A Christian and a Democrat: A Religious Biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt (Library of Religious Biography | LRB)
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, when asked at a press conference about the roots of his political philosophy, responded simply, “I am a Christian and a Democrat.” This is the story of how the first informed the second—how his upbringing in the Episcopal Church and matriculation at the Groton School under legendary educator and minister Endicott Peabody molded Roosevelt into a leader whose politics were fundamentally shaped by the Social Gospel.
A work begun by religious historian John Woolverton (1926 2014) and recently completed by James Bratt, A Christian and a Democrat is an engaging analysis of the surprisingly spiritual life of one of the most consequential presidents in US history. Reading Woolverton’s account of FDR’s response to the toxic demagoguery of his day will reassure readers today that a constructive way forward is possible for Christians, for Americans, and for the world.
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- Examines Roosevelt’s concept of faith, hope, and love
- Compares Roosevelt with two of his predecessors, Abraham Lincoln and Herbert Hoover
- Explores the heart of FDR’s religion
- Introduction: “The Strongest and Most Mysterious Force”
Part I: Formation
- Son, Vestryman, and Church Politician
- Endicott Peabody, Spiritual Father
- Groton and Harvard—Race, Religion, and Leadership
Part II: Faith
- Hope—Polio and the Great Depression
- Charity—The Cooperative Commonwealth
- Faith—“Yes, a Very Simple Christian”
- Prophet, Priest, and President—FDR in World War II
Part III: Interpretation
- “Who Is Kierkegaard?”
- Last Rites
- Afterword: Politics and Religion in Lincoln, Hoover, and Roosevelt
This timely, inspiring portrait of the role of Christianity in the life and presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt helps us better understand one of the influential leaders of the twentieth century. Woolverton has made a great contribution here that should lead us to reevaluate our view of the role of faith in the progressive movement, the Democratic Party, and American politics generally, while also stoking our imagination for how Christian principles might guide us today.
—Michael Wear, author of Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House about the Future of Faith in America
Endicott Peabody’s dying words, ‘You know there’s no doubt but that Roosevelt is a very religious man,’ provide a good summation of America’s thirty-second president. This remarkable and long- overdue biography traces Franklin Roosevelt’s religious development from childhood through Peabody’s Groton School to the presidency, during which FDR continued to serve as senior warden of St. James’ Episcopal Church in Hyde Park. Roosevelt’s self-description as a Christian and a Democrat comes alive in this excellent, thoroughly researched biography, a book that promises to reshape our understanding of the twentieth century’s most consequential president.
—Randall Balmer, author of Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter
Historians have not taken Franklin Roosevelt’s Christianity seriously enough when they analyze his response to the economic depression and then World War II. Thanks to John Woolverton’s excellent new biography, they will not make this mistake again. Woolverton masterfully demonstrates that to understand the Roosevelt presidency, we need to understand how the president’s Christian conceptions of faith, hope, and love shaped his policies and his views of the world.
—Matthew A. Sutton, Washington State University
- Title: A Christian and a Democrat: A Religious Biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Authors: James Bratt, John F. Woolverton
- Series: Library of Religious Biography
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2020
- Pages: 291
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- Subjects: Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945 › Religion; Presidents › Religious life--United States
- ISBNs: 9780802876850, 0802876854
- Resource ID: LLS:CHRSTNDMCRT
- Resource Type: text.monograph.biography
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-10-08T04:46:00Z
John F. Woolverton (1926–2014) was professor of church history at Virginia Theological Seminary, a pastor in the Episcopal Church, and longtime editor of the journal Anglican and Episcopal History.
James D. Bratt is professor emeritus of history at Calvin College and the author of Abraham Kuyper: Modern Calvinist, Christian Democrat and Dutch Calvinism in Modern America.