Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy by Andrew Preston

Author:Andrew Preston [Preston, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, History, Political Science, United States, Religion, International Relations, Religion; Politics & State
ISBN: 9780307957603
Publisher: Anchor
Published: 2012-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

TRUMAN AND KENNAN could not have been more different temperamentally and politically. Instead, it was their shared spirituality and anticommunism that helped shape U.S. foreign policy in the formative early years of the Cold War. As the historian William Inboden observes, religion offered the Truman administration both a diagnosis of the problem of communism and its potential cure. This was, we have seen, in keeping with the Anglo-American use of religion in world politics dating back to the sixteenth century: what English imperialists and colonists feared in Catholicism, Cold War Americans feared in communism.20

Most disturbingly, Soviet communism seemed to present not just a rival ideology but a rival religion that threatened to destroy traditional faith. Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal was not alone in his uncertainty “whether we are dealing with a nation or a religion—religion after all being merely the practical extension of philosophy.” As Christians and Jews, Americans professed ultimate allegiance to a faith and ethical tradition that was not of their making, that had lasted for thousands of years, and that had been sanctified by the one power whom all people must obey. Communism’s moral claims rested on a doctrine of social justice similar to Christianity’s, but it emphatically rejected the institutional legitimacy of the Christian church and denied the existence of a supernatural higher power that had created the world and continued to guide it. It was, in other words, so different from Christianity and yet very similar, which is precisely what made it seem so dangerous.21

The Cold War, however, did not immediately follow the end of World War II. True, many of the sources of Cold War tensions had rested uneasily within the contradictions of the Grand Alliance, and the ideological character of the war and the postwar bore stronger similarities than differences. But after the surrender of Germany in May 1945, the Truman administration grappled uncertainly with the twin problems of postwar reconstruction in Europe and the enigma of Soviet intentions. Truman and his advisers felt that Soviet communism presented a threat, but they were still unsure what exactly their response should be. In this year of uncertainty, religion did not play much of a role in U.S. foreign policy. Myron Taylor, still officially acting as the president’s envoy to the Vatican and other religious leaders in Europe, had so little to do he even contemplated retirement. In the winter of 1946, Methodist bishop Ivan Lee Holt of St. Louis told Truman he was embarking on a tour of postwar Europe and would meet with the WCC and other church officials. Did Truman have any messages he wanted conveyed to the religious leaders of Europe? Holt only received a boilerplate message of vague goodwill. Other prominent ministers received a similarly tepid response.22

During the fateful year 1946, the Truman administration began to reconsider its approach to the Soviet Union. Perhaps most important was the arrival of George F. Kennan’s legendary “Long Telegram,” sent from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to the State Department in February.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.