Joe Biden and Catholicism in the United States Paperback – 20 Jan. 2021

The book offers a good context on American Catholicism and it’s placed within the global sphere. From that point it connects with several events of Biden‘s personal and political life with what is currently happening at the Vatican and with the US bishops. Finally the book proposes opportunities and challenges for by then and Catholicism in the United States.

Judging from the title, the cover, the synopsis, the category, and the endorsements of this book, you would expect it to be a religious biography of our newest president. It is not. It is a series of essays about Catholicism in American history and today, but mostly about American Catholicism and its relationship with Pope Francis. There is nothing personal or spiritual, just politics and history.There is very little about Biden, beyond the thumbnail of his faith that we all know by now. There’s only a sentence or two about what Biden’s faith means to him. If you want to know more I’d suggest reading “Promise Me, Dad” or watch his 2015 interview with America magazine.I’m guessing this book was written last year, and was intended to be about the clash between the Pope and President Trump, but when Biden won they decided to market it as a book about Biden. This is very misleading. I went back and looked through the reviews at the beginning of the book (there are many), and the synopsis. It does make it sound like the book is about Joe Biden. He’s on the cover and his name is in the largest type for goodness sake!If you’re interested in the state of Catholicism in 2020 and how it impacts the papacy of Francis, then this book is fine. It’s quite academic and dry, and it uses way too many academic terms, which are never really defined. Also “paradigm” and “neo-“ are used a lot. But it’s a quick read and the author know his stuff. If I wanted a book on this subject I would probably give it 4 stars. But as I feel I was mislead into buying a book about Joe Biden’s personal faith, I can only give it 3.

A timely book written from a perspective that cuts through the divisive left/right political talking points. Faggioli stays on the issue of Catholicism’s role in American history and how Joe Biden’s faith fits into the current political climate.

A distinguished church historian / theologian does a great job of putting Biden’s forthcoming presidency in the contexts of Francis’s papacy and the US Church. Well worth a second read and keeping as a reference.

Beautifully and thoughtfully written. Inspired read!