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A CATHOLIC FOR PRESIDENT?--THREE CHRISTIAN
REFORMED PERIODICALS AND THE 1960 ELECTION

Thesis for the Degree of M. A
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
HENRY JAMES HUISJEN
1976

 

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ABSTRACT

A CATHOLIC FOR PRESIDENT?--THREE
CHRISTIAN REFORMED PERIODICALS
AND THE 1960 ELECTION

By

Henry James Huisjen

When John F. Kennedy ran for President of the
United States in 1960, he faced one problem common to
no other candidate: he was a Roman Catholic. and no
Catholic had ever been elected to the office.

Kennedy had to convince the Democratic party and the
public that his Catholicism did not make him inca-
pable of popular election to the presidency, that it
did not make him unfit for the presidency and that
it did not represent a threat to the constitutional
separation of church and state in America. The
religious issue followed Kennedy throughout the
campaign.

This study investigates the performance of
three Protestant religious periodicals with regard to
their treatment of the religious issue of the 1960
campaign and election. The periodicals--the Banner.
Reformed Journal and Torch and Trumpet--are journalistic

efforts from within the Christian Reformed Church, a

Henry James Huisjen

Protestant denomination in America of Dutch Reformed
background. The periodicals did not regularly deal
with presidential politics and political issues, but
in 1960 they dealt extensively with Kennedy‘s
Catholicism, an issue that appeared to have both
political and religious significance.

Primary findings of the study are that (1) the
periodicals as a whole and individually dealt more
with John F. Kennedy's religion than with other matters
or issues related to the 1960 campaign and election;
(2) the periodicals as a whole and individually
identified temporal applications of Roman Catholicism--
the civil and political implications of the election
of a Catholic to the presidency-—rather than non-
temporal aspects of Catholicism--Protestant distaste for
the personal religious practice of Catholics--as the
crux of the religious issue; (3) the periodicals as a
whole and the Banner and Torch and Trumpet individ-
ually were generally unfavorable to the Kennedy can-
didacy for reasons of religion; (b) the opposition
posture of the Banner and Torch and Trumpet did not
change over the course of the campaign and was
apparently not influenced by events of the campaign
that might have had a resolving effect on the religious
issue; and (5) support in the periodicals for points

of view opposing the Kennedy candidacy on religious

 

Henry James Huisjen

grounds was based far more frequently on history and
dogma than on current events of the campaign and

election.

A CATHOLIC FOR PRESIDENT?—-THREE
CHRISTIAN REFORMED PERIODICALS
AND THE 1960 ELECTION

By

Henry James Huisjen

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

School of Journalism

1976

Accepted by the faculty of the School of
Journalism, College of Communication Arts and
Sciences. Michigan State University, in partial

fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of

Arts degree.

_, (C4 —(_ ~ (1 ,L“ 4‘ y} ;/ “WNW“
Director of Thesisw
/ g

To MLH

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES O O O O O O 0 O O O O O 0 O O O 0 v
Chapter

I 0 INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O I O O 0 C 1

II. THE CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH
AND THE THREE PERIODICALS . . . . . . . 17

III. THE PERIODICALS AND THE RELIGIOUS
ISSUE 0 O O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O 25

IV. A QUANTITATIVE REVIEW OF THE
COVERAGE . C O O O O O O O O O O O C O “2
V. FURTHER DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . 68

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY O O O O O O O C O O O O O O O 72

iv

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page
1. Election-Related Topics, by Item . . . . . 49

2. Identification of Crux of Religious Issue,
byItemOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 53

3. Posture of Periodicals Toward Kennedy's
Catholicism, by Item . . . . . . . . . . 56

4. Posture of Items Over Time . . . . . . . . 60

5. References Cited as Support in Items
Opposing Kennedy . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The Study

The study investigates three Protestant reli-
gious periodicals with regard to their treatment of the
religious issue-~the Catholicism of the Democratic can-
didate. John F. Kennedy--involved in the 1960 presiden-
tial campaign and election. Its purpose is to examine
the approach of the religious periodicals to a matter
of both religious and political concern.

The subjects of the study are the three most
prominent general-interest periodicals associated with
the Christian Reformed Church: The Banner. the period-
ical of greatest circulation among the three and an
official weekly publication of the Christian Reformed
denomination; the Refo ed Journ 1, a monthly journal
of discussion and opinion: and Torch and Trum et. also
a monthly of discussion and opinion.

After presenting an account of events of the
1960 campaign. the study introduces in greater detail
the periodicals and the denomination they represent.
The study then reviews material dealing with the election

and the religious issue found in the periodicals and

subjects that material to a methodological four-part
content analysis. A discussion of the findings ends

the Study 0

Religion and the 1960 Campaign

On January 2. 1960. at a press conference in
Washington. D.C.. Senator John F. Kennedy of
Massachusetts formally announced his candidacy for
the Democratic presidential nomination. Until the
nominating convention. still six months away. Kennedy
would be in competition with four other Democrats.

Three, like himself. were members of the United States
Senate: Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota. Lyndon B.
Johnson of Texas and Stuart Symington of Missouri. The
fourth. Adlai Stevenson. was the former governor of
Illinois and the party's defeated candidate of 1952

and 1956. Beyond the convention waited a fifth rival.
a Republican, Vice President Richard M. Nixon.

During his drive to overcome each of the other
candidates. Kennedy would be forced to deal with a
situation common to none of them: he alone was a Roman
Catholic. and no Catholic had ever been elected President
of the United States. Kennedy would have to convince his
party and the public that his religion did not make him
either unsuitable for the office or incapable of election
to the office.

The question of the suitability of a Roman Catholic

for the presidency has its roots in the American concept
of religious freedom embodied in the constitutional
separation of church from state. Early American colo-
nists. primarily refugees from religious persecution.
were sensitive to the impositions of churches that
achieved political dominance--the Church of England and
the Roman Catholic Church-~in Europe. Their descend-
ants translated that sensitivity to the first part of
the First Amendment to” the United States Constitution:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion. or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Reflecting the political background of the
Roman Catholic Church abroad. Catholic doctrine has
often contended that church and state should be united
and that the authority of the Roman Catholic Church is
such that it should have power as a state church to
dictate public policy. The Syllabus of Errors. for
example. issued by Pope Pius IX in 186k. rejected the
notion that church and state should or could be

separateg' It also denounced as error the idea that the

state should not recognize Catholicism at the exclusion
of all other forms of worship as well as the idea that each

individual should be free to choose his own religious

1Anne Fremantle. ed.. Th Pa al Enc ical
(New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 19565. p. 159.

 

practice.2
The combination of Catholic dogma and history were

sufficient to produce the view that. in 1960. the election
of a Roman Catholic to the American presidency might
lead to authoritarian Catholic control over America at
the expense of religious and political freedom. Billy
Graham. the Protestant evangelist. said that Protestants
might well hesitate to vote for a Catholic because the
Roman Catholic Church. having its own ministers and
ambassadors. was a secular as well as a religious insti-
tution.3 Two Protestant theologians. Eugene Carson Blake.
a Presbyterian leader. and G. Bromley Oxnam. a Methodist
bishop. predicted in ng5 magazine that the election of
a Roman Catholic to the presidency would increase the
direct influence of the Catholic Church over American
government and society. They wrote:

We worry about how a Catholic President could square

his political duties with the ”official” position

of the church to which he owes his allegiance. on

questions that range from the use of public funds

for parochial schools. or the rights of Americans

to birth-control information. to such larger polit-

ical issues as the separation 03 church and state and
the conduct of foreigh affairs.

 

21bid.. p. 152.

3"The Religion Issue (Contd.)." ime. August
290 1960. p. 14.

“Eugene Carson Blake and G. Bromley Oxnam.
”A Protestant View of a Catholic for President.” Look.
May 10. 1960. pp. 31-32.

Nonadherents to that view contended that
American Catholicism required special consideration
because of its adaptibility to the American environment.
Will Herberg. educator. theologian and sociologist. said
the process of Americanization had brought Catholic
thought on the problem of church and state into line
with American experience and tradition.5 In John P.

Kennedy and AmerTcan Catholicism. Lawrence Fuchs. a
political scientist. wrote:

To see American Catholicism . . . primarily in terms
of unrefuted encyclicals and canon laws produced in
the European environment was to miss the point of

the uniqueness of the American spirit. . . . American
Catholics have been gripped by the experience of
American history. shaped and transformed by it.
while. in the main. remaining true to the Church.
They have been able to drink deeply of the wing of
freedom and prosper within the Church of Rome.

John F. Kennedy repeatedly asserted his belief
in the concept of church-state separation and his inde-
pendence from papal domination in nonreligious matters.
At the announcement of his candidacy. Kennedy said:

I would think that there is really only one
issue involved in the whole question of a can-
didate's religion-~that is. does a candidate
believe in the Constitution. does he believe in
the First Amendment. does he believe in the sepa-
ration of church and state. When the candidate gives
his views on that question. and I think I have given
my views fully. I think the subject is exhausted.7

 

5Will Herberg. ProtestantI Catholic. Jew. rev.
ed. (Garden City. N. Y.: Anchor Books. Doubleday &

Company. Inc.. 1960): P. 150.
6Lawrence H. Fuchs. John F. Kenned and American
Catholicism (New York: Meredith Press. 1967). Pp. 23§:h0.

7”Kennedy in Race: Bars Second Spot in Any
Situation.” New York Times. January 3. 1960. p. 1.

James M. Burns. an early Kennedy biographer.
reported that Kennedy was mystified by arguments against
his candidacy based on elaborate interpretations of
church law and did not care to be burdened by papal
proclamations as he worked toward the presidency.8
”It's frustrating.“ Kennedy remarked during the cam-
paign. ”I've made my views clear month after month and
year after year. . . . but it seems difficult to ever
give some people the assurance they need that I'm as
interested in religious liberty as they are."9

Related to the question of suitability in
1960 was the matter of political expediency: would a
presidential candidate's Catholicism be an insurmount-
able handicap among voters? Only one Roman Catholic.
Governor Al Smith of New York. had previously run for
the office as a major-party candidate. In 1928 Smith.
a Democrat. carried only eight states and their 8?. -.
electoral votes while his opponent. Herbert Hoover.
won the election with the nun electoral votes of forty
states. The popular vote favored Hoover by the wide
margin of 21 million to 15 million.

During the 1928 campaign Smith was the target

 

3James MacGregor Burns. John Kenned : A.
Political Profile (New York: Harcourt. Brace. 1961. p. 2H7.

