In the midst of an extremely lively U.S. presidential election campaign, this new book examines the unusually serene relationship between the chief global superpower and the world’s most ancient and renowned institution. The “Catholicization” of the United States is a recent phenomenon: some believe it began during the Reagan administration, others feel it emerged under George W. Bush’s presidency. What is certain is that Catholics’ presence in the American political ruling class has been particularly prominent in the Obama administration: over one-third of cabinet members, the Vice President, the White House Chief of Staff, the heads of Homeland Security and the CIA, the director and deputy director of the FBI, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other top military officers are all Roman Catholic. The author provides an engaging account of Catholics’ tendency to play an increasingly significant role in American politics, as well as the role of American prelates in the Roman Catholic Church.

Manlio Graziano teaches Geopolitics and Religious Geopolitics at the American Graduate School in Paris, the Sorbonne in Paris and the Geneva Institute of Geopolitical Studies.