“God, Country, and Christian Conservatives: The National Association of Manufacturers, the John Birch Society, and the Rise of the Christian Right” by Carmen Celestini A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2018 c Carmen Celestini 2018 Examining Committee Membership The following served on the Examining Committee for this thesis. The decision of the Examining Committee is by majority vote. External Examiner Dr. Randall Balmer John Phillips Professor in Religion, Chair, Department of Religion, Director, Society of Fellow Dartmouth University Supervisor Dr. Scott Kline Associate Professor/Vice President Academic, Dean of St. Jerome’s University, University of Waterloo Internal Member Dr. David Seljak Professor, Religious Studies, University of Waterloo Internal Member Dr. Doris Jakobsh Professor, Religious Studies, University of Waterloo Internal-External Member Dr. Andrew Hunt Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Waterloo ii I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii Abstract According to the First Amendment of the United States of America, religion is to be separate from the State, yet the heart and faith of voters cannot always be separated from their choices in the polling booth. Media, social groups, and emotions such as fear can im- pact an individual’s choice for a political candidate. This dissertation examines a historical timeline, from the 1930s to the early 1980s, of the interactions of corporations, wealthy individuals and religious leaders. These individuals created a strategic plan to politically mobilize a percentage of conservative Christians, through a Christian libertarianism that reflected a Christianity in support of free enterprise and limited government. In particular, I highlight the influence of the National Association of Manufacturers on the John Birch Society, and the Society’s impact on the Moral Majority and the Council for National Policy. In essence, this dissertation argues that the John Birch Society was foundational in the creation of the rise of the Christian Right in America. Through the use of conspiracy theories linked to Christian apocalyptic thought, the JBS, which was at the time under the leadership of Robert Welch, was able to use morality issues and a perception of declining American morality to incite fear into the hearts and minds of some conservative Christian voters. These morality issues would become the foundation for “culture wars” in the coming decades and a basis for the Moral Majority to instigate a voting bloc for Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Previous scholarship on the JBS has not included its important role in the rise of the New Christian Right, nor its role in the creation of culture wars issues prior to the late 1960s. This dissertation highlights the role of the overlapping belief systems of conspiracy theories and apocalyptic thought in the mobilization of conservative Christians by corpo- rations, wealthy individuals, and religious leaders to elect “truly conservative” candidates supportive of a Christian America that is representative of a Christian libertarian state. iv Acknowledgements Throughout my PhD journey I have been “blessed” with the most amazing PhD Com- mittee, without whom I would not have been able to finish this degree. First and foremost I would like to thank Dr. Scott Kline. From the day I first met you, you have always directed me to follow my passion for research, even though my topics were not always con- ventional. You have encouraged me, challenged me, and guided me. Thank you for being my mentor on this journey. I have learned so much from you, and for that I will always be grateful. Your sense of humour, wisdom, and sarcasm have been appreciated more than you know. Thank you. Dr. David Seljak must also be acknowledged. Throughout this process your words of encouragement, support, and curiosity about my area of research has helped me to continue on, on the days that seemed the darkest. Thank you for your patience throughout numerous edits and for always leaving me comments that made me smile and laugh. Dr. Doris Jakobsh, my dear friend, thank you for being the kindness in academia, for your care and concern, and your emotional support. Without these three individuals believing in me, encouraging me to follow my passion for those on the margins, and giving me the freedom to explore, this dissertation would not have been completed. I would like to thank Wally Bak for supporting me throughout my studies. Your sense of humour, “distractions,” and understanding when I had to miss so many moments due to deadlines, writing, and studying