Religious Beliefs of Our Presidents

The religious beliefs and church preferences of America's presidents have always been a topic of great interest and, indeed, have in recent history played a critical role in their electability to the nation's highest office. It is assumed that all our presidents have been practicing religionists. But is this true?

In this exhaustively researched history of the religious beliefs of America's first 32 presidents, from George Washington to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Franklin Steiner organizes his chapters not chronologically but by religious affiliation. Thus we learn that Washington was not a regular church attendant, that Jefferson and Lincoln were freethinkers, and that another half dozen presidents were of "doubtful" religious belief. Appendices include "Washington's Last Sickness and Death" and "Religious Opinions and Habits of Washington."