Norman Lear and the Spiritual Politics of Religious Liberalism
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NORMAN LEAR AND THE SPIRITUAL POLITICS OF RELIGIOUS LIBERALISM A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Division of Religion, Drew University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy J. Terry Todd, PhD., Dissertation Committee Chairperson By L. Benjamin Rolsky Drew University Madison, New Jersey April 2016 i Copyright © 2016 L. Benjamin Rolsky All rights reserved. ABSTRACT “Norman Lear and the Spiritual Politics of Religious Liberalism” Ph.D. Dissertation by L. Benjamin Rolsky Graduate Division of Religion Drew University April 2016 This dissertation explores the life and thought of television writer and producer Norman Lear through his career in media. Lear was both the creator of situation comedies such as All in the Family and Maude during the 1970s and a non—profit activist who founded People for the American Way (PFAW) in the early 1980s. I argue that Lear’s movements throughout this period help us understand three larger religio—political developments of the recent American past: the political mobilization of religious liberalism, the creation of the Christian Right, and the culture wars themselves. Contributing the first systematic treatment of Lear’s lectures, published and unpublished writings, personal papers, and television programs, this dissertation presents Lear’s influence on American public life as a distinct contribution to the longer history of American religious liberalism in a spiritual key. In fact, I argue that Lear’s career in media can be understood as a form of spiritual liberalism, one that recognized the Protestant heritage of religious liberalism, but added its own Jewish and spirit—centered formulations as “a life lived in the spirit.” Lear’s career in media also demonstrates a commitment to protecting liberal democracy and its subsequent regulation of diversity through the separation of church and state and the freedom of speech and religious practice found in the first amendment. Despite adhering to such liberal principles in the public square, however, Lear’s activism was ultimately not capable of recognizing televangelist speech as protected speech due to its at times incendiary and divisive character. As such, I argue that Lear’s activism illustrates the contradictions within liberal democracy itself in its attempts to celebrate, yet regulate, the very diversity it relies on for its own notions of civic vitality. This dissertation thus demonstrates how Lear’s spiritual activism not only appeared on All in the Family , but also in his published correspondences with American presidents and his linguistic contributions to the discursive formation of the Christian Right and the electronic church. CONTENTS ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………...............iii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………...............1 Problem and Argument…………………………………………………................2 Literature Review and Method…………………………………………..............13 Source Material………………………………………………………..................22 Significance………………………………………………………………………23 Chapter Breakdown……………………………………………………...............30 2. NORMAN LEAR, SPIRITUAL LIBERALISM, AND FRAMING THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT…………………………………………………………………………………...34 Short Biography………………………………………………………………….38 Lear and the Electronic church…..........................................................................43 Framing the New Right…………………………………………………..............53 Lear and Liberal Religion……………………………………………..................61 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….71 3. ALL IN THE FAMILY AND THE SPIRITUAL POLITICIZATION OF THE AMERICAN SITCOM…………………………………………………………..............74 Lear as Theatrical Writer………………………………………….......................81 Lear as Theatrical Producer……………………………………….......................88 Lear and the New Morality……………………………………………................93 Lear Programming and the New Class…………………………………………..97 Civility and Satire in Primetime………………………………………………..105 All in the Family : Episodes…………………………………………..................109 Conclusion……………………………………………………………...............124 4. LEAR, THE FCC, AND THE HOLY WAR OVER AMERICAN TELEVISION….............................................................................................................130 Regulating Television: Religion and the Public Interest………….....................137 The Family Viewing Hour……………………………………………...............145 Maude and Abortion…………………………………………………................152 The Television Summit: Ojai…………………………………………...............166 Lear vs Falwell………………………………………………………………….175 Conclusion……………………………………………………………...............180 5. PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY AND SPIRITUAL POLITICS IN LATE 20TH CENTURY AMERICA………………………………………….........................182 Roots of the American Way………………………………………….................188 Building the American Way……………………………………………………195 Manufacturing the American Way……………………………………...............203 Composing the American Way…………………………………........................212 Mission Statement………………………………………………………………217 Cultural Productions…………………………………………………................222 The Non—Profit Goes to War……………………………………….