Framing the Cold War as a moral crisis cemented evangelical partnership with the presidency

Evidence

Eisenhower and Graham were united in the conviction that Christianity could help America wage the Cold War. Early on, Eisenhower recognized the religious nature of the conflict, and at a time when American religiosity was higher than ever, he knew the religious angle would be key to mobilizing support. By framing the Cold War as a moral crisis, Graham made himself useful to Eisenhower—and to subsequent Cold War presidents. Evangelicals weren’t the only ones with an interest in propping up Cold War politics; government officials, business leaders, educators, and the national media all played a part. But evangelicals raised the stakes. Communism was “the greatest enemy we have ever known,” and only evangelical Christianity could provide the spiritual resources to combat it. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 83

Categorization

• XREF: Builds directly on the reading-purpose framing: this is the cultural apparatus Du Mez argues transmitted militant masculinity into politics.