Religion and American Foreign Policy, 1945–1960: The Soul of Containment

by William Inboden

• ISBN13: 9780521513470
• ISBN10: 0521513472
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-08-25
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

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

Hopes deferred: Protestants and foreign policy, 1945-1952

Unity dissolved: Protestants and foreign policy, 1953-1960

The 'real' Truman Doctrine Harry Truman's theology of containment

To save China: Protestant missionaries and Sino-American relations

Guided by God: the unusual decision-making of Senator

Chosen by God

Prophet, priest, and president

Afterword

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