Book Review: American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon

American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon is an overview of the differing perception of Jesus over America's history as it has been changed by societal and religious movements. This book was written by Stephen Prothero and proves that Jesus is not only a Christian icon, but a national icon as well. Prothero has also written The White Buddhist: The Asian Odyssey of Henry Steel and Purified by Fire: A History of Cremation in American Culture. He has also written for a variety of publications, including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times Magazine, and is currently the chair of the Department of Religion at Boston University. American Jesus was published in 2003. It was named one of the year's best nonfiction books by the Chicago Tribune and Publisher's Weekly named it one of the best religious books of 2003.

Prothero begins American Jesus by asking if the United States is a religious or secular state. He goes on to point out that there is an abundance of evidence for both sides and briefly explains some points of view and how each defends its particular position. Prothero also brings up the idea that America is a "spiritual marketplace" with myriad numbers of religions "where shoppers can choose among all the world's great religions, and from a huge menu of offerings inside each" (p6). Eventually, however, the author focuses on Jesus's place in American religions and the phenomenon of Jesus, mostly separated from Christianity, in American culture.

The first part of American Jesus concentrates on Jesus in his Christian-based roles. This is logical because American Christianity was the first to focus on Jesus, and Jesus is traditionally a Christian figure. Even within the scope of Christianity, Jesus has been attributed with sometimes very different character traits. Prothero begins with the version of Jesus as an "enlightened sage," who was revered by Thomas Jefferson. A term that is introduced here and continues throughout is "Jesus piety," which Prothero first uses to label Jefferson's reverence of Jesus (p21).

In the 1800's, Jesus became the "sweet savior" and friend during the Great Awakening. In this time, hymns changed radically and began to focus mainly on Jesus, instead of the Puritan focus on God. Along with these hymns came books about and featuring Jesus, as well as feminized portraits of him with a pale, sweet face, long, soft brown hair, and a slight build. The reaction to this image came about during the time of Theodore Roosevelt. In general, Roosevelt criticized the "over-sentimentality, over-softness, in face washiness and mushiness" as "the great dangers of this age and of this people," in a letter to G. Stanley Hall, then president of Clark University; Roosevelt, along with others, was particularly offended by the feminization of Jesus. (p90).
The Jesus of this age was tough and muscular, the "manly redeemer" ready to fight for his people's salvation. The last entirely Christian incarnation of Jesus discussed by Prothero appears during the 1960's, after Christianity had seemingly been "engulfed in a wave of secularity" (p124-125). Although God the Father was still essentially silent, Jesus was prominently the focus of the colorful, Christian religion that was very much alive by 1967. This Jesus was one of the people, so much so that he was seen as a hippie, and this image was spread by the "Jesus Freaks," many of whom were reformed drug addicts. This was also when the rock musicals Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar debuted. The important distinction that Prothero makes between part one and part two of American Jesus is that part one encompasses Jesus as viewed through an essentially Christian standpoint and part two is Jesus as he has been adopted and adapted into other religious and societal traditions-which Prothero calls "reincarnations."

Prothero begins part two of American Jesus with Jesus within Mormonism. Jesus is essential to Mormon traditions; he is the subject of their core religious book, the Book of Mormon. Mormons hold Jesus in the highest regard, but also view him as their brother.

The next form of Jesus that Prothero discusses was inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and protests that when along with that movement. This Jesus is the black Jesus, who later morphs, through a combination with the women's rights movement, into a black woman. This black Jesus was, sometimes violently, supported by the Nation of Islam. In many African-American churches, however, the black Jesus was accepted, but the congregation tended to blend aspects of Jesus and Moses together to almost create a new savior.
The most contested form of Jesus developed next, Jesus as Rabbi. This Jesus incarnation was suggested first by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise in his speech, "A Jew's View of Jesus" (p229). This version of Jesus is still hotly contested within the Jewish community, but accepted by many. The Rabbi Jesus was seen as a great teacher, but not divine, the greatest of Jews and one of the greatest of teachers.

The last form of Jesus found in American Jesus is the "Oriental Christ." One of the foremost images of this Jesus is found in Hindu homes and temples throughout the United States. It shows Jesus sitting cross-legged in a forest, surrounded by animals, and with the halo traditional to Hindu art that portrays the divine. Eventually, as significant numbers immigrated to the United States, almost every Eastern religion has claimed Jesus in some way, often as a somewhat divine teacher. The main thing all these incarnations of Jesus have in common is that they view Jesus in a very different way than is traditional and have used Jesus's image to almost force acceptance of their group; if Jesus is worthy and part of their religion, then their religion must be worthy too.

Prothero wraps up American Jesus with a conclusion that completely ties all the widely varied groups together. This conclusion also includes the idea of the laughing Jesus, a picture of which Dr. Hubert Eaton searched for, in vain, for years. Dr. Hubert is also the man who founded the first cemetery, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, which was designed to be, in his words, "redolent of the world's best history and romances." This laughing Jesus reflects one of the most common, contemporary views of Jesus, as an overall happy, kind man. This attitude shown both in the laughing Jesus and Forest Lawn Memorial Park is one of "cosmic optimism," and is "as familiar to Americans as it is foreign to Europeans" (p293). Americans believe that all people are essentially good and that, according to Henry Ward Beecher, to follow Jesus is "to be the happiest person in the world" (p293). However, the most important idea in this conclusion is that the American Jesus phenomenon may "demonstrate that this is a multireligious country," while confirming that the fact that America is a Jesus nation does not make it a Christian nation (p301).

American Jesus is written in an easy to read style, almost as one would expect a teacher to lecture. This book was also understandable in terms of the terminology and background; some basic understanding of American culture was required but little else. The layout of American Jesus was also good; it was logical and flowed well.
The only real problem with Prothero's book is actually in how much detail he gives. Part of what is well-done about American Jesus is the detail and explanation of the particular religion or societal standpoint that formed a new Jesus, however, Prothero's largest problem is that he includes too much detail and background, making some of the book tedious and incredibly boring. The vast amount of in-depth information that Prothero includes is not always particularly relevant and could easily be left out or summarized. Specific sections, particularly the section that covers Jesus as a "sweet savior," have so much information that it seems that Prothero really began writing about only that form of Jesus and then decided to write American Jesus and include most of his previously gathered information. Overall, this book was successful and certainly an interesting look into a specific, but important, part of American culture that nearly transcends racial, religious, and societal bounds. Prothero also, usefully, has included both an index so subjects are accessible and a bibliography listing both primary and secondary sources, which are separated to make them even more specific and useful in terms of furthering research.

Prothero's American Jesus is essentially a view of the main reinterpretations of Jesus throughout American history. He does not indicate how he feels about the changing faces of Christ, and neither does he make any seem more relevant than the others. An intriguing aspect of American Jesus is that it is based on a purely religious character, Jesus, but focuses on America's changing cultures through the tool of each group's interpretation of Jesus. American Jesus is not only a book about Jesus, but also a book about America's changing and increasingly varied culture.

Works Cited
Prothero, Stephen. American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003.
Random House, Inc.. Random House Publishing. 2 Dec 2006 .