The Nixon-Cronin Speeches: A Cold War Theology

Abstract

My purpose here is to uncover and examine a theology that is sometimes explicit, but more often implied, in Richard Nixon's speeches delivered between 1953 and 1960, the original texts of which were written by a Roman Catholic priest, John F. Cronin. First I will survey the history of the association between Cronin and Nixon. Second, I will deal with the speeches themselves and the theology that often lay just beneath the surface. Finally, I will look at the practical consequences of this Cold War theology and the mission entrusted to its believers. The questions arising from this sort of study are legion. Given the history of American suspicion in regard to Roman Catholics, how did a Roman Catholic priest acquire such an influential position among early Cold War theorists- especially with Richard Nixon, a Quaker? Do Nixon's speeches presuppose a theological interpretation of world events? Is the Cold War theology of the speeches a genuinely Christian theology, or is it a form of idolatry?