In light of the often tortured interweave of faith and politics in American life, we sometimes forget that our country was first settled by those seeking freedom not from religion but to practice their own versions of it: French Protestants and English Puritans. In many ways, religion is our founding fact. These books explore the vital undercurrent of faith in the expression of American life.
Egyptians voted on Saturday in the second and final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution that has polarized the nation, with little indication that the result of the vote will end the political crisis in which the country is mired.
For some supporters, a 'yes' vote was a chance to restore some normalcy after nearly two years of tumultuous transitional politics following Egypt's 2011 revolution, or to make society and laws more Islamic. Opponents saw their 'no' vote as a way to preserve the country's secular traditions and prevent President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group from getting a lock on power.
"I came early to make sure my 'no' is among the first of millions today," oil company manager Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz said as he waited in line outside a polling station in the Dokki district of Giza, Cairo's twin city on the west bank of the Nile. "I am here to say 'no' to Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood," he said.
Another Giza voter, accountant and mother of three Sahar Mohamed Zakaria, had a different take on Saturday's vote.
"I'm voting 'yes' for stability," she announced.
Saturday's vote is taking place in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces with about 25 million eligible voters. The first phase on Dec. 15 produced a "yes" majority of about 56 percent with a turnout of some 32 percent, according to preliminaryl results. Preliminary results for the second round are expected late Saturday or early Sunday.
As was the case in last week's vote, opposition and rights activists reported numerous irregularities: polling stations opening later than scheduled, Islamists outside stations trying to influence voters to say "yes," and independent monitors denied access.
The vote comes a day after clashes between Morsi's opponents and supporters in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. It was the latest outbreak of street violence in more than four weeks of turmoil, with the country divided first over the president's powers then over the draft constitution.
The clashes — in which opponents of Islamists set fire to cars and dozens of people were hurt — illustrated how the new constitution, regardless of whether it is adopted or not, is unlikely to ease the conflict over the country's future.
In Fayoum, the capital of an oasis province of the same name where Islamist groups have traditionally had strong support, a member of the local Christian community said she also supported the charter — a break with most Christians nationwide who oppose the draft.
Hanaa Zaki said she was also voting "yes" for stability and an end to the country's deepening economic problems.
Speaking as she waited in line along with bearded Muslim men and Muslim women wearing headscarves, Zaki said: "I have a son who didn't get paid for the past six months. We have been in this crisis for so long and we are fed up."
In the village of Sanaro, also in Fayoum province some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Cairo, farmer Azouz Ayesh sat with his neighbors as their cattle grazed in a nearby field. "I don't trust the Brotherhood anymore and I don't trust the opposition either. We are forgotten, the most miserable and the first to suffer. If I say 'yes' there will be stability and if I say 'no' there will still be no stability," he said.
"But I will vote against this constitution," he added.
In the neighboring village of Sheikh Fadl, a car fitted with loudspeakers toured the area with a man shouting, "Yes, yes to the constitution!" In the city of Fayoum, a man could be seen painting over posters urging people to vote "no."
In Giza's upscale Mohandiseen neighborhood, a group of 12 women speaking to each other in a mix of French, Arabic and English said they all intended to vote "no."
"My friends are Muslim and are voting 'no.' It's not about Christian versus Muslim, but it is Muslim Brotherhood versus everyone else," said one of the 12, Christian physician Shahira Sadeq. "Voting 'yes' does not mean stability."
Kamla el-Tantawi, 65, voted with her daughter and grand-daughter. "I voted 'no' against what I'm seeing," she said, gesturing to a woman standing close by wearing the full-face veil known as niqab and as a hallmark of ultraconservative Muslim women. "I lose sleep thinking about my grandchildren and their future. They never saw the beautiful Egypt we did."
"Morsi, God willing, will be better than those who came before him," said Zeinab Khalil, a mother of three who wears the niqab, said. "A 'yes' vote moves the country forward. We want things to calm down, more jobs and better education," she said, while waiting for her turn to vote in Giza's poor Imbaba district, a one-time stronghold of militant Islamists.
In part, Egypt's split has been over who will shape the country's path nearly two years after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.
An opposition made up of liberals, leftists, secular Egyptians and a swath of the public angered over Morsi's 5-month-old rule fear that Islamists are creating a new Mubarak-style autocracy. They accuse the Brotherhood of monopolizing the levers of power and point to the draft charter, which Islamists on the Constituent Assembly rammed through despite a boycott by liberal and secular members. They are calling on supporters to vote "no."
