WWII

1
WWII the Early Boom!
Alycia Dooling
2
People

• President Dwight Eisenhower
• P.M. Mackenzie King
• Henry Knox Sherrill
• Rabbi Joshua Loth Liebman
• Norman Vincent Peale
• Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
• Billy Graham
• John F. Kennedy
• Senator Joseph McCarthy
• Carl F. Henry
• Bernard Ramm
• Monsignor John Tracy Ellis

3
Social Changes

• Gender roles, family structures, geographic
  living patterns, and occupational demographics
• Women and African Americans came into public view
• Christian outlooks were both good and evil, they
  looked the other way with regards to treatment of
  Japanese Christians
• On the good side the churches were offering
  ministry to troops both at home and abroad
• The War brought people together even those of
  different denominations
• Churches began to have more resources than before
  War because of the economic prosperity

4
Religious Changes

• 20 years following War United Church of Canada
  made 1500 churches and over 600 manses and other
  denominations were matching the numbers.
• Increase in parachurch cooperation among
  Christians
• A protestant Nationalism that still had a deep
  distrust in Roman Catholics
• Since the Cold War Christianity had felt a tragic
  blow in North America, when China fell to Mao
  Tse-tung the liberal fundamentalists were upset
  because they had spent much time and effort in
  evangelizing and teaching in that part of the
  world

5
The BOOM!

• Following the War was the infamous Baby Boom!
• The boom created new families meaning more church
  goers.
• 1945-1949 Baptist grew by 300 000, Catholics
  baptizing 1 000 000 infants/yr
• By 1950 the Protestant and Jewish sectors were
  enrolling twice the amount of people compared to
  before the War.
• Canadian Boom was even stronger and created new
  associations like Sunday School and adult study
  groups which cause many more people to become
  active participators in the church.

6
World Council of Churches

• Founded 1948 in Amsterdam
• Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches from
  around the world were part of it but led by
  European and American churches
• World Council Exists to Carry out work for two
  world movements Faith Order/Life Work
  facilitate common action by the churches promote
  cooperation in study promote growth of
  ecumenical consciousness establish relations
  with denominations around world, call world
  conferences support churches in evangelizing
• An assembly(clerical and lay people both men and
  women) is suppose to meet every five years

7
Other Organizations

• Protestants organized the National Association of
  Evangelists 1942
• Older Protestants formed National Council of
  Churches 1950
• Two largest bodies of Northern Presbyterians
  joined in 1958
• In 1959 the Congregationalists and Evangelical
  and Reformed churches joined to form United
  Church of Christ

• In Canada 1944 Canadian Council of Churches and
  Baptist Federation of Canada formed
• Protestants participating in the mergers remained
  with their nationalistic aspirations of old times

8
Influences

• There was a concern after the War about the
  psychological dimensions of religion and in 1946
  Rabbi Joshua Liebman wrote a series of novels
  showing how religion can influence one to live a
  more full and settled life
• Norman Vincent Peale wrote Guide to Confident
  Living in 1948 and The Power of Positive
  Thinking in 1952
• Bishop Fulton wrote Peace of Soul in 1949
• Billy Graham wrote Peace with God in 1953

• 1950s Senator Joseph McCarthy made headlines when
  he had accusations of communists in the US state
  department, he was Roman Catholic
• 1960 election the US had their first Catholic
  President with John F. Kennedy
• Carl F.H. Henry published lectures in 1947 The
  Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism
• Bernard Ramm wrote in 1954 The Christian View of
  Science and Scripture
• 1955 Monsignor John Tracy Ellis wrote an essay
  American Catholics and the Intellectual Life

9
Sum Up!

• There was a growth in Churches, a dedication to
  reach adults and children with the Christian
  message, and an effort to find useful social
  values in a general Judeo Christian generation.
• On the other hand many things had led people away
  from a very strict Christian life. More people
  were delving into the world of television and
  being consumed by the materialistic world of the
  media. The gospels were being translated into
  forms of entertainment that were geared for youth
  but seemed to be more diversions than anything
  else.

10
Question?

• Was the unity of understanding within Church
  Denominations a result of the War or was it an
  inevitable stepping stone of moving forward and
  modernizing?

11
Citation

• Amazon.com
• Noll, Mark A. A History of Christianity in the
  United States and Canada.
• United Kingdom Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
  1992.
• Van Voorst, Robert. Readings in Christianity. 2nd
  Edition. Canada
• Wadsworth, 2001.