…………229 Civility and People for the American Way……………………………..............237 Conclusion……………………………………………………………...............242 6. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………....247 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………....261 CHAPTER ONE Introduction In 1984, Harper’s magazine hosted a spirited discussion between renowned television producer, writer, and creator Norman Lear and President Ronald Reagan. “Dear Mr. President,” the letter began, “I am deeply troubled by what seems to be an endorsement of the so—called Christian Nation movement in many of your recent speeches. While I fully respect (and would fight to protect) your right to whatever spiritual and religious beliefs you prefer, I am concerned that you not use the office of the presidency as Evangelist in Chief or to further the notion that any particular group of Americans is to be accorded special standing because it practices any religion.” Lear willingly accepted the fact that Americans, including the President himself, had the constitutional right to express themselves freely, yet he was hesitant to admit that conservative political religions were not attempting to curtail the very same individual liberties in an act of tyranny. “Mr. President,” Lear elaborated, “without freedom from religion we could have no freedom of religion.” 1 The President’s prompt response assured Lear that he had no intention of representing what Lear called “the Christian Nation movement” in any of his social policy decisions. “I certainly do not support the notion that any group of citizens is to be accorded special standing ‘because it practices any religion,’” Reagan responded. “The goal of our nation must always be to achieve the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with an orderly society.” Reagan’s words proved quite prescient since his notion of an “orderly society,” and the values and ethics through which it could be realized, would contribute to defining two very important shifts in late twentieth—century America: the emergence of the culture wars as both idea and social 1 Norman Lear and Ronald Reagan, “A Debate on Religious Freedom,” Harper’s (Oct 1984), 15—20. 1 2 phenomenon, and the terms of a new conservative consensus. 2 More importantly, the discussion between Lear and Reagan spoke to the impact of Southern California and the larger Sunbelt on postwar American religious life as understood from the soundstages and writing rooms of Hollywood, California— what one anthropologist called the Dream Factory. 3 The disagreements between Lear and Reagan were clear, yet nevertheless dramatic, as a former television writer went head—to—head with a former actor over the terms of the orderly society itself in a pivotal moment in late twentieth—century America. Research Problem and Argument Lear’s disagreement with Reagan was the product of nearly a decade of organizing and activism in defense of what he would later call, “the American Way.” 4 Lear had been on the collective radar of conservative activists, journalists, and organizers since the premiere of his 1971 hit situation comedy All in the Family. Despite the inclusion of the word “family” in the show’s title, the show eventually faced virulent criticism for its naive or “indecent” material by some of conservatism’s most well respected names including writer William Buckley and later evangelist Jerry Falwell. 5 In fact, Falwell would declare Lear to be the “number one enemy of the family” in America during the show’s run on CBS. This difference in opinion helpfully illuminates the contested character of the American family and the ways in which liberals and 2 For more, see Jeffrey K. Hadden, “Clergy Involvement in Civil Rights,” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 387 (January 1970), 119. 3 For more, see Hortense Powdermaker, Hollywood, the Dream Factory: An Anthropologist Looks at the Movie—Makers (New York, NY: Martino Fine Books, 2013 — reprint, 1950). For more on California’s liberal religious cultures in contemporary settings, see Eileen Luhr, “Seeker, Surfer, Yogi: The Progressive Religious Imagination and the Cultural Politics of Place in Encinitas, California,” American Quarterly 67:4 (Dec 2015), 1169—1193. 4 Wendy Wall, Inventing the "American Way" : The Politics of Consensus from the New Deal to the Civil Rights Movement (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2008). 5 William Buckley, “The Nightmare of Norman Lear,” National Review (November 27 1981), 1441.