AMERICAN CHURCHES A POWERFUL INFLUENCE THROUGHOUT THE NATION

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27663, 20 May 1955, Page 12

AMERICAN CHURCHES A POWERFUL INFLUENCE THROUGHOUT THE NATION

(Specially Written for “The Press”]

IBy

JOHN FOX]

When Eric Linklater was in New Zealand in 1951 he was astounded to hear the Minister of Labour (Mr Sullivan) ask of an election meeting: “Would that be of any benefit to the British Empire?” A New Zealand visitor to the United States was just as surprised last November to hear Governor Frank Clement, of Tennessee, at the conclusion of a spectacular and probably decisive intervention in the Lucas County, Ohio, Congressional election, spend 10 minutes giving a Toledo audience a theological argument why they should vote Democratic. Perhaps not all New Zealanders are as devoted to the imperial conception as Mr Sullivan; but no observer of the United States can doubt the pervasive influence of religion. It is true, of course, that Governor Clement, a big, likeable eloquent young politician, comes from the socalled “Bible Belt”- of the South, where most of the people like their religion with a dash of fundamentalism. This is the land of the evangelist Billy Graham. It is also the land where Scopes, a school teacher, was tried not so many years ago. for teaching evolution in a school at Dayton, Tennessee. Chattanooga, Tennessee, was recently accused by a social research worker of having more religiosity than religion. That may be so, but a casual visitor can only see both without judging their relative proportions. Other parts of the United States have generally a more tolerant religion, although a remarkable variety of sects everywhere includes some with unusual but passionately held beliefs. Greater tolerance does not, however, mean that the church in, say, the industrial north lacks strength. Churches Community Centres

The church is normally the community centre in its locality. Most church buildings include, either attached or in the basement, large social halls with completely equipped kitchens, gymnasiums and meeting rooms. These facilities are for hire, and church groups earn extra revenue for the parish by catering at secular events held at the church.

Church people take a pride in their handsome buildings, designed for lay as well as religious use. Their church is one of the first features of the neighbourhood they show a visitor, pointing with pride to such features as the “crying rooms” of a new Lutheran Church in Toledo. These are small sound-proof rooms in the choir loft where mothers with babies may watch the service through plate glass windows and listen to it through earphones without fear of their children’s distracting the congregation. Since the palmy days of Father Coghlin, radio, and latterly television, have been widely used by the churches to maintain their influence. Idly turning on my hotel bedroom radio in Cleveland, Ohio, one evening, I found myself listening to “The Pastor’s Study,” a popular late night session. The pastor invited anyone with a question or problem to telephone him. The caller’s side of the dialogue is not heard, but the pastor’s answers are. Books by religious leaders are much read. “The Power of Positive Thinking,” by Norman Vincent Peale, of New York, has been at the head of the best sellers* list for months. Anyone who has not read it often finds himself at a disadvantage in conversation, where it is repeatedly quoted. Another popular book is “A Man Called Peter,” by Peter Marshall. Religion is always a popular element in a film. Billy Graham’s own film

has drawn big houses all over th. country.

Except for the Roman Catholic parochial schools, church schools are uncommon in the United States But the influence of religion is strong in most public schools, partly because local control brings the schools clorek into touch with their communities The religious aspect of Christmas ’ was strongly emphasised in Toledo schools last year. Every infant room seemed tn have its manger and crib, and seasonal lessons were given in most class rooms Incidentally, the United States is a nation of traders; but many compla|nt« were heard last year when shoo keepers began their Christmas selllnu season immediately after ThanksgivtnJ at the end of November, although this did not seem unreasonably early to a New Zealander. Americans felt that this was commercialising the festival It must be remembered, of course that proportionately fewer Americans'thm New Zealanders send ChriatmJ parcels long distancoa, so that there is less need for early shopping and posting. Churches of all denominations have universities. Some are relatively small establishments in country towns Almost every city in Ohio with a population of 15,000 or so seems to have its college, more often than not controlled by a church. For instance Wooster, about that size, has a verv tine Presbyterian college. The Colles, of Wooster recently brought the English historian Arnold Toynbee tn its hall to give a public address ° At the other end of the scale are such big establishments as the Catholic university of Notre Dame in Indiana and the Southern Methodist Untvtnitv at Dallas, Texas. It must be admitted that they are known to the people of the United States generally more for football than for theology. Religion Topic of Discussion Churches and church universities thrive in the United States because many of the people are convinced that man has a spiritual side, and in turn churches and colleges help to spread this conviction. Even among American agnostics, religion is a common tonic of argument and discussion Indeed agnostics can fairly claim that they are' sometimes more religious than their church-going friends. Because the, have had no personal revelation and cannot accept fully a church’s doctrine they feel that for them to pretend to do so would be blasphemous. That does not prevent them from repeatedly examining their consciences. One instance that came to my knowledge was that of a woman who had been asked to teach in a Sunday school attended by her children. For many reasons she wished to do so. but she was hesitating because she wondered whether she could conscientiously accept this responsibility. 1 George Washington, “the father of his country,’’ laid it down that “the government of the United States is not in any way founded upon the | Christian religion.” Nevertheless noone can easily build a career in politics or even in business, in the United States unless he is known as a member of some church. No doubt this leads to some hypocrisy. It does also contribute greatly to the moral and financial strength of the churches in the good works that are generally recognised by those who do not accept their theology Certainly the vigour of the church u a whole and a real sense of fellowship among professing Christians are of gre M? Y? lue in preventing American civilisation from becoming as materialist as .it sometimes wrongly appears from a distance. ’