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The Religious Right, the Reagan Administration, and the Cold War A For God and Country: The Religious Right, the Reagan Administration, and the Cold War A dissertation presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Jeremy R. Hatfield May 2013 © 2013 Jeremy R. Hatfield. All Rights Reserved. 2 This dissertation titled For God and Country: The Religious Right, The Reagan Administration, and the Cold War by JEREMY R. HATFIELD has been approved for the Department of History and the College of Arts and Sciences by Chester J. Pach, Jr. Associate Professor of History Robert Frank Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 ABSTRACT HATFIELD, JEREMY R., Ph.D., May 2013, History For God and Country: The Religious Right, the Reagan Administration, and the Cold War Director of Dissertation: Chester J. Pach, Jr. In the late 1970s, a number of prominent evangelical ministers decided to become actively involved in American politics. Dubbed the New Christian Right by some, the Religious Right or the Christian Right by others, these figures immediately became very vocal about the need to restore morality to American society and to insure that the United States retained its position as a preeminent military power in the world. This dissertation examines the Religious Right’s activism in matters of American foreign policy from the late 1970s through the end of the Cold War. It illuminates the underlying theological and political beliefs that characterized the Religious Right’s politics, and explains how the Religious Right became politicized. It also demonstrates that foreign affairs played a more prominent role in the activism of the Religious Right than many historians have realized. The heart of this dissertation is its portrait of the political marriage between the Reagan administration and the Religious Right. By examining this relationship in terms of national defense policy, one can see not only that the Reagan administration relied on the Religious Right to gets its message out on sensitive issues like the nuclear freeze movement, but also that the Religious Right was eager to gain access to the seat of national power. In seeking to maintain access to the White House, however, agents of the 4 Religious Right sacrificed theirs ability to maintain independent judgments about matters of foreign policy. As this dissertation demonstrates, prominent evangelicals like Jerry Falwell became loyal foot soldiers for the Reagan administration as the 1980s wore on, but gained very little in return for their loyalty. Indeed the Religious Right’s credibility as political commentators suffered as a result of its engagement in debates about Central America, South Africa, and the Philippines. Public embarrassments in these areas, coupled with the televangelist scandals of the late 1980s, cost the Religious Right in terms of its public credibility. This dissertation ultimately presents a fresh examination of evangelicals’ involvement in debates about foreign affairs in the late stages of the Cold War. It demonstrates that evangelicals at large were more ambivalent than adamant about national defense issues in the Reagan years. Along the way, this project also explains how theology shaped the Religious Right’s view of world affairs. By studying these matters more closely, this dissertation challenges students of modern American history to re-examine evangelicals as actors in American politics. 5 DEDICATION For my beloved mother, who taught me how to read. The rest, as they say, is history. 6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing a work of this size is a long and arduous process. From proposal to defense, I have benefited from the aid of many people who have kept me believing in myself and focused on the goal of finishing. Any completed dissertation is partly the work of a dedicated advisor. I am glad that I have enjoyed the aid of Chester Pach, an earnest, patient, and thoughtful advisor as well as a deft critic of student writing. From the very beginning of this project, he encouraged me to pursue its subject with a passionate, “You can do this.” I hope the pages that follow prove that he was right. It would be difficult to offer enough gratitude to Paul Milazzo, who encouraged my work throughout my tenure in graduate school. I would also like to thank Kevin Mattson and Steve Hays, who served on my dissertation committee, and Leo Ribuffo at George Washington University, who took time out of his schedule to discuss this dissertation with me during a visit to Washington, D.C. Thanks as well to Richard Cizik, who granted an interview. My graduate student colleagues in the Ohio University History Department often proved to be reliable sounding boards for my ideas. In addition, Sherry Gillogly, Misty Milstead, Brenda Nelson, Kara Dunfee, and Connie Hunter have been helpful to me in my time at Ohio University. It is practically impossible to complete a project of this size without financial support. Generous fellowships from the Ohio University Graduate College and the Baker Peace Studies endowment allowed me to focus exclusively on research and writing. In addition, the Ohio University History Department and the Contemporary History Institute 7 provided funds for my research travel, allowing me to return to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and to travel to the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, Illinois. At Liberty University’s A. Pierre Guillermin Library in Lynchburg, Virginia, archivist Abigail Sattler made sure I had exhausted every available resource before leaving. Wayne Weber and Robert Shuster at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, Illinois were immensely helpful to me during my time there. I would be remiss as well to not mention the staff of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. That beautiful facility, coupled with the staffs’ consistently helpful attitude, made two weeks of work at the Library go very smoothly. Numerous others have supported my work every step of the way. Ben Logan, Daniel Privette, and Nathan Ingle have proven themselves to be stalwart friends. I would be remiss in not thanking Daniel and Nathan’s wives, Emily Privette and Tiffany Ingle, as well Scarlette and Philip Moore. Rich and Connie Teske have been a second family in Athens. I cannot imagine completing this project without the constant encouragement of my friends in the Reach Out on Campus Graduate Student and Young Professionals group. In particular, I would like to thank Charles Porter and his dad, Roger, for their friendship during my work on this project. I can hardly offer enough words of love to my family for helping to make the completion of this work possible. My uncles “Big Dal” Dallas Jude and Harold “Deanie” Jude have always kept me on my toes with questions about the presidents. My Aunt Paula and Uncle Barry Hale made sure I was provided for in some difficult times. So did my “PaPaw,” Paul Farley, who has taught me the meaning of hard work. My sister 8 Charla and her husband Greg Stepp have always been there for me and helped me to laugh, alongside my cousin Morgan and her husband Josh. This work is also for those who I remember, particularly my “Nanny El,” Elvia Smith, my “Nanny” Pauline Farley, my “Granny” Arlene Hatfield, and my Dad, Robert Hatfield. I only hope that in finally finishing it, I have studied hard and made them proud. This dissertation is dedicated to my Mom, without whom it probably never would have been written. Many of the great things that have happened to me in my life would not have been possible without her incredible determination to help me in all my endeavors. This work is also for Sally Behrenwald. She not only read the entire manuscript, she also made numerous helpful suggestions in a loving way. If the pages contained within were a measure of my love for her, they would far exceed the three hundred or so that follow. 9 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract............................................................................................................................... 3 Dedication........................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... 6 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1: Revivalism and the Red Menace..................................................................... 35 Fundamentalism............................................................................................................ 37 Waving the Blood-Stained Banner ............................................................................... 44 The “Old Fashioned Revival Hour”.............................................................................. 46 Spiritual Containment................................................................................................... 49 Crusades Against Communism..................................................................................... 53 The Source of Our Strength.......................................................................................... 60 In God We Trust, In God They Don’t .......................................................................... 64 Chapter 2: Apocalypse Soon?........................................................................................... 69 Rise of the “Electronic Church” ..................................................................................
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