9Theodore C. Sorenson. Kennedy (New York:
Harper & Row. 1965). p. 193.

of considerable attack because of his Catholicism and
in spite of his public protests that his faith was not
a threat to the separation of church and state in
America. The opposition ranged from polite. defensive
discussion in church organs to open. slanderous hate
in an eruption of booklets. handbills and pamphlets.10
It was warned that if Smith were elected the Pope
would move to America. all Protestant marriages would
be annulled and Protestant children would be declared
bastards.11

Smith blamed his defeat on bigotry aroused by
his Catholic faith. He called the question of his
religion the “most un-American and undemocratic issue
that could raised against any man" and insisted that
the issue had had a ”startling effect” against him in
the campaign. “It is amazing . . . that such count-
less thousands of people are so stupid as to believe
the absolutely false and senseless propoganda that was
whispered around.” he wrote.12

Analysis of the election of 1928 has suggested

 

10Richard O'Connor. The Firgt Hurrah: A
Biography of Alfred E. Smigh New York: G. P. Putnam's
Sons. 1970 . p. 20?.

11Arthur M. Schlesinger. Jr.. The Crisi of the
Old Orde; (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1955, p. 128.

12Alfred E. Smith Up To New (New York: The
Viking Press. 1929). pp. $12-13.

that factors other than religion may actually have been
crucial in Smith's defeat. The country. under Republican
administrations since 1921. was still very prosperous:13
and Hoover. already a popular hero. enhanced his status
by remaining above the religious controversy.1h
Democratic presidential candidates. Protestants. had
been overwhelmed in 1920 and 1924 and Republicans had
gained congressional power in 1924 and 1926. establishing
a trend.15 Another factor was that Smith. as a critic
of prohibition. a big-city politician. an Irish-
American and a liberal governor of New York. had
political liabilities other than his religion.16

If Al Smith's experience demonstrated that
a presidential candidate who was a Roman Catholic
would be fiercly opposed on religious grounds. it
did not demonstrate conclusively to all that a
presidential candidate who was a Roman Catholic could
never be elected. "To Kennedy people. then.” Burns
wrote. ”the lesson of Al Smith for presidential politics
in the 1960's is that Al Smith is no lesson."17

13Schlesinger. Cri i . p. 128

14Fuchs. Kennedy and Americgn Cgtholicigm. p. 68.

15Peter H. Odegard. "A Catholic for President?”

in Rgligiog and Polgticg. ed. by Peter H. Odegard (Dobbs
Ferry. N.Y.: Oceana Publications. Inc.. 1960). PP. 166-67.

16Cushing Strout. The New Heaven and New Ear :

Political Religion in Americg (New York: Harper & Row.
19? 3 pp. 255‘5 0

17Burns. John Kennedy. p. 252.

 

Kennedy chose to use the 1960 presidential
primaries to test his strength among voters. Hubert
Humphrey was the only other Democratic candidate
to actively do the same. and the first confrontation
between the two came in the Wisconsin primary on
April 5. Although Kennedy won the primary with 56
percent of the vote. the results were not considered
decisive. Kennedy had shown strength in Humphrey's
native territory. but Wisconsin contained a percentage
of Catholics greater than the national average-~32 per-
cent as opposed to 23 percent nationally18--and the
open primary system there allowed voters to cross party
lines. "Kennedy's candidacy has produced great emotional
response among the Catholics." a state official said
before the election. ”They'll cross over in droves to
vote for Kennedy in the primary.”19 Humphrey declared
that since Wisconsin was far from a typical state. his
own performance deserved to be judged in light of all the
special factors: after the primary he insisted that the
crossover of Republicans had been a large factor in

the outcome.20

 

18"Kennedy Victor Over Humphrey: Nixon Shows
Wisconsin Strength." New York Times. April 6. 1960. p. 34.
Other estimates of the Catholic population in Wisconsin
ranged from 30 percent to 32 percent: estimates on the
Catholic population nationwide ranged from 20 percent
to 26 percent.

9"Palmistry & Promise.” Time. March 7. 1960. p- 15-

20"Kennedy Victor." New York Timeg. April 6. 1960.
p. 3#: "Religion Played Big Victory Role. ibid.. p. 34.

10

The results of the West Virginia primary on
May 10 were decisive. The population of West Virginia
was less than 5 percent Roman Catholic and crossover
voting was not allowed. Religion was the major concern.
In the middle of the campaign Kennedy flew to Washington.
D. C.. to appear before the AmericanSociety of Newspaper
Editors along with the other declared presidential can-
didates. and he chose to speak on the religious issue.
”I am not the Catholic candidate for President." he said.
“I do not speak for the Catholic Church on matters of
public policy--and no one in that church speaks for
me. . . .” In the same speech. he said: ”I believe the
American people are more concerned with a man's views and
abilities than with the church to which he belongs."21

Kennedy won the primary with 61 percent of the
vote and Humphrey withdrew as a candidate for the nom-
ination. There was no serious opposition to Kennedy in
any of the remaining primaries and he swept them all.

Having demonstrated his strength in the pri-
maries. Kennedy captured the presidential nomination on
the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention
at Los Angeles in July. Johnson and Symington. who had
worked for the nomination behind the scenes while

avoiding primary campaigns. and Stevenson. who had

 

21"Texts of Speeches by Kennedy. Symington and
Humpgrey at Editors' Convention.” ibid.. April 22. 1960.
p.1-

11

not actively campaigned at all. trailed Kennedy in that

order. Their first ballot votes combined did not

approach his total. Johnson was chosen as Kennedy's

running mate. In his acceptance speech at the Los

Angeles Coliseum. Kennedy said: "I hope that no

American . . . will waste his franchise and throw away

his vote by voting either for me or against me solely on

account of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant."22
Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy publicly

debated several matters during the fall of 1960--

the stature of the United States abroad. the quality of

American leadership. the proper extent of federal

participation in domestic affairs--but Nixon refused to

raise Kennedy's religion as an issue. At the same time.

religion remained an important part of the campaign.

"Itis a matter ofcontinuing interest.” Kennedy said. "What

we prevented in West Virginia was its becoming the only

issue . . . but . . . it will come on the stage again."23
On September 7. the Citizens for Religious

Freedom. a group of 150 prominent Protestant clergymen.

released a 2.000-word. five-point statement expressing

doubt about the advisibility of the election of a Roman

Catholic to the presidency. The five points were (1) that

the Catholic Church was a political organization: (2) that

 

22ZTexts of Kennedy and Johnson Speeches Accepting
the Democratic Nomination.” ibid.. July 16. 1960. p. 7.

23Sorenson. Kennedy. p. 175.

12

the Catholic Church had repeatedly denied the individual's
right to freedom of religion: (3) that the Catholic
Church had persecuted non-Catholics in countries where
it was dominant: (A) that the Catholic Church had
attempted to break down the separation of church and
state in America and would pressure a President of the
Catholic faith to do the same: and (5) that a President
who was a Roman Catholic would be unable to represent
the American tradition of religious liberty because
Catholic policy would not allow him to participate in
interfaith affairs without the permission of the Catholic
Church. The statement did not attribute the religious
issue directly to John F. Kennedy. but rather blamed its
existence on ”the nature of the Roman Catholic Church
which is. in a very real sense. both a church and a
temporal state.”2u

The producers of the document represented thirty-
seven denominations and included Norman Vincent Peale.
preacher. syndicated columnist. radio lecturer and author
of a best-selling series of books on selling books on
self-confidence and positive thinking: Daniel A. Poling.
editor of the Chri tian Herald. a Protestant periodical
with a monthly circulation of h27.000:25 L. Nelson Bell.

 

2“"Protestant Groups' Statements.” New Yogk Times.
September 8. 1960. p. 25.

25N W A er & Son' Directo f New a er and
Perigdicalg (Philadelphia: N. W. Ayer & Son. 1961). p. 708.

13

executive editor of Christianity Today. another Protestant
periodical with a biweekly circulation of 176.000:26 and
Harold J. Ockenga. former president of the National
Association of Evangelicals. a Protestant group that
later urged its member ministers nationwide to deliver
anti-Kennedy sermons to their estimated 10 million
parishioners on October 30. Reformation Sunday. the
annual observance of the beginning of the Protestant
Reformation in 1517.27

While the statement by the Citizens for Religious
Freedom called for discussion free of hate-mongering.
bigotry. prejudice or unfounded charges.28 some anti-
Kennedy literature revealed emotions reminiscent of 1928
and the Smith campaign. To KiTl Protestants warned that
the Roman Catholic Church still claimed the right to

execute heretics:29 The Pope'g Intention in Americg:
A Fateful Situation Revealed said that Roman Catholicism

was America's greatest enemy:30 LincoTn'g A§§a§§igs linked
the Catholic Church with Lincoln's death in 1865.31

 

261bid.. p. 174.

27"Anti-—Catholic Groups Closely Cooperate in Mail
Campaign to Defeat Kennedy.” New York Time . October 17.
1960. p. 24.

28"Protestant Groups' Statements.” £bid.. September
8. 1960. p. 25.

29Patricia Barrett. Religious Libegty and the
American Pgesidengy (New York: Herder and Herder. 1963).
p.11.

3°Ibid., p. 95. 311h1d.. p. 89.

14

At a locally televised appearance in Texas before
the Greater Houston Ministerial Association on September
12. Kennedy delivered his ultimate public response to
his religious opposition. In a cumulative speech drawn
from previous statements to the American Society of
Newspaper Editors during the West Virginia campaign. to
the Democratic National Convention in July. to press
conferences and to a ngk_magazine interviewer.32
Kennedy reviewed his positions on the major points of
the religious controversy--separation of church and state.
political inderendence from the hierarchy of the Catholic
Church. freedom of religion--and then answered questions
from the audience of four hundred clergymen. He said
that an unresolvable conflict between his conscience and
the national interest would cause him to resign from the
presidency and that he had no reservations about sub-
scribing to the required oath of office. Kennedy made
one request:

I ask you tonight . . . to judge me on the basis
of my fourteen years in the Congress . . . instead of
judging me on the basis of these pamphlets and pub-
lications we have all seen that carefully select
quotations out of context from the statements of
Catholic Church leaders. usually in other countries.

frequently in other centuries. and rarely relevant
to any situation here.33

 

32$orenson. Kenned . p. 189.

33"Transcript of Kennedy Talk to Ministers and

Questions and Answers.” ew York Time§. September 13.
1960. p. 22.

15

It was Kennedy's definitive treatise on the
religious issue. Films of the appearance were used on
behalf of his campaign until the election. The Ngy_§ggk
Tngg declared that Kennedy's statements had made his
religious affiliation irrelevant to his fitness for
the presidency.3u Daniel A. Poling. a member of the
group that had questioned Kennedy's suitability less than
a week before. said that Kennedy. with a magnificent
speech and a courageous stand. had resolved the matter.35

Other Protestants were still not convinced.

The Citizens for Religious Freedom released an official
response that praised Kennedy's speech as complete.

clear and reassuring: but the response also declared that
the question would not be completely settled until the
Roman Catholic Church endorsed Kennedy's views.36

The clamor over John F. Kennedy's faith did
not cost him the presidency. On November 8. 1960. he
defeated Richard Nixon by 113.000 of the nearly 69
million votes cast in the election. The electoral vote
tally was 303 to 219. The religious issue by itself
apparently had an offsetting effect on the popular vote.

