The American Hour: A Time of Reckoning and the Once and Future Role of Faith

Abstract

The American Hour, Guinness examines the growing crisis in America's moral and cultural order. In particular, he explores its impact on three areas which he considers vital to the health of America: on identity, as in the currently contested notion of what it means to be an American; on American public philosophy, including the now controversial relationship of religion and public life; and on American republican character, including the distinctive emphasis on the importance of the habits of the heart. Guinness goes on to set forth a vision of a reforged public philosophy, one through which we can solve the practical questions of living with our deepest differences. He also sees the possibility of a new, vital and constructive role for religion in American public life.