In his farewell address, Dwight D. Eisenhower warned the nation of the perils of the military-industrial complex, but Eisenhower had spent his presidency contributing to another, lesser known, Cold War collaboration: the spiritual-industrial complex. This fascinating volume argues that American leaders in the early Cold War considered the conflict to be profoundly religious, that they saw Communism not as godless but as a religion fighting faith with faith. As a result, they deliberately used religious beliefs and institutions as part of the plan to defeat the Soviet enemy. Jonathan Herzog offers an illuminating account of the spiritual-industrial complex, chronicling the rhetoric, programs, and policies that became its hallmarks. Herzog shows how these efforts played out in areas of American life both predictable and unexpected—from pulpits and presidential appeals to national faith drives, military training barracks, public school classrooms, and Hollywood epics. Finally, he reveals that if the spiritual-industrial complex faded in the 1960s, its echoes could still be heard in Ronald Reagan's 1980s.
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"A valuable scholarly contribution to what appears an emerging subgenre of Cold War studies focused on the role of religion. Herzog builds on existing scholarship, adding a great deal of detail and new material from a wide range of sources and archives that he has effectively mined to produce a compelling narrative, informed by thought-provoking perspectives. Erudite, well written, and a very good read, the book will appeal to a wide audience. It will fascinate and entertain scholars within the field as well as a more general readership." --American Historical Review
"Jonathan Herzog skillfully illuminates how religion shaped the rhetoric, symbols, and policies of the early Cold War. In the United States, battling Communism became a purposefully orchestrated campaign for the soul of humankind."-Melvyn P. Leffler, University of Virginia
"Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, The Spiritual-Industrial Complex makes a valuable contribution to our growing understanding of the important role of religion in U.S. politics and foreign relations in the twentieth century. With an eye for vivid detail, Jonathan Herzog shows how politicians, priests, ministers, businessmen, editors, and other civic leaders defined the United States in contrast to the atheistic Soviet Union, sincerely exhorted Americans to revive their religious faith, and employed religion as a weapon in the conflict between democracy and communism."-David S. Foglesong, author of The American Mission and the "Evil Empire"
"This detailed account of the uses American politicians made of religion during the early Cold War casts much needed light on the dynamics of secularization and anti-secularization. Herzog also shows how the religion-in-general enthusiasms of the Eisenhower era were supplanted by the more sectarian impulses of the Religious Right of the Reagan Era."-David A. Hollinger, University of California, Berkeley
"Jonathan Herzog's The Spiritual-Industrial Complex is a
About the Author
Jonathan P. Herzog is a member of the U.S. Foreign Service. Prior to joining the State Department, he held positions at Stanford University, the Hoover Institution, and the University of Oregon. He holds a Ph.D. in American history from Stanford.
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Wonder why irrationality dominates US politics?
9 Mar 2012
By James D. House
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Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
It didn't just happen, it was government policy. The propaganda machine that helped us win WWII didn't go away on VJ day.
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