Analysis by the SurVey Research Center at the University

 

3“Editorial. ”The Religious Issue.” ibid..
September 14. 1960. p. 42.

35”Poling Praises Kennedy's Stand on Religion
Issue." ibid.. p. 34.

36”Protestant Group Applauds Kennedy for Houston
Speech.” ibid.. p. 33.

16

of Michigan has indicated that Kennedy gained 4.3 percent
of the two-party vote across America because of a
coreligionist appeal to Roman Catholics who might other-
wise have voted for Nixon: at the same time. he lost

6.5 percent of the two-party vote because of anti-
Catholic voting among non-Catholic Democrats and
Independents who might otherwise have voted for him.

The net effect was that Kennedy lost an estimated

2.2 percent of the vote nationwide because of his

Catholicism.37

 

37Angus Campbell et al.. Elections and the
Politicg; Order (New York: John Wiley & Sons. Inc..

1933): pp. 86:53“

CHAPTER II

THE CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH
AND THE THREE PERIODICALS

The Christian Reformed Church is a Protestant
denomination established in 1857 by Dutch immigrants
in Michigan who seceded from the Dutch Reformed Church
because they believed that body was losing its ortho-
doxy in the American environment.1 Conservative
Christian Reformed doctrine. based on the teachings
of John Calvin formulated in the sixteenth century
during the Protestant Reformation. remained intact
as the denomination endured among immigrants and
Americans of Dutch ancestry and gradually expanded
beyond the Midwest. In 1960 the church numbered
236.000 members and 541 congregations in twenty-six
states and eight provinces of Canada.2

The desire to remain orthodox has led the

denomination to maintain a policy of some isolation

throughout its history. Well into the twentieth

 

1John Kromminga: The Chr stian R fo e Chur :
A Stud in 0 th do (Grand Rapids. Mich.: Baker Book
House. 19 9 pp. 30-34.

2Christian Reformed Church. Year ok 1 0
(Grand Rapids: Christian Reformed Publishing House.
1960). Po “Ze

17

18

century. the Dutch language was preferred over English
by the Christian Reformed people in both social and
church situations:3 the official weekly publication of
the denomination. Qg_!ggh3g;. was printed in Dutch
and not until 1914 was an English-language companion
periodical acquired. The Christian Reformed people
have established a separate system of church-related
elementary and secondary schools as well as three
colleges and a seminary. Calvin College and Calvin
Seminary. founded in 1876 in Grand Rapids. Michigan.
are quota-supported denominational institutions.

In 1914 the denomination purchased the Baggeg.
a Reformed periodical. and made it the weekly English-
language organ of the church. The Banner. printed in
Grand Rapids. was edited as a part-time activity by a
clergyman appointed by the Christian Reformed Synod
until 1944. when the position of editor-in-chief
became a full-time appointment.

A controversy over the Banngg arose in 1950
when Henry J. Kuiper. the editor. used the ngge; as a
forum to promote his suspicion that some faculty members
at Calvin College were unfit to teach there because

they held and propogated socialist views acquired in

3Kromminga. C ' tia R 0 ed C . PD. 93-

 

100.

19

the graduate schools of secular universities.“ At
the time of the controversy a project intended to
provide an alternative Christian Reformed voice to the
Banner was already in the process of development and
in March. 1951. the Rggppmgg_gppppgT. a Christian
Reformed monthly independent of official denominational
control and funding. began publication in Grand Rapids.
The editors of the Reformgg Jouppal. in an introductory
policy statement. wrote that the paper would be aimed
toward "the more thoughtful and responsible element” of
the Christian Reformed constituency and would promote
fruitful discussion from a Reformed viewpoint of a
variety of matters and opinions relating to Christian
life and thought. "We do not find ready-made answers to
the large questions which press upon us . . ..“ they
wrote.. “The Church must find them and relate them to the
conCrete and moving aspects of her life.”5

A month later Torch and Trum et. also an
independent Christian Reformed project. began bimonthly
publication in Grand Rapids. And although its editors
denied that the birth of Torch and Trumpep was in any
way related to the birth of the Refprmeg Jpprin. they
wrote that they expected the two journals to follow

 

“Henry J. Kuiper. “Some Observations on Flynn's
'The Road Ahead.'” Ba er. August 25. 1950. pp. 1028-
29. Debate on the matter reappeared with regularity
through the issue of December 22. 1950.

Sheiprmeg_gourna1. March. 1951. pp. 1-2.

 

20

quite different methods in furthering the interests
of the Reformed faith. The editors expressed ”a serious
concern for the welfare of Zion” because of a ”flood-tide
of anti-doctrinal. manecentered modernism” that
threatened Reformed churches. "We believe the disease
of religious and doctrinal indifference is making insidious
progress among us. and we would indoctrinate our people
with the truth of God.” they wrote.6

Torch and Trumpet. published by Reformed
Fellowship. Incorporated. left its bimonthly format
and began to appear monthly except June and August in
1955.7 The ReformediJourngT. a publication of the
William B. Eerdmans Company. remained a monthly but
discontinued August publication in 1954. Both
periodicals as well as the Banner have used the mail
for the bulk of their distribution. All three
periodicals in 1960 appeared in an 8i-by-11i-inch
format: the Reformed Journal and Torch and Trumpet
were twenty-four-page publications while the Banner
regularly covered thirty-two pages.

In 1960 the Banner had a circulation of

39,000: by then the Christian Reformed Dutch-language

 

6"Why?" Torch and Trumpet. April-May.
1951' p. 1.

7In 1971 Torch and Trumpet was renamed
Outlook.

21

periodical. De Wachtep. had a dwindling circulation of
5.600.8 The Banner was edited by John Vander Ploeg. a
Christian Reformed clergyman appointed to the position
in 1956 at the retirement of Henry J. Kuiper. After
his own retirement from the Banner and the ministry
in 1970. Vander Ploeg became managing editor of Tpppp
and umoe

The editorial board of the Reformgg JgpgnaT
in 1960 included Harry R. Boer. missionary to Nigeria:
Lester DeKoster. professor of speech and director of
the library at Calvin College and later. following
John Vander Ploeg's retirement in 1970. editor of the
Banner-~the first nonclergyman to hold that position:
James Daane. pastor of the First Christian Reformed
Church in Los Angeles. California: George Stob. pastor
of the Richfield Christian Reformed Church in Clifton.
New Jersey. and former professor of historical theology
at Calvin Seminary: and Henry Stob. professor of ethics
and apologetics at Calvin Seminary.

The editorial committee of Torch and Trumpet

 

8Ayer and Son's. 1961. p. 495. Circulation
figures for the Reformed Journal and Torch and
Trumpet in 1960 are not available: earliest available
records indicate that the Reformed Journal had a
circulation of about 2500 in 1966 (Standard Periodical
Directory. 1967. p. 798) and that Torch and Trumoep
had a circulation of 3. 310 in 1964 (Torch and Trumpet.
November. 1964. p. 2). A reasonable estimate is that
their combined circulation in 1960 was something less
than 5.000.

22

in 1960 consisted of Edward Heerema. pastor of the
Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church in Grand
Rapids: William Kok. a Christian Reformed minister
emeritus: Henry J. Kuiper. also a minister emeritus
and editor of the Banner from 1929 to 1956: Rein
Leetsma. pastor of the West Leonard Street Christian
Reformed Church in Grand Rapids: and Henry R. Van Til.
associate professor of Bible at Calvin College.
Because the Banner is a denominational pub-
lication intended to appeal to and satisfy a wide
range of interests. discussion of elections and
election issues in its pages has ordinarily been
bland. nonpartisan and noncommittal. The Banneg is
forbidden by the Christian Reformed Synod to endorse
candidates or publish news or views purely political
or economic in nature.9 It offered fewer than a
dozen articles on presidential politics in 1956 and
again in 1964. national election years during which
religion was not a political issue (although the
Republican vice presidential candidate in 1964.
William E. Miller. was a Roman Catholic): election-
related material in those years avoided election issues
and instead concentrated on general discussion of a
Christian's obligation to participate in the national

9Acts of S nod of the Chri tian Reformeg
ChupchI 1941 (Grand Rapids: Office of the Stated

Clerk. n. d.). p. 125.

 

 

23

political process.

Faced with the issue of John F. Kennedy's
Catholicism in 1960. the ngpp; allotted an unchar-
acteristic amount of space and discussion to the
election. John Vander Ploeg. the editor. saw the
religious issue as one of overriding importance to
the denomination in that election because of the
unforeseen possibilities it involved.10 According
to Vander Ploeg. the Bapner had both the right and
the responsibility to address the matter in spite of
the political overtones. Early in 1960 he wrote:

With respect to candidates for political office a
church paper must of necessity tread carefully.
However. when a religious issue is clearly involved
in anyone's candidacy for an office so important

as that of President of the United States. the
necessity and propriety of a discussionlpf that
issue can hardly be called in question.

The Reformed JopgppT and Torph and Trumpet.
free from the official denominational restrictions
imposed on the Banner. both ignored the 1956 election.
In 1964 Torcp and Tpumpey printed a few general
Bann g-like items on politics before the election
and the Rgformed Joupnal became involved in a dis-
cussion of Barry Goldwater and the politics of the
right that extended to more than fifteen articles and

replies and carried several months beyond the election.

 

1°Letter from John Vander Ploeg. February 16. 1976.

11John Vander Ploeg. ”A Roman Catholic in the White
House?9 Banneg. March 11. 1960. pp. 4-5.

2n

Both magazines dealt specifically with the
religious issue in 1960. Edward Heerema of Torch and
Trumpet. like Vander Ploeg. considered it his journal's
responsibility to speak to the Kennedy candidacy because
of Kennedy's Catholicismgzand in the view of Lester
DeKoster. a Regormed Journal editor in 1960 and editor
of the Bannep since 1970. there was no need for
religious periodicals to hesitate in dealing with a
political issue of apparent religious significance
because the loyalties of a citizen who is also a church
member crisscross to the extent that they are inseparably

tangled.13

 

12Letter from Edward Heerema. March 23. 1976.

6 13Letter from Lester DeKoster. February 9.
197 e

CHAPTER III
THE PERIODICALS AND THE RELIGIOUS ISSUE

The Banner was the first periodical of the
three to deal with the religious issue in 1960 and the
only periodical to deal with the matter during the
first several months of the year. In a feature
article written before John F. Kennedy's formal
announcement of candidacy. Gerrit Hoeksema. a retired
Christian Reformed minister. mentioned both Kennedy
and Governor Edmund G. Brown of California as potential
presidential nominees who were of the Catholic faith.
Hoeksema wrote that the attitude that religion was
irrelevant to the upcoming campaign was ”false and
dangerous“ because belief in fundamental religious
truths would inevitably carry over into a candidate's
public life. And because Protestantism was a firmer
defender of political and religious freedom than
Catholicism was. Hoeksema declared. a Protestant was
preferable to a Roman Catholic as President. “If
this be prejudice. make the most of it.” he wrote.1

”It is necessary to object to having a Roman

Catholic in the office of the presidency as these lines

 

1Gerrit Hoeksema. "A Catholic for President?”
Banne . January 1. 1960. p. 10.

