I think the Cold War played a large part in the convergence of American religion
ID: 394205 • Letter: I
Question
I think the Cold War played a large part in the convergence of American religion and politics. The idea of communism is a scary thing to be looming over America. Individuals like Billy Graham noticed that and used it as a tool of convergence for the American people at the time. Billy Graham saw that the American people were in a place of uncertainty, with children in schools completing drills in case of an Atomic Bomb attack and saw it as a way the American people should not be living. He saw the Cold War as a moral conflict of good versus evil. He noted that he saw a battle between Communism and Christianity, and saw the only way for America to win was to turn back to God and the Bible. Over decades of time, “Billy Graham was able to change with the times and yet maintain a very consistent message. For example, during the Cold War years, his sermons bristled with anti-Communist rhetoric, but later in life he called for nuclear disbarment and preached to huge crowds in Moscow and Kiev (Koester, 2015).”
In 1960 when John F. Kennedy was running for President of the United States, many Americans were uneasy and scared of the fact that he was a Catholic. Protestant Christianity had overwhelmed America through the preaching of Billy Graham and they were not too keen on the idea of a Catholic President running America. Billy Graham did not want John F. Kennedy to be president, but chose to not speak publically on the issue.
In regards to the Civil Rights issue, it was taking a back seat with the issues America was facing. Civil Rights activists kept fighting and eventually, made it a top priority through peaceful protests and marches. It led to President Kennedy propose a landmark civil rights bill.
I do not think that religious and political leaders today are using similar tactics. Be what it is, but religion does not as big of a part in today’s political world as it did some decades ago. It is not absolute from today’s political world, but as I said, it is not a forefront topic as it used to be. With that said, I do believe there might be similar tactics used, if there was ever a non-Christian or Catholic individual who ran for President. I believe that it for example, someone of a Muslim faith were to run for President, tactics against them using their religion would most likely be utilize.
1. Please respond to the above mentioned.
Explanation / Answer
In my views the role of religion in politics is more evident in the developing nations like India for example. In a developing nation, the society is still getting progressive and hence the politicians keep coming up with the religion card to divide the society and win votes. Usually it has been seen that an individual is quite emotional and attached to his religion as it reflects his ideology as well as cultural roots and value system. The politicians capitalize on this emotion and try to project it in a form of weakness for the people. As the politicians base their arguments over religious ideas, the common mass can build an association with the argument and hence join’s the politician’s movement. In the past, the role of religion in politics was more progress oriented. Religion used to pave the way towards progress and overall development of society. However in the current scenario, religion is being used by politicians as a roadblock in the path of overall development of society. This is highly immoral and unethical. Politicians need to take inspiration from the past politicians and consider religion as a powerful tool for progress and development.