We Should Remember the Fear of Catholics During JFK



I'm so old, I remember the election of John Kennedy and what the big concern was back then. It was that Kennedy was a Catholic and that he would put those religious views into government. What was the group most worried about this and most insistent about separation of church and state? It was the group that today is insisting on putting church into state, fundamentalists and evangelical Protestants.

I remember my circle of people, rural Protestants, noted what JFK said during his campaign. It was that the Presidency was about politics and he would do what was in the interests of the U.S. public and that he would not be taking orders from the Catholic Church. My circle of skeptics said, "Sure, he thinks that. But when he gets in office, he will have to do what the bishops tell him to do." I don't recall anything he did while in office that appeared to be dictated or even influenced by the Catholic Church.

That is the opposite of Trump. He invites in press photographers so pictures of preachers touching him will be in the papers. This is exactly what Protestants expected to see from Kennedy and the Bishops. 

Some Republican congress members have been questioning the Iran war. Their questions are about the cost and mission. Sec. of Defense Hegseth refers to the Bible when talking about the war. It's hard to understand how any Christian Republican can question the cost and mission of the war if it is required by God. 

What a different country we would be if we all agreed there is no God, no afterlife and no lobbying for a theocrasy. Our country would be different and, it seems, inevitably better.   

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