Failing America’s Faithful: How Today’s Churches are Mixing God with Politics and Losing their Way

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the oldest daughter of Robert Kennedy and the niece of John F. Kennedy, was born and raised a devout Catholic, who has come to feel that her church, and much of contemporary American Christianity, is failing its members. This book is a spiritual call to arms, an assault on the way American churches today involve themselves more in prescribing personal behavior, rather than working for the greater good of the community. The author recounts her own Catholic upbringing, and the role of faith in the lives of her father and uncle, who were inspired by their religious beliefs to help build a just society. She gives examples of inspiring figures of the present and past, like Martin Luther King, Jr., her father, Robert Kennedy, and Rick Warren, whose spiritual values led them to devote themselves to helping others. She tells of her own spiritual crisis, as she witnessed the nurturing Catholic church of her childhood become increasingly alienated from the real concerns of its congregants. And finally, she offers a message of hope, showing how Americans today can reclaim their religious traditions and use them to transform their lives and our churches.