25

26

are intended to do.” John Vander Ploeg wrote in an
editorial in March. Vander Ploeg contended that since.
in his view. a President who was a Roman Catholic would
beforced either to recognize the authority of the Pope
and the church over the state or else be disloyal to
his faith. the candidacy of a Roman Catholic was
dangerous and only a Protestant who was willing to take
a ”calculated risk" would vote for a Catholic in a
presidential election.2
In the same edition of the Banpep Harold

Sonnema. a Christian Reformed clergyman. expanded on
Vander Ploeg's contention. Sonnema insisted in a feature
item that Catholic doctrine rather than the thinking of
democratically minded Catholic individuals was binding
on the actual public policy of Roman Catholics in
government and that such doctrine was at variance
with the Constitution of the United States. The
article read at one point:

Fact is. the Roman Catholic Church. though she

parades herself as the citadel of democracy. is

a wolf in sheep's clothing. A Catholic president.

by virtue of his own profession. could not honor.

uphold and gefend our constitutional principles
of freedom.

 

2John Vander Ploeg. ”A Roman Catholic in the
White House?” ibid.. March 11. 1960. pp. 4-5.

3Harold Sonnema. "The Foe Within the Gates.”
ibid.. pp. 6-7.

27

As the preconvention campaign intensified through
the primaries in Wisconsin and overwhelmingly Protestant
West Virginia. the charge that religious opposition to
the Kennedy candidacy was the result of bigotry became
more prominent. Both the Banner and Reformeg JopppgT
showed sensitivity to the accusation. Richard J.

Frens. commenting on the West Virginia primary in ”The
World Today.“ his weekly column in the Banner. wrote
that for an anti-Kennedy voter to base his Opposition
on the word of Roman Catholic authority was neither
bigotry nor intolerance--and that the label of bigot
actually fit those who made the accusation more readily
than it fit those who questioned Kennedy's suitability
on rational religious grounds.‘I Lester DeKoster. the
first to write on the campaign in the Reformed Journal.
made a distinction between the personal or religious
aspects of Catholicism. which he dismissed as irrelevant
to the campaign. and the political pretentions of
Catholicism. which. he declared. were significant to
responsible citizens and worthy of discussion. "To
rule out such discussion as bigotry. as dragging in the
'religious issue.’ is in itself muddle headed and
fanatical.“ DeKoster wrote. He further commented that

the possible effect of the authoritarian claims of

 

“Richard J. Frens. ”That 'Bigot' Still on the
Loose.” ibid.. May 20. 1960. p. 10.

28

the Roman Catholic Church on Senator Kennedy was a problem
that every voter would ”ultimately have to solve for him-
self in the polling booth."5

Reader response to election-related material in
the Banngr first appeared in June. when W. F. Rylaarsdam
protested in a published letter that the Banne; was
attempting to dictate the Christian Reformed vote and
in that sense was demonstrating the same intolerance it
criticized in the practice of the Roman Catholic Church.
Rylaardsam also argued that Calvinist Protestant history
demonstrated political intolerance equal to that prac-
ticed by the Catholic Church in the past and that those
who feared the intrusion of Rome in state affairs showed
little faith in the American system of checks and
balances.6

None of the periodicals dealt with the upcoming
election during the summer of 1960: John Vander Ploeg
later wrote in the Banne; that the political conventions
in July had not provided proper material for coverage
by a church publication. But in the same editorial
Vander Ploeg disputed the statement made by John F.
Kennedy in his acceptance speech at Los Angeles that

religion was not relevant to the campaign. Religion was

 

SLester DeKoster. ”Catholicism and the
Presidency.” eformed JournaT. May. 1960. pp. 5-6.

6Letter. W. F. Rylaardsam. Bannep. June 17.
1960. pe 22c

29

relevant. Vander Ploeg wrote. because Christianity demanded
every part of a personis life—~including his politics--
or it was worth nothing at all.7

In September the Banner and Tpppp_gpg_T§pmppp
quoted from a pamphlet. ”America is a Catholic Country."
allegedly issued by J. J. O'Connor and the Catholic
Committee for Historical Truth. The pamphlet said the
Roman Catholic Church had a rightful claim on America
and called on Catholics to throw off party labels. unite
and vote as a bloc to make America truly Catholic.
John Vander Ploeg used the O'Connor quotation to illus-
trate the relevance of religion in his editorial on that
subject:8 Torch and Trumpep quoted O'Connor without comment.9

The pamphlet was a fake: the Catholic Committee
for Historical Truth did not exist.10 The Banner
acknowledged that it had been informed of the hoax and
retracted its editorial reference a month later while
insisting that religion nevertheless remained relevant
to the campaign.11 Torch gnd Trumpet never again
mentioned J. J. O'Connor and the Catholic Committee for
Historical Truth.

 

7John Vander Ploeg. "Religion is Relevant--Also
in Politics." ibid.. September 16. 1960. pp. 4-5.

81bid.
9"America isa Catholic Country.” Torch and
humps}. September. 1960. p. 4.

10Patricia Barrett. Religioug Liberty and the

American Pre idenc (New York: Herder and Herder. 1963).
p. 31.

11J John Vande Ploe “It v H v B e A H x "
_§__gg. 0ctober4 . 960 0. p.g5. lay a e e n oa '

30

Lester DeKoster again emphasized the distinction
between the religious and political aspects of Catholicism

in a September editorial in the Reformgg_Journal. He

 

predicted that John F. Kennedy would have to face the
legitimate issue of "political Catholicism” until the
end of the campaign. and wrote:
So long . . . as Protestants insist on the slipshod
of journalese by using the term “religious issue”
when they mean quite other issues. so long they will
oblige Kennedy supporters to insist with equal absurd-
ity that ”religion plays no part in politics." and.
moreover. so long they will lay themselves open to
the charge of bigotry.12
Ralph J. Danhof. the stated clerk of the
Christian Reformed Church. presented a heavy dose of
history and theology in the Banner to support oppo-
sition to John F. Kennedy on religious grounds as the
fall campaign began. In successive September articles
Danhof set out to prove that a "Roman Catholic President”
would be unable to maintain the American democratic
principle of the separation of church and state "and
at the same time remain a loyal and faithful follower
of the Roman Catholic Church and share the blessings of
the Holy Father. the Pope.” Danhof wrote that the
heritage of America was Protestant and not Catholic in

any way. although Roman Catholics did benefit from the

freedoms rooted in the Protestant tradition. To support

 

12Lester DeKoster. "The'Religious'Issue."
Reformed Journal. September. 1960. p. k.

31

his contention that Catholicism was incompatible with
democracy. Danhof cited Catholic textbooks and unre-
futed antidemocratic papal proclamations reaching back
as far as 1075 A.D. and Pope Gregory VII. 1302 and
Pope Boniface VIII. and 1832 and Pope Gregory XVI.
Danhof also expounded at length on the §yllg§ug_g§
Errors issued by Pope Pius IX in 1861+.13

In his second piece Danhof maintained that not
to assent to such proclamations was for a Catholic a
mortal sin and sufficient reason for excommunication from
the church. According to Danhof. independent
Catholic Americanism was an insignificant force in the
face of the power of the Catholic hierarchy and tra-
dition. ”Remember. Pope John XXIII must vindicate the
position of Pope Leo XIII who declared that separation of
church and state is a fatal principle.” he wrote. and
added that a ”Roman Catholic President” would have no
choice but ”yield respect and obedience to this papal
pronouncement.'1u

Only the Banner among the three periodicals
printed letters-to-the-editor regarding the election.
Responding to the September articles by Vander Ploeg and

Danhof. A. Posthuma expressed appreciation for the

 

13Ralph J. Danhof. "Do We Want a Roman Catholic
President?” Banner. September 16. 1960. pp. 6-7. 15.

1“Ralph J. Danhof. "Do We Want a Roman Catholic
President?” (part II). gibid.. September 23. 1960.
pp. 6-7. 230

32

guidance they had given and wrote that for Calvinists
to support a Roman Catholic for the presidency was an
inconsistent departure from the ideals of the Protestant
Reformation315 Peter P. DeBoer. on the other hand.
said that Danhof's use of history was inaccurate and
that Kennedy's own reassuring actions had shown him to
be ”in the mainstream of a great American political
tradition."16 Carroll E. Keegstra wrote that Danhof
misunderstood the nature of Catholic doctrine and that
the possible church-state dilemma faced by a Catholic
in public office was a matter of little concern in
relation to political qualifications.17 Danhof's
replies to the critical letters stated that the official
Roman Catholic church-state positions rather than
interpretations of history and doctrine or John F.
Kennedy's speech at Houston were of primary importance--
and that those positions remained unrefuted.18

”In spite of what Senator Kennedy says. he is

not free of the dictates of the Roman Catholic Church.“

 

15Letter. A. Posthuma. ibid.. October in. 1960.
p. 22.

16Letter. Peter P. DeBoer. ibid.. October 28.
1960’ pp. 18-190

17Letter. Carroll E. Keegstra. ibid.. January
13. 1961. p. 22.

18Reply. Ralph J. Danhof. ibid.. October 28.
1960. p. 19; Reply. Ralph J. Danhof. ibid.. January
13. 1961. p. 22.

33

one reader wrote.19 while another suggested that the
dilemma faced by the Roman Catholic. whose religion
demanded control over every part of his life. was the
dilemma faced also by the Calvinist. whose religion
demanded the same-~“and people who live in glass houses
shouldn't throw stones."20 A subscriber from California
wrote that the "Sons and Daughters of the Reformation"
fully agreed with the warnings given in the Banner against
the election of a Catholic;21 another from New Jersey
objected that the Banner was attempting to legislate

one ”official mind" in the church by suggesting to
readers that to vote for Kennedy was the same as
repudiating the American Constitution and the Protestant
Reformation. ”Nothingcomld. of course. be further from
the truth.” he wrote.22 Vander Ploeg finally terminated
such discussion of the election in January. 1961.

In October Richard J. Frens. producer of the
column “The World Today” in the Banner. predicted five
consequences of the election of a Catholic to the pres-
idency: (1) The Roman Catholic hierarchy would have

made ”tremendous strides toward its goal of making

 

19Letter. Henry DeLeeuw. ibid.. October 28.
1960' p0 019%“.6 1;" 9

20Letter. M. Howard Rienstra. ibid.. p. 18.

21Letter. John Van Mouwerik. ibid.. November
18. 1960. p. 22.

