Author Erik Reece grew up the grandson of a fundamentalist preacher, but left the church in search of a less punitive religion.

In his new book, An American Gospel: On Family, History, and the Kingdom of God, Reece describes his struggle to find a form of Christianity with which he would feel comfortable — and the guidance he received from the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Walt Whitman and other American writers.

A writer in residence at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Reece is also the author of the award-winning non-fiction book Lost Mountain.

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