Religion and American Foreign Policy, 1945-1960: The Soul of Containment
Cambridge University Press, 6/10/2010
EAN 9780521156301, ISBN10: 0521156300
Paperback, 368 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
The Cold War was in many ways a religious war. Presidents Truman and Eisenhower and other American leaders believed that human rights and freedom were endowed by God, that God had called the United States to defend liberty, and that Soviet communism was evil because of its atheism and enmity to religion. Along with security and economic concerns, these religious convictions helped determine both how the United States defined the enemy and how it fought the conflict. Meanwhile, American Protestant churches failed to seize the moment. Internal differences over theology and politics, and resistance to cooperation with Catholics and Jews, hindered Protestant leaders domestically and internationally. Frustrated by these internecine disputes, Truman and Eisenhower attempted to construct a new civil religion to mobilize domestic support for Cold War measures, determine the strategic boundaries of containment, unite all religious faiths against communism, and to undermine the authority of communist governments abroad.
Introduction
Part I
1. Hopes deferred
Protestants and foreign policy, 1945–1952
2. Unity dissolved
Protestants and foreign policy, 1953–1960
Part II
3. The 'real' Truman Doctrine
Harry Truman's theology of containment
4. To save China
Protestant missionaries and Sino-American relations
5. Guided by God
the unusual decision-making of Senator H. Alexander Smith
6. Chosen by God
John Foster Dulles and America
7. Prophet, priest, and president
Dwight D. Eisenhower and the New American Faith
Afterword.