Advance Praise for Under God

Ross and Smith restore George Washington's view of church and state to its proper place in history, which will inevitably change what we think and say in the present. Hint: he and Thomas Jefferson didn't see eye to eye.

-Richard Brookhiser, Author, What Would the Founders Do? and
Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington

Under God examines a subject that has long deserved careful attention. Ross and Smith present a thoroughly researched account of what the Father of our Country believed regarding the role of religion in American civic life, tracing the development of Washington’s views over his lifetime of public service. The book is a must-read for every patriotic citizen.

-Edwin Meese III, former U.S. Attorney General

Ross and Smith’s study of Washington illuminates the question of church and state in America in remarkable ways. Their book confirms the suspicion that the Father of our Country has been our most under-studied and underappreciated Founder. And their discoveries and conclusions shed new light on a question about which one might have thought nothing more could be said. They have written a truly enlightening and thought-provoking book.

-William Kristol, Editor, The Weekly Standard

Under God examines, with clarity and brevity, Washington’s vision for church-state relations and makes a compelling case that his perspective on this important topic deserves to be studied alongside those of other founders.

-Daniel L. Dreisbach, Professor, American University,
and author, Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation
between Church and State

Sidestepping the divisive issue of Washington’s private beliefs, Ross and Smith have turned to his voluminous correspondence on the role of religion in the public sphere. Their fine work should prove enlightening and useful both to the general public and their fellow lawyers.

-Mary Thompson,
Research Specialist, Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens

Washington’s political philosophy of church and state is not well understood and is severely underappreciated. All citizens interested in the American experiment in religious freedom should read this book.

-Vincent Phillip Muñoz
Assistant Professor of Political Science, Tufts University

Reviews of Under God

Under God is now another favorite on the subject. In a way that is academically grounded yet accessible, pointed without being polemical, Ross and Smith answer, or at least begin to address, several important but hitherto unresolved questions about Washington’s faith-related civic sensibilities and views.

-John J. DiIulio, Jr., former director of the White House Office of
Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, writing for
Engage, the journal of the Federalist Society’s Practice Groups

Under God is a valuable contribution to the available literature on the interpretation of the Religion Clauses, if for no other reason than that the latter half of the book, actually a great deal more than half, is devoted to compiling Washington's original writings on the relationship of church to state. This compilation will be an excellent desktop resource for jurists and scholars and practicing lawyers. The narrative in the body of the book is brisk and lucid; organized chronologically, it describes each major event in Washington's life that gave him occasion to opine on the proper place of religion in public life. As noted, the authors most certainly have an axe to grind; they believe that the Supreme Court's Religion Clause doctrine is unduly skewed toward the views of Thomas Jefferson. Their presentation is sufficiently transparent and well-sourced, however, to permit the skeptical reader to validate the authors' characterization of Washington's views and reach his or her own conclusions about the relevance of those views to modern cases.

-Nathan Forrester, Jr., former Solicitor General of Alabama,
writing in The Texas Review of Law & Politics

Still, as we all know, various liberals and litigators have acted as if Jefferson's single utterance [regarding separation of church and state] outweighed the vast volume of counter-thinking that long preceded the Danbury letter. The authors conclude, "Washington's opinions deserve at least as much attention as those of Jefferson."

Well, yes, indeed they do. Because, as Jefferson himself put it, when confronted with challenges, Americans don't need new ideas; they must instead rediscover the American mind. Ross and Smith have helped us to do just that, starting with one of greatest American minds, that of the eternal George Washington.

-James P. Pinkerton, writing for The American Conservative