Religious fundamentalism and its role in US foreign policy is seemingly unstoppable. In For God's Sake Lee Marsden argues that the religious 'core values' of middle America have potentially disastrous consequences for the United States and the world in the coming century.

Marsden looks at how the religious right has gained its influence with America's powerful elite through campaign contributions, lobbying and policy-making. He also claims that it is through a much wider programme of popular media campaigns that the Christian right has entrenched its values in much of American society. Finally, For God's Sake considers the negative impact which this influence is having on the environment, democracy and human rights, and considers how the Christian right's foreign policy agenda has manifested itself from Cuba to Israel and Iraq.

Read Lee Marden on the 'Comment is Free' Section of The Guardian website here

'Marsden strips away conventional wisdoms about the Christian Right to provide a subtle and powerful account of their impact on US Foreign Policy. He is able to bring together his detailed knowledge of various Christian Right organizations, of how the US works, and importantly also of Christian theology into a book that is a real page turner, but also a seminal contribution to understanding the power of religion in the United States.' - Stuart Croft, Warwick University

'Lee Marsden has produced a stimulating and informative account of the foreign policy influence of the Christian Right in the USA. Underpinned by extensive interviews with key players, the book reveals a network of right-wing Christian foreign policy activists who focus on human rights, the environment, Israel and 'the war on terror'. Marsden's book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the current role of religion in US foreign policy.' - Jeff Haynes, London Metropolitan University

Lee Marsden is a Lecturer in Politics at the University of East Anglia. His research interests include US foreign policy, democratization and the increasing influence of religion in international relations. Before entering academia Marsden was an ordained minister in the Word of Faith movement. He has published several articles on human rights in the Middle East and relations between the Muslim world and the West. He is the author of Lessons from Russia: Clinton and US Democracy Promotion (2005).