Religion and American foreign policy, 1945-1960 : the soul of containment
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Bibliographic Information
Religion and American foreign policy, 1945-1960 : the soul of containment
Cambridge University Press, 2008
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 323-329) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
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.
Table of Contents
- 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.
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