Tocqueville’s Civil Religion: American Christianity and the Prospects for Freedom

Sanford Kessler offers a provocative and timely analysis of Alexis de Tocqueville’s views on the relationship between Christianity and American democracy. These views are central to Tocqueville’s discussions of the moral requirements of freedom and the tasks of democratic statesmanship. Tocqueville’s thinking about American religion is highly relevant to contemporary debates regarding America’s origins, the current strength of American Christianity, and the proper role of religion in American public life. Kessler skillfully demonstrates how Tocqueville incorporates his ideas into an analysis of the American character, a factor in American politics that he considered more important than the Constitution. This book will challenge the thinking of all Americans concerned with religious-political issues and with the prospects for freedom.