Bush’s religion

The forgotten man’s faith

In today’s Sunday Times there is a fascinating excerpt from a new book on George W Bush which provides an analysis of the president’s faith and how it has affected his politics.

The hypothesis presented in the article is based on the idea that Bush has used evangelism for political reasons.

One of the defining aspects of George W Bush’s presidency is his professed belief in God. Yet what really are his religious beliefs? The question, which seems central to understanding his presidency, never receives a satisfactory answer. Indeed, one religious figure close to him soon after his conversion was shocked to find that he talked about sex rather than theology and says that a lot of his faith seemed to be politically calculated.

Bush’s religion has often been described as evangelical. But unlike most other evangelicals, he blithely uses profanity and as governor of Texas he would play poker. He doesn’t pay tithes, he doesn’t try to convert others – one of the central obligations in most evangelical denominations. And he didn’t raise his daughters in the faith.

Read the full article here:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article3255937.ece

Author of the Bush Tragedy, due for publication in mid February:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bush-Tragedy-Jacob-Weisberg/dp/0747593949/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201455604&sr=1-1