Author of The Faiths of the Postwar Presidents: From Truman to Obama, David L. Holmes gave an insightful talk on the faiths of the presidents since World War II. Many important decisions that have been made by the presidents of the United States has been influenced on the religious backgrounds whether they consciously or unconsciously recognize their actions as religious decisions. This talk was very interesting as much about the private lives of presidents prior to Bill Clinton was kept very personal, and gaining this knowledge that is not commonly known is fascinating.
After the events that occurred on August 6, 1945 many believed that an apocalyptic turn for the worse was happening to the world. The United States had just dropped the most deadly bomb in the history of time on Hiroshima. As turmoil arises in the nation, citizens look for guidance from their fearless leader, President Harry S. Truman, for advice. Truman, a Southern Baptist, was able to rationalize his rash choice to drop the atomic bomb as something that was needed to protect his country. He believed that God would support his choices as he was in his mind saving the potential lives of millions of Americans that he vowed to protect and serve. The nation was soon at ease seeing their leader stand tall and unafraid as he had God on his side. This concept is something that I have a hard time rationalizing now as American grows more and more secular each day. I believe that Americans would not be able to stand behind a president that was able commit such heinous acts when human rights are now more important to many than America as a whole. John F. …show more content…
Kennedy was a Roman Catholic man who is known as the most secular president the United States has ever had in office. During his campaign, Kennedy’s religion was a hot button issue as he was the second Catholic to be nominated for a presidential election. During this time, America was a heavily protestant country, and many feared that electing a Catholic man to office would change our country drastically. Ironically, Kennedy was described as a bad Catholic as he expressed little to no interest in the faith. Kennedy attended church regularly as the president, but only because he married a devout Roman Catholic. Kennedy was a man that had many other issues that should have been considered during the time during his election that were more important than his religion. Kennedy was a man who suffered from uncontrollable pain and had a reputation of being careless and a bit promiscuous. This were not as important during this time as the only thing many Americans could focus on was the fact that Kennedy was a catholic. Ironically, when told that someone should write a book about what type of Catholic Kennedy was his sister replied by saying that it would be a terribly small book. Towards the end of his talk, Holmes began to go into further details on the religious lives of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Bill Clinton was raised a Southern Baptist in his home state of Arkansas. During his childhood, Bill Clinton had a less than ideal household situation and found comfort in his church. At the age of nine, Clinton was baptized and to this day considered himself a convert from
After the events that occurred on August 6, 1945 many believed that an apocalyptic turn for the worse was happening to the world. The United States had just dropped the most deadly bomb in the history of time on Hiroshima. As turmoil arises in the nation, citizens look for guidance from their fearless leader, President Harry S. Truman, for advice. Truman, a Southern Baptist, was able to rationalize his rash choice to drop the atomic bomb as something that was needed to protect his country. He believed that God would support his choices as he was in his mind saving the potential lives of millions of Americans that he vowed to protect and serve. The nation was soon at ease seeing their leader stand tall and unafraid as he had God on his side. This concept is something that I have a hard time rationalizing now as American grows more and more secular each day. I believe that Americans would not be able to stand behind a president that was able commit such heinous acts when human rights are now more important to many than America as a whole. John F. …show more content…
Kennedy was a Roman Catholic man who is known as the most secular president the United States has ever had in office. During his campaign, Kennedy’s religion was a hot button issue as he was the second Catholic to be nominated for a presidential election. During this time, America was a heavily protestant country, and many feared that electing a Catholic man to office would change our country drastically. Ironically, Kennedy was described as a bad Catholic as he expressed little to no interest in the faith. Kennedy attended church regularly as the president, but only because he married a devout Roman Catholic. Kennedy was a man that had many other issues that should have been considered during the time during his election that were more important than his religion. Kennedy was a man who suffered from uncontrollable pain and had a reputation of being careless and a bit promiscuous. This were not as important during this time as the only thing many Americans could focus on was the fact that Kennedy was a catholic. Ironically, when told that someone should write a book about what type of Catholic Kennedy was his sister replied by saying that it would be a terribly small book. Towards the end of his talk, Holmes began to go into further details on the religious lives of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Bill Clinton was raised a Southern Baptist in his home state of Arkansas. During his childhood, Bill Clinton had a less than ideal household situation and found comfort in his church. At the age of nine, Clinton was baptized and to this day considered himself a convert from