Religion plays an important role in public life. However, this role changes over time, as the political system of a particular country evolves in response to external and internal changes. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Christianity as well has a significant impact on the public life. It mainly resulted from the changes in the perception of religion and the alterations in the political system. In general, there were two major points that reflected the role Christianity played during this period. These were the following: the integration of religion into political life and the turning of Christianity into some kind of mainstream. The two will be addressed in detail further in the paper.
As it has been pointed to above, Christianity was actively integrated into matters related to public life during the period under consideration. This integration was mainly witnessed in the rapidly changing political system. To be specific, religious practices have turned into a norm for the vital political events. For example, in the 1950s, all presidents started attending services before their inauguration – particularly, on mornings of the inauguration (“Excerpt: One Nation Under God”). Here, it is vital to mention that it was true for any religious service, not only Christian religious services. Nevertheless, this fact proves that the role religion seemed to play in public life was important. Besides, Eisenhower became the first president to be baptised during the period of the presidency (“Excerpt: One Nation Under God”). After it, he announced the National Prayer Breakfast, which over time turned into a national tradition. Based on this, it can be said that the role of Christianity was becoming more vital during this period.
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"What Role Did Christianity Play in Public Life During the 1950s and 1960s?".
Still, it is essential to understand that the increasingly important role of Christianity in political life is inseparable from the changes in the perception of religion as such. To be precise, religion has turned into a mainstream during the 1950s and the 1960s. This development was mainly associated with the changes in the apprehension of the American identity and the vision of the American citizenry. During the 1950s, having a religion was perceived as one of the characteristics of the American identity. Even though it is true that adhering to any religious practice was desirable, Christianity was among the most popular ones along with Judaism and Catholicism (Byrne).
From this perspective, Christianity played a role in constructing the social reality due to the fact that it served as one of the criteria for social integration as well as the foundation for having the feeling of being accepted by an individual’s social group. Besides, local churches were drivers of racial integration so that they made the contribution to the further transformation of the American society. All in all, it seemed to play a role in fostering the creation of the new American – that based on the passion for unity and commitment to justice (Lindner). These changes in the public life mentioned here can be used for explaining the alterations of the political system considered above.
When speaking of the importance of Christianity in the public life, it is of critical significance to understand why it became increasingly popular. The main point here is that it became more liberal and progressive compared to what it has traditionally been (Byrne; Lindner). The creation of the new American identity – that characterised by having any religion – could have been caused by the progressivism noticed in Christianity. In particular, pluralism has not been criticised during the period of interest (Lindner). As a result, during this period, this period was marked as the establishment of the foundations for the creation of the Christian America.
- Byrne, Julie. “Roman Catholics and the American Mainstream in the Twentieth Century.” National Humanities Center, 2000, nationalhumanitiescenter.org
- “Excerpt: One Nation Under God.” National Public Radio, 2015, www.npr.org
- Lindner, John B. “The Hundred-Year Transition: From Protestant Privilege to Cultural Pluralism.” Yale University, 2009, reflections.yale.edu