Morsi's allies say the opposition is trying to use the streets to overturn their victories at the ballot box over the past two years. They also accuse the opposition of carrying out a conspiracy by former members of Mubarak's regime to regain power.
If the constitution is adopted, Morsi will call for the election of parliament's law-making lower chamber to be held within two months while giving the mostly toothless upper chamber legislative powers until the lower house is seated.
The upper chamber, known as the Shura Council, was elected by less than 10 percent of the country's 50 million registered voters. It is dominated by Islamists.
Morsi was already gearing up for the next steps after the constitution's passage, making a last-minute appointment of 90 new members to the Shura Council, a third of its total membership. Current rules allow him to do so, but if he waited until the charter was passed he could only appoint 10.
Friday's appointments added to the handful of non-Islamists in the upper house, but preserved the Islamists' overwhelming hold.
A spokesman for the main opposition umbrella National Salvation Front dismissed the appointments, accusing Morsi of setting up a token opposition much like Mubarak did.
Some, like Prince, say they can readily afford to pay more. Others think it's wrong to call on them to pay higher rates — even as top earners account for a huge percentage of personal income tax receipts. Mainly, they say they are tired of being singled out and accused of not paying their fair share.
"I worked hard and I had some success, and I think that's how it's supposed to be in this country," says Edward Kfoury, a 74-year-old former IBM director who now owns "a couple of businesses" in Maine. "I don't like being called a name and being called a bastard and all these other things."
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House Speaker John Boehner was dealt a major defeat Thursday night. After spending most of the week trying to round up votes for his "Plan B" to extend tax cuts for virtually everyone, he pulled the measure without a vote and sent the House home for Christmas. The clock keeps ticking toward the end of the year, when automatic tax increases and spending cuts are set to hit.
Early Thursday, Boehner expressed confidence not only that his bill would pass but that the Democratic-controlled Senate would feel so much pressure, it would be forced to consider it, too.
"I am not convinced at all that when the bill passes the House today that it will die in the Senate," Boehner said early Thursday.
It turns out he was wrong — very wrong. And the problem was his fellow Republicans. Boehner's bill would have extended tax cuts for income up to a million dollars. But it also would have raised taxes on those who make more than that.
That made some conservatives, like Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, uncomfortable.
"I want to protect everybody," Mulvaney said. "I think everybody pays too much in taxes so I am looking for some way to protect everybody."
Around the time the bill should have been up for a vote, Boehner gathered his conference in the basement of the Capitol and told them he wouldn't bring it up. His whip team had counted the votes, and they didn't have enough.
"He couldn't get the votes for this proposal," said Steve LaTourette, a retiring representative from Ohio. "At the end of the day, you can't make people vote."
Many of the unconvinced were freshmen elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010.
Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, the most vocal of the bunch, said the speaker was asking his members to take a vote that violated conservative principles. The conservatives rebelled.
"This is not Republican material," said Huelskamp. "I think that's probably why they wisely pulled the plug and said, 'OK, let's regroup.' But regroup and reassess — you know, what exactly do Republicans stand for? — and pushing things that we can pull together on instead of divide ourselves on."
The speaker is stuck, said LaTourette. "He can only play with the cards he's dealt. The voters have populated our conference with this set of representatives, and he does his best to work with them. But sometimes your best isn't good enough in the face of some people that just don't want to find common ground."
Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at California's Claremont McKenna College, feels for Boehner.
"To quote the great philosopher John Belushi in Animal House, my advice to the speaker: 'start drinking heavily,' " he said.
Pitney can't figure out why the speaker would make such a public push if he didn't have the votes lined up to begin with.
"If he brings a proposal to the president, the president's going to say, 'Look John, how do I know you're going to get the support of the members of your conference?' That's an extremely weak hand to be presenting when you're dealing with the president. Where this ends up, I don't know," Pitney said.
To those on the inside, the end game isn't any clearer.
California Rep. Buck McKeon, a Boehner ally, walked out of the conference meeting discouraged, saying, "I don't know how we can get out of this mess."
McKeon added that the speaker might not get any credit for it, but Boehner wants to do what is right. "And he thinks with divided government we should be able to do big things, and we can't do anything, and this is really, really sad," McKeon said.
The White House issued a statement late Thursday night saying the president will work with Congress and hopes to find a bipartisan solution quickly.
There's not much time left. Congress doesn't plan to return to Washington until two days after Christmas.