was so important to me on my journey. Thank you for the “writing tees,” the “writing ball markers” and for always knowing when I needed a distraction. I appreciate you more than you know. Thank you. Dr. Sean Bohun, thank you. Thank you for your support, your help with editing, reading endless pages of my dissertation, and for endless hours of listening to me whine, think out loud, and be scared. Without your help, guidance, and friendship these pages would not exist. Thank you for seeing in me the things I could not see and for always believing in me. I would also like to thank Dr. Peter Frick for the many long talks, the financial support, your advice, and kindness. I have learned so much from you. I would also like to thank the Religious Studies Department for creating a “family,” that I could turn to, specifically Dr. Mavis Fenn and Dr. James Diamond. Finally, I would like to thank my friends for listening, for evenings of wine, laughter, and silliness. Each of you have been there for me when I lost my focus, when self-doubt creeped in, and when I needed “not to think.” Thank you for standing by me. v Dedication This work is dedicated to my parents, Jean Keetch and Pasquale Celestini for their endless belief, support, and love. You are never truly gone if you exist in a memory, a word, or an act of kindness. vi Table of Contents Examining Committee Membership ii Author’s Declaration iii Abstract iv Acknowledgementsv Dedication vi Table of Contents vii 1 Introduction1 1.1 Religion and the Rise of Conservative Organizations.............5 1.1.1 Introduction of Welfare State and Resistance by Free Enterprise De- fenders..................................5 1.1.2 Presidential Examples.........................7 1.1.3 Pop Culture Examples.........................9 1.2 Scholarship on the John Birch Society: Religion, Economics, and Politics. 12 1.2.1 Martin Seymour Lipset and Edgar G. Engleman........... 15 1.2.2 Richard Hofstadter........................... 19 1.3 Religion, Big Money, and the Rise of Conservative Christian Political Move- ments...................................... 23 vii 1.3.1 Free Enterprise and Religion...................... 24 1.3.2 The Koch Brothers........................... 28 1.4 The Religion of the JBS............................ 31 1.4.1 Apocalyptic Thought.......................... 31 1.4.2 Conspiracy Theory, Millenarianism and Politics........... 33 1.5 Moral Crusade and Culture Wars....................... 36 1.6 Conclusion.................................... 38 2 Religion, Politics and the Defense of Free Enterprise 42 2.1 National Association of Manufacturers.................... 44 2.1.1 Identifying the Opinion Molders.................... 47 2.1.2 Targeted Outreach: Youth, Women, and the Clergy......... 50 2.1.3 The Role of Religion in the Public Relations Campaign....... 53 2.2 J. Howard Pew and Jasper E. Crane..................... 58 2.3 Rev. James W. Fifield and Spiritual Mobilization.............. 64 2.4 Rev. Billy Graham............................... 73 2.5 NAM and the Formation of the JBS...................... 80 2.5.1 The Four Principles of the JBS.................... 85 2.6 Conclusion.................................... 91 3 Political Mobilization, Americanism, and the Insiders 94 3.1 One Man’s Opinion and American Opinion.................. 96 3.1.1 Welch’s Conversion Plan........................ 96 3.1.2 One Man’s Opinion........................... 100 3.1.3 American Opinion........................... 103 3.2 JBS High Level Meetings............................ 107 3.3 Americanism and the Americanist Hero.................... 113 3.3.1 Americanist Hero Captain John Birch................. 117 viii 3.3.2 Americanism and JBS Books..................... 121 3.3.3 Americanism for Mobilization..................... 124 3.4 The Insiders................................... 127 3.4.1 The Goal of the Insiders—A Dystopian Future............ 129 3.5 Welch’s Agenda in Summary.......................... 136 4 The John Birch Society’s Relationship with Christianity 138 4.1 The John Birch Society and Religion..................... 140 4.2 Communist Infiltration within Religious Institutions............. 142 4.3 The End Times and the Americanist Response................ 151 4.3.1 Religious Support of JBS........................ 158 4.3.2 The JBS and Billy Graham...................... 165 4.3.3 Religious Opposition to JBS and Atheism.............. 168 4.4 Conclusion.................................... 170 5 Culture Warriors - Women on the Right 172 5.1 Evolving Perceptions of Domesticity...................... 174 5.2 Phyllis Schlafly................................