American Catholic: The Politics of Faith During the Cold War

In this informative work, Hart (A Secular Faith), a history professor at Hillsdale College, tracks Catholic influences on mainstream politics and media from the election of President John F. Kennedy to the George W. Bush administration. Using profiles of Catholic political activists (such as midcentury conservative William F. Buckley Jr. and writer Phyllis Schlafly), Hart depicts how Catholics forged a path in the Protestant-dominated political scene of the mid-20th century. He highlights Roman Catholic clergy who “looked for ways to affirm in a Roman Catholic idiom the modern ideals of religious freedom, democracy, and human rights.” He also points out how Pope John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical, which questioned the nuclear arms race, coincided with rising Cold War tensions. Hart laments the lack of attention historians have paid to Roman Catholic thought in the American political arena and the decline of what he terms “pious patriotism”—a blend of Americanism and faith that “united a nation of diverse immigrants.” Using vignettes from the lives of politicians, religious leaders, and even popes, he further contends that American Catholics are in a better position than Protestants to adjust to the liberalization of American life and uphold the country’s reputation as a Christian nation. Academics and historians will learn much from Hart’s thorough analysis. (Oct.)