MATTHEW LEE MILLER
This weighty and wide-ranging collection of essays by church leaders, historians, and religious studies scholars explores the diverse attitudes of North American churches to the Cold War. Events between 1945 and 1990 form the focus for the most part, but several authors address earlier developments and more recent legacies. The volume’s 31 chapters are gathered into six sections examining the various positions adopted by groups of churches and organizations: Canadian Protestant, US mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Evangelical, and Christian pacifists. The contributors have themselves adopted a variety of analytical approaches: a number present personal reflections on their own organization’s involvements, others offer focused studies which rely on primary source documents, and several depend on multiple published works to survey the assigned topic. The contributors also explore a wide range of activities: theological and philosophical reflection, political debate and activism, and East-West church relations and ministries.
The volume’s editor, Paul Mojzes, professor emeritus of religious studies at Rosemont College in Pennsylvania, begins this conversation with a preface which explains the roots and guiding principles of the project. Norman A. Hjelm continues with a brief review of literature on the topic and a presentation of five “tensions” which recur throughout the book: the debate within the ecumenical World Council of Churches on the fundamental nature of the relationship between Christianity and Communism; the analogous experience of the Christian Peace Conference based in Cold War Prague; the debate within the Roman Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council on the best response to Communism; the reflections within Eastern European churches on the mission of the church in a socialist society; and the influence of the Cold War beyond Europe and North America.
The first section of the book focuses on the experiences of mainline Protestant Christians in Canada. James Christie introduces the four main chapters and also provides a concluding summary. Lois Wilson, a prominent leader of the United Church of Canada (UCC), presents a detailed review of denominational and ecumenical efforts to promote peace from 1975 to 1990, when multiple educational and political projects opposed the proliferation of nuclear weapons and highlighted human rights and social justice issues. In the same vein, historian Gayle Thrift examines the opposition of J. R. Hord, a prominent UCC leader, to continued involvement in the conflict in Vietnam, and Bill Blaikie—UCC minister and Canadian parliamentarian—writes about the 1980s debate on disarmament. Gordon L. Heath, a professor of church history, contributes a focused study of the energetic anti-Communist activities of Watson Kirkconnell—professor of English, university president, and Baptist denominational leader. The conclusion of this section notes that during this era many mainline Protestant Canadian churches expressed far more concern about US military and political action than possible aggressions of the USSR.
Professor Jill K. Gill opens the section on US mainline Protestant activities by focusing on the National Council of Churches (NCC). She attempts to explain (and assertively defend) political choices made by ecumenical movement leaders and to respond to criticism received from those connected to Evangelical and fundamentalist Protestant groups. The following chapter by Bruce Rigdon, Barbara Green, and John Lindner focuses on US-Soviet church relations from 1956 to 1991. This essay looks at work supported by the NCC and describes an evolving series of intercultural and interconfessional meetings. The locations and participants of these gatherings, which often centered on world peace, are helpfully included. Professor Gary Dorrien shifts the conversation to an analysis of the ethical reflections of Reinhold Niebuhr, “the most influential US theologian of the twentieth century” (155). As Dorrien explains, Niebuhr attempted to “establish a progressive and realistic form of anti-Communism” (167), which took a very cautious approach to the use of military force and nuclear deterrence. Frederick R. Trost, a leader of the United Church of Christ, provides a chapter on the history of the UCC’s efforts to establish full communion with the Evangelical Church of the Union in divided Germany. Historian Peter Eisenstadt looks at the role played by Marxism in the thinking of Howard Thurman, professor at Washington, DC’s Howard University and mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr. The final two chapters of this section provide additional reflections on ecumenical activities from scholars James E. Will and Charles West.
Four chapters explore aspects of Roman Catholic approaches to the Cold War. Dianne Kirby discusses several sources for the strong Catholic anti-Communist movement of the 1940s and 50s, including Pope Pius XI’s 1937 encyclical Divini Redemptoris—which emphasized the need for believers to battle the “fatal plague” of Communism (232); devotion to the Virgin of Fatima; and the actions of Joe McCarthy, who was directly influenced by church leaders. Michael Graziano explores links between the Catholic Church and US intelligence agencies, while Todd Scribner analyzes the decline in support for anti-Communism among US bishops after the Second Vatican Council. Raymond Haberski, Jr., reflects on the Catholic intellectual debates of the Cold War era through the prism of the debate on just war theory between George Weigel and Fr. J. Bryan Hehir.
