Abstract

During the 1950s, the Eisenhower Administration used American religion in the global ideological war against Communism as a propaganda tool. Where genuine spirituality flourished, they contended, communist ideology would naturally be rejected. Thus, a host of efforts–both overt and covert–were undertaken to strengthen religious faith both in the United States and abroad. Recent studies of this government-sponsored religion have tended to focus on the most visible elected politicians and cabinet members who lauded American faith and encouraged inclusive religiosity. This article takes a different approach, focusing primarily on several lesser-known promoters of religious anti-communism who worked closely with the Eisenhower Administration to translate public rhetoric into practice. It demonstrates that all were theologically astute intellectuals whose concepts of religion and American exceptionalism were shaped, in part, by Paul Tillich in different but significant ways. Their critical use of Tillich’s theological formulations presents a more nuanced picture of America’s religious cold warriors than is normally portrayed. I contend that, by examining these under-evaluated individuals, we gain a clearer understanding of the essence of American civil religion as it developed during the early Cold War.