Author David L. Holmes will discuss his book The Faiths of the Postwar Presidents: From Truman to Obama at the Rochester Hills Public Library on Tuesday, September 11 at 7 p.m. His book describes the private and public faiths of the twelve postwar American presidents. Dwight Eisenhower, for example, was raised in the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Richard Nixon was privately a Unitarian who denied the Biblical miracles and the divinity of Christ. Despite rarely attending church, Ronald Reagan seems clearly to have remained a believing Christian. Gerald Ford was far more religious than most Americans knew, and Bill Clinton seems to possess both Saturday night and Sunday morning personas. The faiths of the other postwar presidents, especially Kennedy, Johnson, and Obama display similar surprises. The lecture will describe the diverse faiths of the postwar presidents and leave time for discussion and questions from the audience.
David L. Holmes is a Walter G. Mason Professor of Religious Studies Emeritus at the College of William and Mary. His books include the The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, A Brief History of the Episcopal Church, A Nation Mourns, and The Life of the Rev. Devereux Jarratt. After the presentation, books will be available for purchase.
Registration is required and open to those with a Rochester Hills Public library card. To register go to the Events Calendar at www.rhpl.org or call 248-656-2900. The Rochester Hills Public Library is located in downtown Rochester two blocks east of Main Street off of University Drive on Olde Towne Road. For more information, please call 248-650-7124.