22Letter. N. H. Beversluis. ibid.. November 11.
1960. p. 220

3#

America Catholic”; (2) the public would not immediately
notice any difference from a non-Catholic administration.
since ”Roman Catholics have always favored the long-
range program and believe in the long-pull”: (3) if
the Roman Catholic hierarchy decided it should inter-
fere in a suddenly critical situation in order to
advance the interests of the Catholic Church. fierce
pressure would be exerted on the President; (h) if the
President yielded to such pressure. many American
Catholics would be disappointed and perhaps shocked
into renouncing their allegiance to the Pope; and (5)
the sun would rise and set on schedule and the stars
would hold their courses and Frens would still take
his coffee blackfi3

Torch and Trumps; first commented extensively
on the religious issue in October. when Henry R. Van Til
wrote that Protestant opposition to John F. Kennedy was
not unreasonable or irrational. According to Van Til.
one's religion would necessarily affect his politics:
a Christian is bound to obey God rather than men. But.
he continued. while the Protestant conscience is subject
to “the Law and Work of God.“ the Catholic gives that
allegiance first to the Pope ”as one who rightfully

demands unquestioning submission and obedience of the

 

23Richard J. Frens. "Campaign Smear Tactics.”

35

intellect and the will.“ Van Til dismissed Kennedy's
promise that religion would not take preference over his
oath to uphold the Constitution as inconsistent with
Roman Catholic history and practice. Van Til concluded:
To the true Protestant. who kneels before God but not
to men the prospect of having the President of these
United States kneeling before some Papal Nuncio on
a state occasion would be most gallingzl+ If this be
prejudice. let us make the most of it!
A regular feature in the ggpggg. "Other Churches
in the News.” was produced in 1960 by Peter Van Tuinen.
a Christian Reformed minister in California. Van
Tuinen's approach to John F. Kennedy's Catholicism.
revealed in his observations on news items involving
other churches. differed from that of other contributors
to the Bgnn ;. In June he commented that the possible
effect of Kennedy's religion on church-state relations
was a state matter. not a church matter. and that when
churches officially opposed Kennedy on the grounds of
separation of church and state they were. by interfering
in civil matters. cancelling out the very concept they
were attempting to preserve.25 During the fall campaign.

Gustav Weigel. a Jesuit theologian. publicly defended

Kennedy's ideas on independence. asserting that they were

 

2“Henry R. Van Til. "Should Protestants Help Elect
a Roman Catholic President?" Torch and Tpumpe . October.
1960. pp. 7-8.

25Peter Van Tuinen. “Southern Presbyterian
Centennial.” _anggg. June 17. 1960. p. 8.

36

consistent with Catholic theology.26 His statements
were dismissed as insignificant by Richard J. Frens in
the Banne;.27 Van Tuinen. in a report on the Jesuit's
views appearing a week after Frens' observation. wrote:
What appears to this writer as the real religious
isgug is that neither of the major party candidates
for the presidency has given any public evidence of
a realization that the moral and spiritual state of
the nation constitutes a greater danger to our
nation's welfare than many of éhe dangers that they
envision and promise to meet.2
John H. Bratt. professor of Bible at Calvin
College. answered questions posed by readers in another
regular feature in the ngpgp. “The Reader Asks.“ Late
in October Bratt addressed the following question: ”Is
it more advisable to vote for a 32nd degree Mason (I
think you will agree that many former presidents were
high in the lists of Masons) than for a devoted Roman
Catholic?” Bratth response was that. all other
qualifications being equal. it was indeed more advisable
for one to vote for a Mason than for a Roman Catholic

because Masonry had no political objectives while the

Roman Catholic Church was always interested in political

 

26"Church a. State (Contd)." m. October 10.
1960. p. 27.

27Richard J. Frens. "Ruler of the Round World.”
Banger. October 21. 1960. p. 10.

28Peter Van Tuinen. ”Catholic Political Control
Disowned.' ibid.. October 28. 1960. p. 8.

37

control and domination.29

Each of the periodicals presented one specific
election-day editorial. John Vander Ploeg in the Banner
told readers to vote gratefully. intelligently. respon-
sibly and prayerfully--and avoided any mention of the
religious issue.30 In the Reformed Journal. Lester
DeKoster mentioned religion as one issue among several.
including big versus small government. the candidates
themselves and international relations. but failed to
take a position on the matter.31 Only Torch gnd ngmpet
took a militant stand. Edward Heerema. on behalf of
the rest of the editorial staff. reviewed anti-Kennedy
arguments based on history. dogma and Catholic
oppression of non-Catholics in other countries: he
wrote that the views of dissident Catholics in America
were not relevant to the issue because they had no

standing in the church. and concluded ”with an earnest

plea” in italics: "Do not let ygur vote hgtp gtreggthen the
Romgg Catholic Churgh 13 the Ugitgg §tgtg§g A votg thgt
gtrengthens the hand of the Roman Catholig Church in thg

Upttgg States i5 g vote agatngt you; gwn geligiog.'32

29John H. Bratt. “A 32nd Degree Mason or a Devoted
Catholic?” ibid.. November h. 1960. p. u

30John Vander Ploeg. "How to Vote on Election Day."
ibid.. November h. 1960. p. #.

31Lester DeKoster. ”The Issues: 1960.” Reformed
Jo nal. October. 1960. pp. 3-“.

32Edward Heerema. "Should We Help Strengthen the
Roman Catholic Church in the United States?" Torch and
Tgumpet. November. 1960. pp. 8-9.

 

 

 

38

The religious issue remained alive after
November. ”Now that our national election is over. it
may not be amiss to pause a few moments for sober
reflection.“ Christian Huissen. a Christian Reformed
minister. wrote in the Torch and Trumpet of January. 1961.
Huissen protested against the public political activities
of Calvin College faculty members who had favored
Kennedy and decried the "reprehensible campaign ethics“
of the Kennedy campaign. including the initiation of
political rallies on Sundays and the "language of the
gutter“ used by former President Harry S. Truman. 0n
the religious issue Huissen declared that Kennedy's
professed adherence to the principle of separation of
church and state did not alter the fact of his allegiance
to the Vatican. and added: ”Sad to say. some Protestants
put their loyalty to the Senator's party and their
support of‘the dubious principle of the welfare state
above their concern for the danger of a stronger Roman
Catholic influence in our political institutions."33

George Stob produced a final editorial on the
election for the Rgtogged Jogrngl in December. "Now
that the campaign is ended and the 'religious issue'
has been exploited to the maximum. it is possible that
fears of papal domination of American government will

go into mothballs until 196“.“ he wrote. Stob expressed

 

33Christian Huissen. “Post-Election Musings."
ibid.. January. 1961. p. 7.

39

the view that perhaps nobody really feared Vatican con-
trol of the White House--that the real problem for many
was the “big adjustment” involved in having a leader
whose pattern of worship stood ”under the prejudice of
being Roman Catholic.“ He wrote:
To the evil of the Democrat. in whom some find the
spectres of a ”welfare state“ and a “pink trend.”
there is added the horror of a Roman Catholic and
the ogres of Medieval Inquisition and the power
pressures of an Almighty Church. And in character-
istic revulsion there comes back into modern times
a renewed medieval urge to holy war.34
A month after Christian Huissen's article in
Torch and Trumpet. Lambertus Mulder. a Canadian Christian
Reformed minister. presented a number of observations
on the campaign and election contrary to the points of
view that had appeared in the periodical to that time.
After reading Christian Reformed periodicals. Mulder
reported. he had derived the impression that. if John
F. Kennedy were elected. ”Protestants had better write
a poignant obituary to the sacred principle of democ-
racy.? The worries of the periodicals were unfounded.
Mulder contended. because American churches-~Catholic
and Protestant--had become secular to the extent that
religion. unfortunately. had little actual effect on
public life: the church-and-state argument was. in his

opinion.-merely an ”old stand-by skeleton dragged out

of its closet.” Of the choice between Nixon and Kennedy.

3“George Stob. "Aftermath.? Rgfppped Qournat.
December, 1960, p. he

 

40

Mulder wrote: "I am not after the scalp of any editor
and I don't want to sound cynical. but what is so good
about a Quaker who has violated his principles and what
is so bad about a Catholic who publicly renounces the
decrees of the Vatican?'35

Tpppp gnd Trumpet dealt for the last time with
the religious issue in March. 1961. when Henry J. Kuiper.
the former editor of the Bgnnep. responded to Mulder's
February article. Kuiper explained that although
Torph and trumpet was not an open forum and Mulder's views
were not in agreement with those of the editorial staff.
the periodical did allow for the expression of differing
opinions. He then maintained that Tprpp apd Tppmpet
had actually opposed John F. Kennedy's election less
because of his Catholicism than because of his liberal
economic principles and policies and expressed the hope
that God would bless Kennedy as President ”but at the
same time open the eyes of all Americans to the danger
and futility of a federally managed economy.'36

John Vander Ploeg returned to the religious
issue in a December editorial review in the Banne; of
the events of 1960. He commented that the presidential

campaign had revealed that it was now possible for a

 

35Lambertus Mulder. ”So It's Kennedy." Toppn
ppd Trumpet. February. 1961. pp. i3-1U.

36Henry J. Kuiper. “Yes. It's Kennedy.” Torch
and Trum et. March. 1961. pp. 7-8.

#1

Roman Catholic to become the leader of the world and
had also demonstrated "that one may be expected to be
smeared as a bigot if he insists on meeting Rome's
official church-state position head--on."37 In a final
editorial that appeared at the time of the Kennedy
inauguration in January. 1961. Vander Ploeg wrote

that although Republicans and militant Protestants
were smarting at the prospect of seeing John F. Kennedy
move into the White House. it was the duty of every
Christian to support the new President and actively
pray for his success.38 The Bgnnep did not deal with
the issue of John F. Kennedy's Catholicism again.

 

37John Vander Ploeg. ”Retrospect and Prospect--
1960-1961.“ Banngp. December 30. 1960. p. 5.

38John Vander Ploeg. "The Christian Citizen--
Spectator or Intercessor?” ibid.. January 27. 1961.
ppe '5e

CHAPTER IV

A QUANTITATIVE REVIEW
OP THE COVERAGE

Intpoductiop

The data in this chapter result from a meth-
odological content analysis of writing in the three
periodicals dealing with the 1960 presidential cam-
paign and election: the analysis involves the pro-

cedures below.

H o e e
The survey is dependent on four developed
guiding hypotheses and one subhypothesis. The

hypotheses are:

(1) A gpeater number of etectipp-re;ated itemg

dgglt pxptusivety op in part with thp pgltgtppg isgue
eal ex 'v a w th an othe matte

o the 60 e i ential cam ai and ele tio .
All the periodicals had written about national elections
in other years. but had not been faced in those years
with a campaign issue of religious significance. It
was anticipated that. as a consequence of the existence
of a religious issue in 1960. examination of the three

religious periodicals would reveal that they devoted the

#2

43

bulk of their election-related material to the reigious
issue and rarely dealt with the campaign and election
apart from it.

