By
– August 24, 2011
In 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in a private conversation with two high-ranking members of his administration, one Catholic and one Jew, reminded them that the United States is “a Protestant country” and added that “Catholics and Jews are here under sufferance” and it was “up to you” to “go along with what I want.” This quote is taken from Tri-Faith America: How Catholics and Jews Held Postwar America to its Protestant Promise by Kevin M. Schultz. It is a vivid illustration that Catholic and Jewish Americans, even those at the very highest levels, were not fully accepted until the mid-20th century. Through the voices of key political and religious leaders, and incisive historical analysis, Schultz takes the reader on the path leading to America’s increasing acceptance of itself as a “tri-faith” country that fully accepts the traditions of its Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish countrymen.
According to Schultz, this “tri-faith” pluralist perspective laid the foundation for the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s and ushered in a public debate about the role of the state in adjudicating religious matters. Jews, some Catholics, and liberal Protestants began to promote the idea that the secular state was in the best interests of the country. The importance of maintaining a secular state became a mainstream belief along with American acceptance of group rights.”
The increasing rise of cultural pluralism and secularism had unforeseen consequences. There was a decided upsurge of conservative belief decrying the secularism of the country. In 1979, Reverend Jerry Falwell co-founded the organization the “Moral Majority,” intended to serve as a platform for American conservatives to enter politics. A new schism, the “liberal-conservative divide,” was developing. The primary religious divisions were no longer between Protestants, Catholics, and Jews but between liberals and conservatives of all three faiths. This “divide” continues until this day.
The reader who relishes a nuanced view of the forces that have shaped American history and the American Jewish experience will find this book a delight. It is not an easy read but understanding the subtleties of social and cultural history and events requires complex analysis. Endnotes, index, photos.
According to Schultz, this “tri-faith” pluralist perspective laid the foundation for the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s and ushered in a public debate about the role of the state in adjudicating religious matters. Jews, some Catholics, and liberal Protestants began to promote the idea that the secular state was in the best interests of the country. The importance of maintaining a secular state became a mainstream belief along with American acceptance of group rights.”
The increasing rise of cultural pluralism and secularism had unforeseen consequences. There was a decided upsurge of conservative belief decrying the secularism of the country. In 1979, Reverend Jerry Falwell co-founded the organization the “Moral Majority,” intended to serve as a platform for American conservatives to enter politics. A new schism, the “liberal-conservative divide,” was developing. The primary religious divisions were no longer between Protestants, Catholics, and Jews but between liberals and conservatives of all three faiths. This “divide” continues until this day.
The reader who relishes a nuanced view of the forces that have shaped American history and the American Jewish experience will find this book a delight. It is not an easy read but understanding the subtleties of social and cultural history and events requires complex analysis. Endnotes, index, photos.
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Carol Poll, Ph.D., is the retired Chair of the Social Sciences Department and Professor of Sociology at the Fashion Institute of Technology of the State University of New York. Her areas of interest include the sociology of race and ethnic relations, the sociology of marriage, family and gender roles and the sociology of Jews.
