The author of this work claims that American religion has fallen into a trap: that, just when it has amassed the political strength and won the legal right to participate effectively in public debate, it has lost its distinctive voice. Instead of speaking of human values, goals and limits, Goldberg says, it speaks in the language of science. In the United States religious leaders seeking prestige for their point of view often couch their responses to technological developments, or defend their faith, in scientific terms. It is argued, for instance, that medical studies demonstrate the power of prayer, that science validates the Bible (including its account of creation), and that patenting the genetic code is dangerous because genes are the essence of who we are. The book examines how, by allowing scientific discourse to set the terms of the debate, American religious leaders facilitate religion's move away from more appropriate and important concerns of values, morality and humility.
Discussing recent collisions between science and religion, such as the medicinal benefits of prayer, the human genome project, and cloning, Goldberg considers what the appropriate role of religion might be in public life today. He tackles the legal aspects of religious debate and suggests ways in which religious leaders might confront new scientific developments in a more significant way.