Free Exercise cases

My approach to American religion after WWII is that America tried to develop a "separationist" ideology while, at the same time, place a very strong emphasis on an "official" religion, which was a watered-down version of "Protestant/Catholic/Jew." What this meant was that even as particular denominations or theological expressions were to be kept separate from government approval or involvement, government had a strong interest in stressing the religious nature of America. Thus we, who were formerly a "Protestant" nation, were now, in the 1950s, a "Protestant-Catholic-Jewish" nation, and all the PCJ's (i.e., all of "us") in a sense believed the same thing. As the US Supreme Court said it in a 1952 decision (Zorach), "we are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being."

Part of the reason for developing this religious emphasis and encouraging religious expression, even if on the lines of a separationist model, was because of the threat of communism. Communism was, by this time, "Godless communism," and we prided ourselves on being different from this monster not only in the form of our government but the nature of our religious faith. Indeed, it simply wasn't sufficient to stress our political differences with the Soviets; we had also to mention our religious differences.

Five quick indications of the revival of interest in what scholars have called "American Civil Religion" in the 1950s are: (1) putting of "In God We Trust" on paper money for the first time, in 1955; (2) Adding "Under God," to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954; (3) realizing that service groups, such as the American Legion, had "Back to God" programs of prominence; (4) the language of Zorach v. Clausen, quoted above; and (5) Dwight Eisenhower's language in his 1952 speech to the Freedoms Foundation, quoted in the previous essay. Will Herberg's popular 1955 book Protestant, Catholic, Jew had the following line: "[It] can hardly be doubted that there has in recent years been an upswing of religion in the United States...The evidence is idverse, converging, and unequivocal beyond all possibilities of error." In fact, he says, there has been a "great upsurge in church life." It was almost as if the concept of "religiousness," manifested in "standard" or "mainline" expressions of P, C, and J was receiving a revival. We needed not only democratic ideals but a sense that there was spiritual rootage to our ideas. Eisenhower perfectly reflected this trend, and he did one of the most "conventional" thing imaginable just days after he took office in 1953, being baptized and becoming a member of the Presbyterian Church.

Thunder on the Right

But this triumph of Civil Religion in the mid-1950s in America should not obscure the fact that a new movement was gathering steam, a movement which would burst on the scene in the 1970s and catch Americans completely by surprise. I am referring to the birth of Modern American Evangelicalism in America. The organizers of an exploratory meeting in St. Louis in 1942 wanted to begin to distance themselves from the Fundamentalism in which they were nurtured. Fundamentalism had a distinctively anti-modern and separatist approach to religion. They felt the larger "mainstream" culture was going to hell, and they didn't want anything to do with it, except to tell the culture that they were going to hell. But the 1st generation Evangelicals had a much more positive view of culture or, at least, their role in shaping American culture, and they believed that the best fight against "godless communism" (they were anti-communists, too) was not through simple affirmations of the Civil Religion but through revivalistic-type meetings where one would commit oneself to Jesus and work for the transformation of culture in his image.

They believed also that the best way to change the culture eventually was to work with those who would become leaders in the future, and thus much of their emphasis went into work with youth and college students. In addition, they wanted to emphasize the worldwide mission of the church. Three of the groups that experienced phenomenal growth in the 1950s and early 1960s were InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Campus Crusade for Christ, and Young Life. And even though these groups were very "pro-America, the sense of these groups was that there was much more to religion that simple affimations of belief in God or saying "Under God" in the Pledge. Religion was something that had to grab you personally. You had not only to believe in doctrines but be able to say how Christ was alive, was real to you, touched you deeply in your heart. It was here that a generational difference began to emerge, for the "elders" tended to be satisfied with religion in general as a glue that helped people identify with each other and support the nation, while the "personal religion" of the younger generation wanted to stress the fact that God was "right there" with you in all your life.

Other Themes-The Election of 1960/Engel (1962)

The real test of whether America was a "Protestant, Catholic, Jew" country would come in the 1960 Presidential election. Though JFK was not the first Catholic Presidential candidate, he was the first one who won, and he had some "explaining" to do about his religion. The excerpt I give in the previous essay from his 1960 address in Houston shows how he skillfully answers that issue. I guess I am out of space in this essay, but I will address issues relating to the US Supreme Court's 1962 decision disallowing school-sponsored prayer in the public schools in the next essay.

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