(2) Aigreater ppmber of items in the periodicalg
identified temporai applications of Roman Catholicism thgn
identitied nontemporal aspects of Roman Cathoiicismigg
the crux of the religious igsue. Theodore C. Sorenson.

a Kennedy aids and biographer. wrote of two factors
involved in the religious issue: actual concern over
the question of church-state relations and mere anti-
Catholic prejudice-~or bigotry. The anticipation of
the survey was that the periodicals identified civil
and political implications of the election of a

Roman Catholic to the presidency rather than matters
relating to Catholic worship or personal practice

(or Protestant distaste for Catholics and Catholicism)

as the most important components of the religious issue.

(3) Election-relgted items of digpupgion
gegling with the religious issue and unfavorable to
the Kennedy candidacy were more freguept thgn election-
reiated items pf disgpssipp geaiipg with thp religioup
i§sug and peptpgi p; favorgpie to the Kennedy candidacy.

It was anticipated that articles in the periodicals in

 

which writers discussed Kennedy's Catholicism and

 

1Sorenson. Kgnnegy. p. 193.

#4

expressed views and opinions on the religious issue
would be found to have been generally opposed to his

election.

(h) Eventg of thg pampaigp did not affect the
pppositipn pogture at the pepipdicgls towarg_the

Ke e cand’d . Building on the third hypothesis.

 

this hypothesis predicts that events of the campaign

or the time of the campaign that could have affected
religious opposition to Kennedy-~primary victories.
nomination. endorsements. Kennedy speeches and actions--
did not alter the posture of the periodicals over time.
The hypothesis suggests that opposition to Kennedy for
reasons of religion was strongly rooted in matters out-

side the campaign or--a subhypothesis--that guppopt fop

o' f v' o 'n h K no a dida o reli io
ou a a e m re e ue t n ’ o d
ur e ev nt 0 the c m 1 nd e so i .
Mpthod

Testing of the hypotheses was accomplished
through content analysis of material relating to the
1960 presidential campaign and election appearing in
the three periodicals from January. 1960. the month
of John F. Kennedy's formal announcement of candidacy.
until the end of discussion of the campaign and

election. Discussion was considered to have ended if.

45

in issues of the periodicals appearing after the elec-
tion. editors closed the discussion or if election-
related material was absent from the periodicals for
five or more consecutive issues. Under those criteria.
the study deals with election-related material appearing
in the Banne; from January. 1960. through January. 1961:
election-related material appearing in the Reformeg
Journai from January through December of 1960: and
election-related material appearing in Topph and

Trumpet from January. 1960. through March. 1961.

All election-related items appearing in the
periodicals during the months designated above were
chosen for examination. An item was considered
election-related if it dealt entirely or in part with
specific events or issues of the campaign. including
religion. when religion was mentioned in connection
with the campaign: with the nature of national elections
in general: or with activities related to the campaign
of noncandidates (including. for example. general
discussion of the approach of Christian citizens to
national political affairs or discussion of the partisan
political activities of Calvin College faculty members).

The main unit of analysis selected for the
testing of the first four hypotheses is the item. or
the entire article. The item was chosen because of

its reliability as a clearly recognizable and graphic

#6

unit applicable across the variety of formats encoun-
tered in the periodicals (editorials. features. news
items. letters and replies). The numbers of items
dealing with particular subjects and taking particular
positions--and the formats in which those items appear--
reveal a great deal about the approaches of the
periodicals to the election and the religious issue.
The item is also a suitable unit of analysis for this
study because of the limited variation of theme within
each article. Most articles. not being news reports.
involved the promotion of a specific and definite point
of view and were therefore built throughout upon a
single concept. Another limiting factor on theme
variation within items was the brevity of the articles.
A majority of election-related items covered one page
or less and only three extended to more than two pages.

The unit of analysis used to test the
subhypothesis is the reference. or the support cited to
back up the particular argument or point of view pre-
sented in an item.

The periodicals represented the outlook of
one group. the Christian Reformed denomination. and for
that reason the study treats the periodicals as an
aggregate in the analysis of election-related material.
But each periodical deserves as well to be treated as

an entity with its own independent approach to the

a?

campaign and election. and the preponderant number of
items appearing in the weekly. the Banner. could
influence the results as to present a mkfleading picture
of the overall view of the election and campaign taken
by the three periodicals if the three were treated

only as a unit: for those reasons the analysis also
deals individually with the Bann r. Reformed Journal
and Torch and Trumpet.

For the purposes of analysis. items in the
periodicals. as mentioned above. were classified as
editorials. features. news items. letters and replies.
Editorials were identified as items designated as
such in the periodicals (under the heading ”As We
See It” in the Reformed Journalz) and were expressions
of opinion. Features were identified as items. apart
from editorials. produced by staff members or con-
tributors and expressing personal opinions. obser-
vations or points of view. Letters-to-the-editor
and immediate printed replies to such letters were
not grouped with features but were placed in separate
classifications of their own. News items were iden-
tified as items containing news treated as news alone

without comment or observation from staff members or

 

2George Stob has indicated in a letter
(February 5. 1976) that editorials in the Reformed
Journgl reflect the opinions of the individual
writers and do not necessarily represent the
collective views of the entire editorial staff.

48

contributors to the periodicals. Items of news
containing additional comment or observation were
classified as features.

Because of the carefully and clearly designed
procedures employed in the analysis as well as the use
of the item as the primary unit of analysis. the
reliability of the survey is assumed. However. due to
the limitations of time. money and other resources. a

mathematical test of reliability has not been performed.

Resultp
Table 1 presents the data generated to test

the first hypothesis. Four categories were devised
for the placement of items. In the category Religion
were placed items that dealt with--mentioned or dis-
cussed-~the religious issue alone and did not present
it in relation to or along with other campaign issues
or nonpolitical matters. Items that dealt with the
religious issue and with other nonpolitical matters
not related to the national campaign or election (for
example. a review of a church's convention proceedings.
which included a statement on the upcoming election)

were collected in the second category. Religion and

Other Nonpolitical Matters.

The third category. Religion and Other Political
Matterg. gathered items that dealt with the religious

 

issue along with other political matters-~including

49

Table 1--Election-Related Topics. by Item.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U)
a
£40 a
0+: a:m
:4» £3H
+=m +=e .4
c>z :19 m
p ()0
are «as w4c
ace :3: +=o
(DO (U OHH
-.-: H H<
:2 GP cm 0
O 0-H 00 cum
...: ..-:.-: oH-c-l L:
no one MM: :40
"'4 «404 odor: 0+9
H e4s Hr4 5:»
0 00 00 PM
m mz mm 02
Banner (n-50)
Editorials 3 3 0 2
Features 16 3 O 5
News Items 2 1 O 0
Letters 8 O 3 1
Replies 2 O O 1
Total 31 7 3 9
Reformed Journai (n=5)
Editorials 1 O 2 0
Features 1 O 1 0
Total 2 O 3 O
Torch and Trumpet (n=8)
Editorials 1 1 O 1
Features 1 0 3 0
News Items 1 O O 0
Total 3 1 3 1
All Periodicals (n= 63)
Editorials 5 h 2 3
Features 18 3 4 5
News Items 3 1 O 0
Letters 8 O 3 1
Replies 2 O O 1
Total 36 8 9 10

 

Note: Relevant news items. letters and replies did not
appear in the Reformed Journal: letters and replies did

not appear in Torch and Trumpe .

50

other election issues. campaign events. activities of
candidates and noncandidates relating to the national
election. and the general Christian approach to
politics in a national election year.

Items dealing only with political matters apart
from the religious issue were placed in the fourth
category. 0t e Po ic l M e Alo e. No items
dealt both with political matters apart from the
election and with nonpolitical matters.

The data support the hypothesis that more
election-related items dealt with the religious issue
than with other matters relating to the campaign and
election. They indicate that. as an aggregate. the
periodicals printed 36 items on the religious issue
by itself and. altogether. 53 items dealing exclu-
sively or in part with the religious issue. Items
devoted completely to political matters apart from
the religious issue numbered only 10. and items
dealing entirely or in part with political matters
apart from the religious issue numbered 19.

The Banne; devoted 38 of 50 items to the
religious issue by itself and #3 of 50 items exclu-
sively or partially to the religious issue: only 12
items dealt with political matters other than the
religious issue and only 9 of those items dealt

entirely with political matters apart from the issue.

51

The data indicate that the Reformed Journgi
and Tppch and Trumpet had a greater tendency to pre-
sent the religious issue as one issue among other
election-related matters than did the Banner. which
tended to isolate the religious issue and deal with
it exclusively. In the figtgrmeg_Jopppgi. 2 items
dealt with the religious issue alone: and while none
dealt alone with political matters other than religion.
3 items dealt both with the religious issue and other
political matters. (One of those items dealt with the
religious issue only very briefly. dismissing it as
a "mild? problem. and then moved on to a lengthy
discussion of other political matters.3) Torch and
Tppmpet produced 7 articles dealing completely or in
part with the religious issue. including 4 dealing
with the religious issue at the exclusion of other
political matters: an additional h items dealt with
other political matters. and one of those dealt
exclusively with political matters apart from the
religious issue.

The classification of articles by format in
Table 1 becomes significant in the examination of later

hypotheses.

 

3Amry Vanden Bosch. ”The Christian's Political

Eesponsibility.” eformed Journai. October. 1960. pp.
-9,

52

Table 2 displays the data produced in the
testing of the second hypothesis. Items dealing with
the religious issue were placed in the category Tgppppgi
if. in presenting or discussing the religious issue.
they stressed the civil or political applications of
Roman Catholicism as the main point of concern-—
applications relating to political and religious free-
dom: church control over state matters: Catholic Church
dictation of voting habits: or the practice of the Roman
Catholic Church in situations where it had achieved
positions of civil dominance.

The second category. Nogtemporai. was devised
for items that stressed only nontemporal aspects of
Catholicism as the basis of the religious issue--
Catholic ritual. theology and religious practice. as
matters distasteful to Protestants and others and at
the root. perhaps. of an anti-Catholic prejudice that
carried over into politics.

Items that stressed both temporal applications
and nontemporal aspects were placed in the category
gpth,and items identifying other concerns as the basis
of the religious issue or not giving any rationale at
all for the existence of the issue were placed in the
category Npithep.

The hypothesis that the periodicals identified

temporal applications rather than nontemporal aspects of

53

Table 2--Identification of Crux of Religious Issue.
by Items

 

 

Temporal Nontemporal Both Neither

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Banner
Editorials 3 0 0 3
Features 18 O O 1
News Items 2 O 1 0
Letters 10 O 1 0
Replies 2 O O 0
Total 35 0 2 h
figtormeg:gourngi
Editorials 2 O 1 0
Features 2 O O 0
Total 4 O 1 O
Torch and Trumpet
Editorials 2 O O 0
Features h 0 O 0
News Items 1 O O 0
Total 7 O O 0
All Periodicals
Editorials 3 O 1 3
Features 2h 0 O 11
News Items 3 o 1 0
Letters 10 o 1 0
Replies 2 O O 0
Total #6 o 3 a

 

54

Catholicism as the crux of the religious issue is
supported overwhelmingly by the data. They indicate
that none of the items in the periodicals identified
nontemporal aspects of Catholicism alone as the basis
for the existence of the religious issue and only 3
articles-~one of which was a letter. an item not pro-
duced by the periodical in which it appeared and
another of which was a news item printed without
comment or observation from anyone associated with
the periodical in which it appeared-~emphasized both
temporal and nontemporal concerns as being at the
base of the religious issue. The data show that at
the same time. #6 of 53 items identified temporal
applications of Catholicism alone as the crux of the
religious issue.

