Did Washington Worship?

From a Books & Culture review of Washington's God, a religious biography of George Washington by Michael and Jana Novak:

"Did the Anglicanism that was a part of the intellectual culture of Virginia influence Washington? Certainly. Did he have religious ideas? Yes, absolutely, so many that in any Western country outside the United States Washington would be regarded as very religious. Did he believe that religion, and in particular Christianity, was a necessity for the life of the American republic? Again yes, with certain qualifications. But as for the yearnings of his own heart, that "he kept always to himself / away from the picklocks of biographers." If the Novaks ultimately fail in their task, it is because Washington himself did not want them or any other observer to succeed."

Here's the whole thing.

Here's an interview with Michael Novak discussing the book on NPR.

Here's Novak's weblog, which has book excerpts, links to a great many more reviews, some responses to critics, and remarks made at various readings. Also many of Novak's writings on religion and public life.