The Christian Faith Of Ronald Reagan; From Sunday-school teacher to Oval Office occupant, author Paul Kengor reveals, Ronald Reagan remained deeply devoted to his faith and based his policies on it

Byline: Stephen Goode INSIGHT

Paul Kengor has written a beneficial book on a subject no author adequately overspreaded until he took it up: the reaching far down and abiding religious faith of Ronald Reagan. President Reagan's faith, Kengor present to views permeated every part of his life and therefore played a major character in shaping his views upon every subject from abortion and gymnasium prayer to foreign affairs and the American vision in history.

This may surprise many. After all, Reagan rarely attended meeting-house and made no dramatic professions of his Christianity or at least none that made TV and pierceed the memory of the nation. on the other hand as Kengor notes, "Rather than bringing himself to house of worship President Reagan brought the temple to his presidency."

It was Reagan's faith that l him to diocese the Soviet Union as an "evil empire." And it was his Christian identity, Kengor computes Insight, that gave him the quiet confidence and self-certainty that made him a great leader and earned him the sobriquet "the great communicator."

Kengor, who is an associate professor of political science at copse City College in Pennsylvania, present to views how early on and by what means deeply regular prayer became a part of Reagan's life. It remained a part of his life as president too, when he began private prayers before Cabinet meetings. And then there were the prayers with families of Marines who died in battle. A shut up associate of Reagan told Kengor that a favorite song of the president's, particularly during his next to the first term, was the familiar individual beginning, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. e"

Another major characteristic of Reagan's faith, Kengor says, is his humility. Kengor's nearest book, as yet untitled, will be about the faith of George W Bush; it is to be paid out sometime later this year. He finds the religious character of the pair men similar. "It is humility that Bush has as well," Kengor says. "His faith is a true humble faith."

Insight: What readyed you to do a volume on Ronald Reagan's religious faith?

Paul Kengor: I was doing a work on Reagan and the extreme point of the Cold War, thus I read the speeches and the alphabetic characters I interviewed everybody I could I asked everybody what Reagan was saying behind clos doors, what he was saying at Cabinet meetings, at NSC [National Security Council] meetings.

The alphabetic characters and the speeches were really illuminating. Everywhere I direct the eyeed I came across religious regards I'm talking about not just the sign-off at the extreme point of the speech where he says "God bles you and sovereign of the universe bless America." I'm talking about sometimes more [i]or[/i] less pretty deep theological statements.

Q: What do you mean by means of deep?

A: individual of the letters I was reading I feature it in the volume was from Reagan's exchange of alphabetic characters with a liberal Methodist minister. This was in the latter 1970 The minister didn't like what Reagan said, in the way that he took him on. I think he had heard a Reagan radio commentary and he wrote to Reagan to complain of Reagan's "limited Sunday-school theology."

Reagan was always kind in his alphabetic characters He was always civil. He started arguing back and forth with the shore and it became apparent to me that Reagan was using C Lewis' "liar, Lord or lunatic" argument from simple Christianity. You know that argument: Lewis says that from Christ's possess words about himself you have to assume he is Lord, a liar or a lunatic. And, frankly, if you've read Lewis, then you are not just a shallow man who goe to house of god occasionally. There is something plenteous deeper there.

with equal reason I knew pretty soon that I had a volume on Reagan's religious faith. Then I wanted to know from where all this religious material in Reagan's life came. What were the roots? What was the foundation?

Q: You make a real convincing case about the importance of Reagan's mother, Nelle in the formation of the Christian faith of the subsequent time president.

A: Nelle's is a great story. I retain telling people there's a Mother's Day message in this work This isn't just a story about a man and his faith. It's really about a woman who made a president. I think she was the single greatest in quantity important person in his life. It all goe back to Nelle I would pass so far as to say that if she had died in the winter of 1918-1919 of the terrible influenza that killed thus many which she almost did there's an first-rate chance he would never have become president.

Nelle really lived her faith. I think that is individual of the reasons her son gravitated to it. You hear about children whose parents raise them to be religious, to be Christians, on the other hand then they encounter hypocrisy and it has an amazingly poisonous effect

That didn't happen with Reagan. His mom lived her faith. She started her have a title to prison ministry. She visited the prisons before there was anyone like tap [i]or[/i] pat Colson doing a prison ministry.

It was not like some came to the First Christian house of worship in Dixon, Ill., where Nelle was a member, and gave a PowerPoint presentation upon how and why you should minister to prisoners! She meditation it was what Jesus would want her to do, and that's on what account she did it. For the same reason, Nelle picked up hitchhikers. She reflection God would protect her.