Peter Van Tuinen's item in the Bapper that
contended that the religious issue really involved
far more than Catholicism was placed in the category
Neithpp“ as were 3 editorials in the Bgnne; that
stressed only the relevance of the religious issue to
the campaign and election and did not further elaborate
on the issue.

The data suggest that the accusation of

bigotry was one taken seriously by the periodicals

 

“See p. 36 above.

55

and a matter that they attempted to cope with or
counteract by attaching a church-state rationale to
nearly every item they produced on the issue of John
F. Kennedy's Catholicism.

Table 3 displays the results of the testing
of the third hypothesis. which involves the predicted
opposition to the Kennedy candidacy of items of dis-
cussion dealing with the religious issue. The cate-
gories devised for the analysis are arranged. excluding
those sections designated Qtpgp. to demonstrate a
spectrum of approaches to John F. Kennedy's Catholicism
as a political issue--approaches ranging from most
favorable (Catholicipm an Asget) to most unfavorable
(Catholicism a Disgualifying Factop). The chgp
subcategories were devised for the location of items
that fit into a major category but not into one of the
specific subcategories.

For items that viewed Kennedy's Catholicism
as a factor that enhanced his suitability for the
presidency the subcategory Catholicigm ap Asget was

devised. The subcategory Catholicigm a Handicgp
Overcomg was established for items expressing the

view that Kennedy had effectively overcome the problem
of his Catholicism through his public stands and
proclamations.

In the neutral subcategory Religion No Issue

56

Table 3--Posture of Periodicals Toward Kennedy's
Catholicism. by Item.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.; Favorable Neutral Unfavorable
(D
E h
o a>c
c: o o :2 to 3-4
m ms. 2 <35; ace mtm
m p c
E E > E E hfl E 0 E°H
m mc> m ca: 02m m:a
"-4 -.-: "-4 or: 0 «we. u-HH
O O Q: 0 O E O OOH
..-: .H m ..-1 .H 4 0H m 0H H
.-: .—4 o .-I H .-—4 :3 H co L:
O P 0-H $4 0 0 O 0 $4 0 O O :3 O 14
£:o :wo o :2: :1: e th £20”) o
P’m pic : +>m +>m ;: +ap +>m<o .c
are m m +> mcn mca -P «so «pace ‘P
o< o: 0 OH OH o om 09m 0
Banner (n=38)
Editorials O O (3 O 2 1 1 2 0
Features 0 O O O O 4 6 9 0
Letters 1 1 O 1+ O O 1 3 1
Replies 0 0 O O O 0 O 2 0
Total 1 1. O 4 2 5 8 16 1
Reformed Journal (n=5)
Editorials O O O C) 1 1 1 0
Features 0 O O O 1 O 1
Total 0 O O O 2 1 2 O O
Tprch and Trumpet (n=6)
Editorials O O 1 O O 1
Features 0 O O 1 0 O 2 1 0
Total 0 0 O 1 1 O 2 2 0
All Periodicals (n=49)
Editorials o o o o l: 2 2 3 0
Features 0 O O 1 1 4 9 10 0
Letters 1 1 O 1+ O O 1 3 1
Replies 0 O O O 0 O O 2 0
Total 1 1 O 5 5 6 2 18 1

 

 

 

 

57

were placed items that viewed the question of Kennedy's
Catholicism as irrelevant to his suitability for the
presidency: items that viewed Kennedy's Catholicism as
one legitimate campaign issue among other campaign issues

but did not take a position of favor or disfavor were

assigned to the subcategory Catholicism One I§§ue
Among Many.

Items expressing the view that Kennedy's
Catholicism presented a problem of suitability to be
seriously considered by voters were entered in the
subcategory Catholicigm a Serioug Factor. Items tak-
ing the position that Kennedy's Catholicism by itself
definitely rendered him unfit for the presidency or

made him a candidate undeserving of Protestant votes
were placed in the subcategory Cathplipipm a Dipgpal-

W-
Of the 53 items in the periodicals dealing

with the religious issue. 49 were chosen for examination
in this stage of the analysis. Four items previously
classified as news items (Table 1) were not selected
because they did not necessarily contain views or
observations of staff members or contributors.

The data partially support the third hypoth-
esis. .The periodicals as a whole and the Banner and
Torch gnd Trumpet individually presented a predominant

number of items unfavorable to the candidacy of John

58

F. Kennedy. In all the periodicals. 31 of 49 articles
analyzed were unfavorable to the Kennedy candidacy
while only 2 items were favorable and 16 were neutral.
When letters are discounted as items not actually pro-
duced by the periodicals. the data show that 26 of 38
items were unfavorable while none were favorable and
12 were neutral.

In the Bgnner. 25 of 38 items examined--
20 of 27 when letters are excluded--were unfavorable
to the Kennedy candidacy. Among those 20 unfavorable
items. 14. or slightly more than half. were strongly
opposed to Kennedy to the extent that they were
assigned to the category containing items most
unfavorable to the Kennedy candidacy. The items
from the Banner assigned to the subcategory chpp
under the category Neutral. 4 in all. are items that
mentioned the religious issue or presented the
various views of the issue but did not take a position
or even deal with the issue in terms of significance
or lack of significance. Features generally were more
unfavorable to Kennedy in the Banner than editorials
were: while John Vander Ploeg took an anti-Kennedy
position editorially. he also in two neutral items
treated the religious issue as one issue to be con-
sidered among many and stopped short of expressing an

opinion unfavorable to Kennedy. The other neutral

59

editorial placed in the subcategory Qtppp is his
January. 1961. call for support of Kennedy in spite
of Protestant and Republican disappointment.5
In Torch and Trumpet. 4 of 6 election-related
items dealing with the religious issue were unfavorable
to the Kennedy candidacy on religious grounds and 2
of those 4 items were strongly opposed to Kennedy:
an additional 2 items were neutral and none favorable.
In the analysis of the fiptprmgg Jourpgi the
hypothesis is not supported. Although no items were
favorable to Kennedy on the grounds of his Catholicism.
3 items were neutral while only 2 were unfavorable: and
neither of those was strongly unfavorable.6 The neu-
tral editorial placed in the subcategory Qtpgp is
George Stob's retrospective piece of December. 1960.7
Table 4 and Table 5 display the data resulting
from testing of the fourth hypothesis and the related
subhypothesis. which deal with the opposition pos-

ture of the periodicals over time. Data taken from

 

5See p. 41 above.
6An interesting sidelight to the two unfavorable

items is that Lester DeKoster. who produced both of them.

actually spoke out in favor of John F. Kennedy during

the campaign—~to the chagrin of many Christian Reformed
constituents. several of whom. maintaining that Calvin
College faculty members would better keep such views to

themselves. expressed their displeasure in letters to the
Jfiuugu; Christian Huissen's look back at the campaign in

Torch and Trumpet (see p. 38 above) was also critical
of DeKoster's political activities.

7See p. 39 above.

60

Table 4--Posture of Items Over Time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Editorials Features Letters Replies

Q) Q) d) d)

.—: .-: .—: .—:

Q) .0 0 .0 0 .0 Q) .0

F: m P: m r: m .4 m

.0 e4 a .0 sq m r: .4 p .o e: s.

m m o to m o «3 co 0 m m o

a u > :4 a > L: :4 > a a >

o P a! o +3 m o +2 m o p m

> s w: > s e: t» s m: > :3 44

m a: s: m a: s: m a: c: m a: s:

Eh z :> IL 2 :> a. z: D lh z a

January-August (n=11

Banner 0 O 1 O 2 6 O 1 O O O O

Reformed O O O O O 1 O O O O O 0
Journal

TOI‘Ch and - G - - - '- - .- 0 n - e-
Trumpet

Total 0 O 1 O 2 7 1 O O O O O

September-November (n=29)

Banner 0 2 1 O 1 9 2 2 ‘5 O O 1

Reformed O 1 1 O 1- O - - - - - -
Journal

Torch and O 1 1 O O 1 - - - - - -
Trumpet

Total O 4 3 O 2 10 2 2 5 O O 1

After November (n=9)‘

Banner 0 1 1 O 1 O O 1 O O O 1

Reformed O 1 0 O O O - - - - - -
Journal

Torch and O O O O 1. 2 - - - - - -
Trumpet

Total 0 2 1 O 2 2 O 1 O O O 1

 

 

 

 

 

61

Table 5--References Cited as Support in Items
Opposing Kennedy.

Editorials Features Letters Replies Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Banne

Dogma 2 14 2 2 20
History 1 7 2 O 10
Current 0 1 1 0 2
Events

Other 3 7 2 2 14

Reformed Journal

Dogma 1 1 - - 2
History 0 1 — - 1
Current 0 O - _ 0
Events

Other 1 O - - 1

Torchignd Trumpet
Eogma 2 1 - - 3
History 1 1 - - 2
3.3232“ 0 1 - - 1
Other 1 3 - - 4
All Periodicals

Dogma 5 16 2 2 25
History 2 9 2 O 13
was“ 0 2 1 o 3
Other 5 10 2 2 19

 

 

62

the categories Favorable. Neutral and Unfavorable
filled previously in the examination of the third
hypothesis (Table 3). with the corresponding sub-
categories omitted. were used in the examination of
the fourth hypothesis. The data of Table 3 were
divided into three chronological units: January
through August. 1960: September through November.
1960: and December. 1960. to the dates when election-
related material no longer appeared in the peri-
odicals.

Outstanding campaign events with a possible
resolving effect on religious opposition to the
Kennedy candidacy occurring during the early cam~
paign months encompassed by the first category
include Kennedy's statement at the announcement of
his candidacy: his primary victories. especially in
Wisconsin and heavily Protestant West Virginia: his
speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors
during the West Virginia campaign: and his nomination
and statement on religion in his acceptance speech
at the Los Angeles convention.

Events of the second category include
nationally prominent campaign appearances. especially
the speech before the Presbyterian ministers in
Houston: the refusal of Richard Nixon and Republicans

to raise the religious issue: and the election itself.

63

The third category does not directly relate to events
occurring after November but involves items in the
periodicals produced from a post-election perspective.

