FAITH OF OUR FOUNDING FATHER: The Spiritual Journey of George Washington
Janice T. Connell, . . Hatherleigh/Norton, $15.95 (202pp) ISBN 978-1-57826-156-7
According to most historians, Washington's religious beliefs were private, pragmatic, and—like those of many of his compatriots—deistic. He spoke often of providence but rarely of Jesus Christ, infrequently attended religious services and did not take communion. On his deathbed, he summoned no clergy. Connell does not argue with these assessments; indeed, she seems entirely unaware of them. Her George Washington is a devout, prayerful saint of unimpeachable moral virtue, called by God to establish freedom, patriotism and private enterprise. She devotes more than 20 pages to reproducing the Rules of Civility, maxims from 16th-century French Jesuits that the 13-year-old Washington copied as a school exercise. Another 20 pages are given to "Daily Sacrifice," a collection of prayers Washington is alleged to have copied or written at age 20. (Connell does not mention that these are not included in his official papers because scholars doubt their authenticity.) With previous bestsellers such as
Reviewed on: 09/29/2003
Genre: Nonfiction