The section exploring Eastern Orthodoxy and the Cold War includes several especially valuable contributions. Fr. Leonid Kishkovsky of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), an active participant in the ecumenical movement, presents an insightful historical account of the OCA’s challenging path. On one hand, it maintained a close relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarch; however, it also acted on “its moral obligation to stand with those targeted for persecution by the Communist system in the Soviet Union” and challenged “the injustices of the Soviet system” (309). Professor Nicholas Denysenko analyzes the political theology of martyrdom presented by two Ukrainian-American memorials, St. Andrew Memorial Church in South Bound Brook, New Jersey, and the Taras Shevchenko monument in Washington, DC. Historians Andrei V. Psarev and Nadieszda Kizenko write on the beliefs and actions of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) in relation to the ecumenical movement and the World Council of Churches (WCC). ROCOR did not participate in the WCC as a member, but it occasionally sent observers to meetings; this church body “could not tolerate the pro-Socialist or pro-Communist tendencies they sensed at inter-Christian meetings” (341). Professor Lucian Turcescu examines the causes and legacy of the schism that developed among Romanian Orthodox believers in the US. Dellas Oliver Herbel, an Orthodox military chaplain, presents a history of the unsuccessful 1950s attempt to gain recognition of Orthodox Christianity as a “fourth major faith” in the US (361).
Professor Axel R. Schäfer opens the fifth section with an intricate analysis of the rise of Evangelical Protestant Christianity after World War II and its diverse responses to the global involvement of the US government. Daniel G. Hummel explores the influence of dispensationalist theology on the political opinions of Evangelicals during this period. Historian Jeremy Hatfield contrasts the views of two leading Evangelicals, Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell, in the debate on nuclear weapons during the 1970s and 80s. Professor Steven M. Tipton looks at controversy generated by the anti-Communist Institute on Religion and Democracy, based in Washington, DC, and its criticism of the political activism supported by leaders of the United Methodist Church. Professor Mark Thomas Edwards concludes this section by reflecting on Cold War-era connections between Evangelical and mainline Protestants.
The final section of the book examines a variety of peace activities supported by North American believers. Professor Walter Sawatsky offers an insightful survey of Mennonite, Brethren, and Quaker programs in Eastern Europe. Special attention focuses on the work of the Mennonite Central Committee, for which Sawatsky served as a research scholar from 1973-2010. Professor Joseph Loya provides a chapter on Christians Associated for Relationships with Eastern Europe, an organization with links to the Christian Peace Conference in Prague. For the final chapter of this section, Paul Mojzes reflects on Christian-Marxist dialogues in several settings, as well as his personal involvement in international discussions during the 1970s and 80s.
In the outstanding summarizing chapter that concludes the collection, Professor David Little emphasizes that the Christian groups discussed in the volume “interpreted the Cold War as religious conflict very differently” (535). Notably, his analysis considers disputes among Christians holding “ardent” and “moderate” stances of anti-Communism (544) in the light of the significant debate between prominent US diplomats John Foster Dulles and George Kennan over the “containment” of the spread of Communism (537).
North American Churches and the Cold War brings together an extraordinarily diverse range of political assumptions, religious values, and writing styles. Researchers and students will find detailed presentations of multiple opinions on how Christians responded to the philosophical, moral, and political challenges of this period. Some readers may question the absence of an anticipated topic of discussion, but the chapters provide many leads to additional resources. Nearly 30 years have passed since the close of the Cold War, but the debates of this time continue to stir conversations today. This volume will serve as a valuable reference work for students, researchers, and leaders of churches and organizations with connections to the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe. It may be most beneficial to readers who did not experience the Cold War directly and need an introduction to challenges which have shaped our world.
Matthew Lee Miller is book review editor of the East-West Church Report.