The data appearing in Table 4 partially
support the fourth hypothesis. During the first
period. 7 of 10 relevant items appearing in the ngpgp
and the only item appearing in the Reformed Journal
were unfavorable to the Kennedy candidacy: in all.
8 of 11. or 73 Percent. of the items were unfavorable
to Kennedy. During the second designated period, the
time of the fall campaign and the period during which
the greatest number of relevant items appeared. 19 of
29. or 66 percent. of the items were unfavorable.
When letters are excluded the previous figures change
to 8 of 10. 80 percent. and 14 of 20. 70 percent.
respectively. indicating that the frequency of
opposition to Kennedy among items dealing with the
religious issue varied little and remained high
through the periods encompassing the campaign and
election.

The period after the election shows a
change. Only 4 of 9. 44 percent. of the post-election
items were unfavorable to Kennedy for reasons of
religion after the election: when letters are excluded
the figure changes to 4 of 8. or 50 percent. Apparently

the election of John F. Kennedy finally dampened the

64

written opposition to his candidacy: the hypothesis
is not verified for the post-election period.

Examination of the periodicals individually
reveals that the frequency of items unfavorable to
Kennedy for reasons of religion in the ngpgp also
remained high throughout the campaign and dropped off
after the election. but that items of opposition in
Torch and Trumpet (which did not deal with the religious
issue until September) remained highly frequent through
both the fall campaign and the post-election period.

The Reformed Journgi. as shown in the dis-
cussion of the third hypothesis. did not produce a
preponderance of items opposed to Kennedy on religious
grounds: but the data of Table 4 do reveal that while
the only relevant article appearing in the periodical
during the first period was unfavorable to the Kennedy
candidacy, only 1 of 3 items appearing during the
second period was unfavorable and the only item
appearing during the third period was neutral. What
opposition the RptormeggJopppgi demonstrated toward
the Kennedy candidacy lessened over time.

The subhypothesis speculates that. if the
opposition posture of the periodicals was not altered
over time by events. a reason for that lack of change
might be that the periodicals viewed the religious

issue less in terms of the events of the election year

65

than in terms of history and dogma. matters not
directly related to the campaign and election.

Results of the testing of the hypothesis appear in
Table 5. The unit of analysis. the reference. was
defined as the evidence or support cited as the
reasoning behind a point of view opposing Kennedy

on religious grounds in items previously determined to
have been in opposition to Kennedy because of his
Catholicism.

The category History was designed to contain
references to the term itself (for example. a reference
to ”the lesson of history”): examples from the his-
tory of the Roman Catholic Church: references to
history in countries where Roman Catholicism was or
became a state religion: references to other situations
before 1940 (an arbitrary cutoff) in which the
Catholic Church exercised political power or coercion:
or references to the history of Protestantism with
respect to Roman Catholicism.

In the second category. ngpg. were placed
references to Catholic doctrine: references to Catholic
theologians and theological textbooks: and references
to papal proclamations and encyclicals.

The fourth category. Current Event . was
designed for supporting references to events of the

campaign: events directly related to the campaign

66

(including prominent endorsements or statements of
opposition): actions and speeches of candidates: or
specific actions of the Roman Catholic Church with
respect to the American election.

The third category. Qtpgp. was established
for references not applicable to the categories
Histopy and ngmg and also unrelated to events of the
campaign and election.

In this stage of the analysis. the citing
within a single item of multiple representatives of
a particular category (several examples from Catholic
history. for instance) was counted as one reference.

The data support the hypothesis. both for
the periodicals as an aggregate and for each periodical
individually. Where references were used as support
for opposition to John F. Kennedy on religious
grounds. references to dogma (25) and references to
history (13). 38 in all. far outnumbered the trio of
supporting references to current events.

The data also reveal. however. than an unex-
pectedly high number of references (19) were placed
in the category chgp: a further audit of those ref-
erences is appropriate. In the category Qtpgp. 7
supporting references involved the contemporary
political or civil practices of the Roman Catholic

Church in other countries: in addition.u 8 references

67

involved the writings of other Catholics in various
periodicals and nontextbook settings: and 4 involved
John F. Kennedy's background--specifically. his
refusal to participate as a Catholic representative
in an interfaith religious service at Philadelphia
in 1950. presumably at the instruction of his

Catholic superiors.

CHAPTER V
FURTHER DISCUSSION

It is clear that the issue of John F.
Kennedy's Catholicism was the primary concern of
material that dealt with the 1960 presidential cam-
paign and election appearing in the three Christian
Reformed periodicals. And it is also clear. in light
of the data presented above. that the existence of
the religious issue was what led Torch and Trumpet
and. to a greater extent. the Banner to be unchar-
acteristically occupied with that election.

The Reformed Jou nal. the one periodical
of the three that wrote extensively on political
topics in other years. produced the fewest number of
items dealing with the election and the religious
issue in 1960 and was the only periodical not to
take a strong editorial stand against Kennedy because
of his Catholicism. Only letters-to-the editor and
an occasional item by Peter Van Tuinen broke the
pattern of opposition to Kennedy in the Banner. and
the only item of discussion appearing in Torch and
Trumpet that did not view the Kennedy candidacy with

disfavor was produced by a guest contributor whose views

68

69

were rebutted a month later by a member of the editorial
staff.1

Religious opposition to Kennedy in the peri-
odicals. the study suggests. was expressed largely in
terms of history and dogma-~reflecting. perhaps. the
traditionally strong theological orientation of the
Christian Reformed people. The nature of the oppo-
sition may have resulted from a tendency on their part.
because of the Christian Reformed heritage of ortho-
doxy. to conscientiously view the traditions and
teachings of other faiths in the same way they viewed
the traditions and teachings of their own--as
necessarily binding on every part of the life of a
believer. no matter what the environment or situation.
That outlook might explain why. in spite of everything
John F. Kennedy said or did short of renouncing his
own Catholicism. opposition in the periodicals
remained unabated.

The extent to which Republican versus Democrat
may have been covertly involved in the discussion of
the religious issue is not clear. No political
endorsements came from any of the three periodicals.
but the Banner and Torch and Trumpet were explicit in

their recommendations that readers not vote for Kennedy.

 

1See pp. 39-40 above.

70

It was suggested during the campaign that the pre-
dominately Republican Christian Reformed constituency
would have had less interest in the matter had Richard
Nixon been a Roman Catholic and John Kennedy a

2 and George Stob in the Reformed Jopppai

Protestant:
expressed the view after the election that Kennedy's
Catholicism may have merely reinforced opposition to
the Democratic party among the Christian Reformed
people.3

While the opposition posture of the Banner
developed only around the issue of Kennedy's Catholicism.
Torch and Trumpet. free from denominational restrictions.
did combine opposition to Kennedy for religious reasons
with opposition for political reasons. No discussion
of Kennedy's politics appeared in the periodical
before the election: Tprch and Trumpet reacted vehemently
against Kennedy's Catholicism alone in an October fea-
ture and a November editorial.y Yet Henry J. Kuiper
later contended that opposition to Kennedy by the staff
of Torch and Trumpet had actually had less to do with

Kennedy's religion than with his economic policies.5

 

2Letter. N. H. Beversluis. Banner. November
11. 1960. p. 22:

3See pp. 38-39 above.
”See pp. 34-35. 37 above.

5See p. 40 above.

71

The data indicate that the periodicals identi-
fied the concept of church-state relations. or temporal
applications of Catholicism. as being at the base of
the religious issue: yet the three showed no reluctance
as religious periodicals to deal with an issue of state
or political concern. The periodicals were anxious
about the preservation of the separation between
church and state. but they obviously did not feel
that that separation demanded silence on political
matters from religious sources.

Religious journalism is virtually untapped
as an area of research and this study is very limited
in scope. Further studies might extend this project
across a broader. more representative sample of
religious periodicals or might examine the approach
of religious periodicals to a larger number of
pertinent issues--federal aid to private schools.
prayer in public schools. the tax-exempt status of
churches. birth control. abortion--that have impli-

cations for both church and state.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Histories and_§ackgpound
Barrett, Patricia. Reli ious Libert and the American
Presidency. New York: Herder and Herder. 1963.
Burns. James MacGregor. John Kenned : A Political
Profile. New York: Harcourt. Brace. 1961.
Campbell. Angus: Converse. Philip E.: Miller. Warren
E.: and Stokes. Donald E. Elections and the

Political Order. New York: John Wiley &
Sons. 19 .

Dulce. Berton. and Richter. Edward J. Religion ang
the Presidency. New York: The MacMillan
Company. 1962.

Fuchs. Lawrence H. John F. Kennedy and American
Catholicism. New York: Meredith Press. 1967.

Herberg. Will. ProtestantI Catholic. Jew. Revised
ed. Garden City. N. Y.: Anchor Books.
Doubleday & Company. Inc.. 1960.

Odegard. Peter H.. ed. Religion and Politicg. Dobbs
Ferry. N. Y.: Oceana Publications. Inc.. 1960.

Schlesinger. Arthur M.. Jr. A Thousand Days: John

F Kenned in the White House. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company. 1965.

Sorenson. Theodore C. Kennedy. New York: Harper &
Row. 1965.

Strout. Cushing. The New Heavens and New Earth:
Political Religion in America. New York:
Harper & Row. 1974-

White. Theodore H. The Making of the President 1260.

New York: Atheneum House. Inc.. 1961.

 

72

73

Material Relating to the Christian
Reformed Church

Christian Reformed Church. Yearbook 1960. Grand
Rapids. Mich: Christian Reformed Publishing
House. 1960.

Kromminga. John. The Christian Reformed Church: A
Study in Orthodoxy. Grand Rapids. Mich:
Baker Book House. 1949.

Stob. George. "The Christian Reformed Church and Her
Schools." Th.D. dissertation. Princeton
Theological Seminary. 1955.

Timmerman. John J. Promises 2p Keep. Grand Rapids.
Mich: William B. Eerdmans Co.. 1975.

Primary Periodicals

Banner. January. 1960-January. 1961.

Reformed Journal. January-December. 1960.

Torch and Trumpet. January. 1960—March. 1961.

Other Periodicals
Blake. Eugene Carson, and Oxnam. G. Bromley. "A
Protestant View of a Catholic for President."
Look. May 10. 1960. pp. 31-32.

Knebel. Fletcher. "Democratic Forecast: A Catholic
in 1960.” Look. March 3. 1959. Pp. 13-17.

New York Timeg. January-December. 1960.
Newsweek. January-December. 1960.

Time. January-December. 1960.

Unpublished Material
Letter. James Daane. March. 1976.

Letter. Lester DeKoster. February 9. 1976.
Letter. Edward Heerema. March 23. 1976.

74

Letter. George Stob. February 5. 1976.
Letter, John Vander Ploeg. February 16. 1976.

Other Sources

Berelsen. Bernard. Content Analysig in Communication
Research. Glencoe. 111.: Free Press. 1952.

N. W. Ayer & Son's Directory of Newspaperg and
Periodicals. Philadelphia: N. W. Ayer &
SOD, 1961.

MICH AN STATE UNIVE SITY LIBRARIES

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