1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910453593803321

Autore

Inboden William <1972->

Titolo

Religion and American foreign policy, 1945-1960 : the soul of containment / / William Inboden [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2008

ISBN

1-107-18990-X

1-281-77580-0

9786611775803

0-511-42383-7

0-511-49917-5

0-511-42431-0

0-511-42266-0

0-511-42200-8

0-511-42332-2

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xi, 356 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Disciplina

973.91

Soggetti

Cold War

Christianity and politics - United States - Protestant churches - History - 20th century

Religion and politics - United States - History - 20th century

Civil religion - United States - History - 20th century

United States Foreign relations 1945-1953

United States Foreign relations 1953-1961

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 323-329) and index.

Nota di contenuto

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 H. Alexander Smith -- Chosen by God: John Foster Dulles and America -- Prophet, priest, and president: Dwight D. Eisenhower and the new American faith.

Sommario/riassunto

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.