The Churches and World War II

Activism.

Like every other institution in American life, the churches of the United States were deeply involved in World War II. Churches provided moral guidance, spiritual advice, and comfort to millions of soldiers in the battlefield and millions of families on the home front. Many members of the clergy enlisted in the military as chaplains, and churches provided Bibles and other religious items to the troops. Churches were often the location of bond rallies and scrap drives. Some clerics advised pacifism during the war and coordinated small opposition groups. Most, however, were engaged in the struggle against Germany and Japan and afterward became important agents in postwar reconstruction. Significant clergymen, such as Reinhold Niebuhr and Francis Spellman, were instrumental in framing American policy during and after the war, and churches and religious periodicals acted as shapers of public opinion throughout the...

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