UZAJAMNI IMPAKT HLADNOG RATA I HRIŠĆANSKIH CRKAVA SEVERNE AMERIKE
Mutual Impact of Cold War and Christian Churches in North America

Author(s): Paul Mojzes
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Theology and Religion, Politics and religion
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Keywords: various Canadian and American churches; anti-communism; cold war; nuclear armaments and disarmaments; work for peace
Summary/Abstract: As the editor and author of one of the more than thirty scholarly explorations regarding the influence of the Cold War on the Christian churches of Canada and the USA during the period from 1945 to 1990, as well as the role of these communities on the developments of the Cold War (a book which is now in the process of publishing19) collectively we came to very important insights that may serve churches in future religious or ideological conflicts. In addition to introductory chapters and conclusion the chapters are divided into five sections. The first section contains explorations of the Canadian situation. One of surprising insights was that the Canadian Protestant churches were often more concerned regarding the aggressive politics of the allied USA than to the threat from the East. Protestant church communities which make up the majority of the American population I divided into two sections because of the very different approach and reaction of Protestant believers.The first section deals with so called “Main Line Churches” which attempted to respond in moderation to the challenges of communism and to try, despite the awareness of the communist danger, to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict and nuclear disarmament. This ultimately resulted in serious losses of their influence upon the government and a weakening of the support of its membership. So called Evangelical Protestant churches, which are conservative, supported the escalation of the conflict between West and East, some of them expecting the end of the world. From the 1960s onward their influence grew and their political clout increased. The Catholic Church had fewer internal tensions but among Catholics major changes occured after the Second Vatican Council: from very pronounced anti-communism prior to the Council a much more subtle analysis took place and a more differentiated approach to the world situation became noticeable. Eastern Orthodox churches did not have a unified approach and reaction. Because their church headquarters were in countries under communist control, they experienced sharp conflicts leading to schisms because part of their membership was extremely anti-communist while some of their church leadership experienced communist pressure. In the current intensification of the relationships between Russia and America these studies are not merely of historical interest but are becoming relevant to our contemporary situation.

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