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

This book is about the religious dimensions of American leadership's fight against communism during the Cold War.

William Inboden (Author)

9780521513470, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 August 2008

372 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm, 0.72 kg

'… excellent overviews of the larger story of religion in the early Cold War years and its influence on US foreign policy. Inboden illustrates his arguments with an in-depth examination of key personalities.' James C. Wallace, Journal of Cold War Studies

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.

Subject Areas: Marxism & Communism [JPFC], Religion: general [HRA], The Cold War [HBTW], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], History of the Americas [HBJK]