To understand American government is, at minimum, to recognize religion's profound influence on our culture and, by extension, our politics." So state the editors of this outstanding collection of 55 readings that survey the function and purpose of American government from its founding to the present. Rendering to God and Caesar is mostly comprised of primary sources, including founding documents, Supreme Court cases, and momentous speeches. Grouped into six unifying sections with introductions that tie the individual works together and point to their significance, each article is introduced as well by brief comments to highlight specific features or issues.

Designed to whet the reader's appetite for exploring the rich American governmental heritage-from The Mayflower Compact and excerpts from the writing of de Tocqueville and Rothbard to commentary about civil liberties and Barack Obama's speech about his own understanding of how religion should influence politics-the collection is sure to generate controversy and lead to lively classroom discussion.