As someone who recently became a United States citizen, I am profoundly interested in the history and fundamental values of the U.S. I am also a member of the Baha’i faith, whose founder Baha’u’llah lamented that “the vitality of men’s belief in God is dying out in every land.”

Therefore, while this great nation was celebrating its Independence Day recently, reading Newt Gingrich’s book, “Rediscovering God in America,” was a very refreshing experience. The author invites the reader to join him on a fascinating walk through America’s capital city, and examine the documents, institutions and ideas of American history, showing that the United States was shaped by the founding fathers as a nation under God.

Here are some examples of the documents, buildings and monuments described. The tour starts with the National Archives, where the original Declaration of Independence is located. That famous document declares, “ … we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.” The Washington Monument is filled with references to our creator and has on its top an aluminum capstone with the Latin inscription “Laus Deo,” which means “Praise be to God.”

In the rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial (dedicated to the author of the famous letter in which he called for a “wall of separation between church and state”) the visitor reads: “I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the minds of man.” Inscribed in the wall of the Lincoln Memorial is the Gettysburg Address, ending with these words: “We are highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”

The U.S. Capitol building, a marvel of architecture and art, has the following inscription in the Cox Corridor: “America! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!” The building of the Supreme Court is filled with religious displays. The one that calls the most attention is that of Moses with the Ten Commandments, reminding us of the Judeo-Christian roots of our legal system. It is in various places and even engraved over the chair of the Chief Justice. Surprisingly for me, in the same building there is also a sculpted depiction of Mohammed, the prophet of Islam. Rightfully so, I think, because some of the fundamental Islamic principles are that “all men are equal before their Maker” and “equal before the civil law” (Santillana, 1931).

Inge Grunwaldt is a Bahai who lives in Clemson. She can we reached at religion@independentmail.com.