a fierce debate which goes much further back in the country’s history than the accession of George W. Bush in 2001. It is a battle that affects the world. In this book Stephen Bates explains why what happens in the Bible Belt matters around the world, and how there are those who hope to export the battle internationally. American fundamentalist religion has the potential to impact on crucial and acutely dangerous areas of the world. Its priorities are often arcane and sometimes weird. But it is already affecting American government foreign policy—not least in Israel and the Middle East, where some are predicting the world’s last and greatest battle will be fought. Where will America’s battle for its soul take the world?
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| Customer Reviews:
 A book that contradicts itself May 17, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Being a person of faith I looked forward to reading this book. While I was hoping to find a book that takes an unbiased approach to faith and openly discusses why people should be allowed to speak openly of faith, I have come across feeling that the authors are insincere about faith unless the "faith" of others is the same as that shared by the authors.
Furthermore, from my perspective there are several topics that the authors appear to approach not from a position of lovingness and inclusion, but rather from a position of hate and exclusion. For example, there appears to be a willingness to point the finger at homosexuality as #1 cause for the spread of AIDS. While I agree it is easy for many to jump on the gay bashing train, I believe that the most significant cause behind the spread of AIDS is unprotected sexual activity - one need to go no father than South America or Africa to see this is the case. Additionally, the authors point to same sex unions or same sex marriage as a trend that it undermining the sanctity of marriage. Once again, the subtle or not so subtle gay bashing begins. And while the authors point to antidotal evidence of why this is or may be true, it seems that they avoid the elephant in the room: divorce. The last time I checked, divorce does more to debase the sanctity of marriage than anything two committed people of the same sex could ever hope to do. To this end, I do not see the authors suggesting that America outlaw divorce; while my wife and I would have no problem with such a law, I do not know how many others reading this book would.
Regarding the issue of teen pregnancy, the authors once again stop short of talking about the larger issue and how to correct it. While the belief seems to be that discussion of abstinence will eradicate what they view as a drain on society, the larger issue of pregnancy outside of marriage (not just teen) is never raised. Ergo, would not the real solution be to make sexual activity outside of marriage illegal; but the authors neither seems ready to acknowledge the larger problem nor discuss what is likely the only permanent solution. While do not actually want to make such activity illegal, it seems useful to ask the question in order to bring into question the conclusions of the authors.
Lastly, on the subject of faith, after reading much of this book I have the feeling that people of faith MUST speak out and it is our duty to do so! While this sounds good in theory, I recognize that there are faiths other than my Christian or Judaeo-Christian beliefs, and that my speaking out and making demands means that everyone should be able to make the same demand with respect to their faith - including people with non-religious beliefs. However, the authors seems to speak of faith only in term of God: a purely Christian God and with a Western civilization perspective. Personally, I would rather hold my beliefs as personal and allow others to do the same if they choose to as well. At the same time, I am more than happy to allow everyone to have an equal voice regarding their beliefs. While the authors state that they wish for such freedom, they only want the voice to be a Christian one. For example the authors want to Christians to fight to allow prayer in schools and insist on calling it "prayer" (and not a time for silence), however, once again the view is a Christian-centric one and not inclusive of the thoughts and beliefs of others.
In the final analysis, this book seems to merely restate what most every other book of faith does, and like the others, it seems to come not from a position of love but from exclusion. I hope to find a book that speaks of faith not in terms of us versus them, but one of loving thy neighbor and teaching me (and others) to be a better person (no matter what my or my neighbor's faith is).
As an aside, while I do not advocate that divorce or sexual activity outside of marriage be made illegal, I do think that statements such as these demonstrate the weakness of the authors' arguments. Unlike others who may read this book, I do NOT find it to reflect a balanced or common sense viewpoint. But then again, being a person of faith, I believe that other reviewers are entitled to their own personal opinion - even if that opinion contradicts or differs from mine!
 Excellent study of American Christianity in history and today April 29, 2008
This book is written by a British author and this review originally appeared for a UK magazine for booksellers.
"God's Own Country" is an engaging and insightful book written by an Englishman tracing the history of American Christianity from the founding of the country until today. Stephen Bates writes with real clarity and occasional touches of humour, making a subject that might feel hard going always interesting. Subjects include tracing the idea of the separation of religion and state through America's history, the creation vs evolution debate, the links between politics and religion, the Moral Majority, issues of abortion and homosexuality and George W Bush's own personal faith. With his British viewpoint the author explains some of the weirder aspects of modern day American religiosity in an amusing and clear style and yet his affection for America also comes through.
This book is not a dry and objective text book but more of a warm and fascinating journey through America's history and its life today. It shows some of the excesses of American Christians in their attempts to link religion and state but also some of the other people in US history and the present time who work to be voices of reason across the pond.
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