Stephen Mansfield has written a remarkable book. The Faith of Barack Obama rates as required reading for Americans of voting age. Although the official publication date is next month, last weekend we picked up a copy at a local store. Interested readers can order copies, or "pre-order" them as the case may be.

Let's get something out of the way before we proceed: Obama is not a secret Muslim, who upon entering the White House would restore the caliphate. Now:

A self-identified "political conservative," Mansfield describes Obama's political progress and his Christian faith. The book blends biography, politics, and theology. Mansfield writes with sympathy. He speaks in tones far different from those on the shout shows. The Faith of Barack Obama supplies context.

Mansfield grants the Rev. Jeremiah Wright the charity the controversial pastor deserves. Wright's rhetorical flamboyance and divisiveness may be off-putting, as well as wrong, and his theology may be suspect, but much of the reaction to him reflected ignorance and the ancient stain. Many white Americans do not know the historical experience behind Wright's faith, and many do not want to know -- which is something worse. Mansfield explains. That the United Church of Christ has Pilgrim ancestry also is not sufficiently understood in this land of religious illiteracy.

Obama is not the only candidate whose faith the book examines. Mansfield sees Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and George Bush as epitomizing four strains of American Christianity. Again, he treats all his subjects with generosity. None of the four politicians is a phony. Each leads a life rooted in religion, and each has been misunderstood, in many instances intentionally. Mansfield points out disagreeable aspects associated with the religious right and the secular left.

Mansfield recognizes Obama's rise as the very good thing it is. He sees in him an American future, yet his Web site includes a blog entry, "The Main Reason I Can't Vote for Obama." The issue is abortion, and one does not have to be a member of the National Right to Life Committee to find Obama's voting record on abortion disturbing, perhaps to the point of disqualifying. Yet all would benefit by seeking the humble spirit Mansfield manifests when he is bold to say he is willing to lend a hand "wherever whoever is president next chooses to do righteous good." He notes that his calls for reason and understanding have generated "hate mail" and suspects his offer to help Obama in areas other than abortion will generate more.

"For Obama, faith is not simply political garb, something a focus group taught him to try," Mansfield writes near the end. "Instead, religion to him is transforming, lifelong, and real." Although there are many reasons to question Obama's politics, his faith commands admiration. "A grateful heart a garden is," sings the hymn. Read this lovely little flower of a book.