What was dwight eisenhower religion

Within twelve days Elson would become pastor to the president. While other presidents had attended worship services prior to their inauguration, as best as anyone could remember, Eisenhower was the first to attend a preinaugural worship service with his entire official family. It was fitting, he believed, for the president of the United States to serve as a spiritual guide of the nation as well as its political leader and commander in chief.

After shaking hands with President Truman and other dignitaries, kissing Mamie and waving to the cheering crowd, he asked Americans to bow their heads while he read his own inaugural prayer:.

Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future associates in the Executive Branch of Government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng, and their fellow citizens everywhere. Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land.

Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race or calling. May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who, under the concepts of our Constitution, hold to differing political faiths; so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and Thy Glory, Amen. And that was that. Dwight D. In , shortly after he was inaugurated president of Columbia University, a reporter, noting his infrequent worship in church, asked about his religious faith.

How could anyone, including Eisenhower, have seriously made such a claim? Was he cynically playing to the press? During the war he had met international religious leaders; he was aware of the deep religious faith of subordinates such as his friend George Patton; he had reminisced about the profound religious faith of his parents, especially his mother, Ida; he was the grandson of the River Brethren patriarch who had led his flock from Pennsylvania to Kansas; and in Abilene he had grown up in a house purchased from his uncle Abraham, another River Brethren minister and itinerant missionary.

In other words, Eisenhower was well acquainted with religious fervor and spiritual leadership, and yet he set himself apart when asked about the intensity of his own faith. Every biographer acknowledges the importance of religion in his upbringing in Abilene, but after Eisenhower left home for West Point in , religion disappears as a major theme in his biography and few emphasize the influence his deeply engrained religious beliefs had on his public life and work. If he had a conversion experience, a time when he accepted Jesus as his personal Savior, he did not talk about it publicly.

His personal faith remained mostly cloaked. The lawful and peaceful transfer of power as exemplified by the inauguration of a new president is one of the most revered rites of American civil religion. The ceremonies, of course, take place at the national Capitol, not at the Washington Cathedral. This great struggle between Communism and freedom defined the twentieth century even more than the Great Depression or the two world wars.

As the sun broke through the haze of a cloudless sky, glinting off the horns of the Marine Corps band, Eisenhower saw a dark tempest gathering on the horizon. Were Americans nearing the light—the dawn of freedom and peace for all mankind—or were the shadows of death closing in upon the world? The challenge of the age was no less than the survival of the liberal democratic way of life, including American free enterprise, as envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

Consequently, two overriding realities should be factored into any interpretation of the Eisenhower presidency. He is remembered throughout the nation and the world as one of the greatest generals of World War II and his work for peace after his presidency. A recent graduate of the Community College of Philadelphia, Anthony will be enrolling at Temple University in the fall of Records of National Presbyterian Church.

National Presbyterian Church Fundraising Materials. Dwight D. Dwight David Eisenhower Vertical File. Transcript of President Dwight D. Skip to main content. Services Collections History Online. Eisenhower: Peace and Presbyterianism. June 11, Elson far right with President Dwight D. Eisenhower center , Vice President Richard M.

Photograph by Abbie Rowe, Copy of President Eisenhower's inaugural prayer, Program for pre-inaugural services at National Presbyterian Church, President Eisenhower's letter to John S. Wood on his decision to federalize the Arkansas National Guard, Blog Post. Sheen of the Archdiocese of New York was a well-known figure as the longtime host of a radio show called The Catholic Hour, and, beginning in , the impresario of an immensely popular weekly television program called Life is Worth Living.

Bishop Fulton Sheen, , and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, A pudgy, bespectacled Methodist with a flair for home-spun stories, Peale published a stream of popular self-help books giving tips on finding personal success through religious devotion and scriptural study. His book The Power of Positive Thinking appeared in and stayed on the best-seller list for weeks. The most significant evangelist of the postwar years, however, was Rev.

Billy Graham. His talent, sincerity, zeal, and sheer charisma sped him on his way to stardom. Eisenhower had not yet formally announced his candidacy for the presidency, but the general was on the cusp of jumping into politics. They sat together for more than two hours, as Eisenhower shared with Graham the story of his early life and his upbringing among the River Brethren in Kansas.

The enemies of the faithful, it seemed, included Communism, New Deal-ism, corruption, deceit, unbelief, and the devil himself. After the election, Billy Graham sent the new president a fairly steady stream of correspondence, updating him on the activities of his ministry. President Dwight D. Eisenhower visiting with religious leader Billy Graham at the White House, On March 6, , Graham delivered a sermon directly to an American president for the first time.

As the guest of Rev. In his State of the Union address in January , Eisenhower stressed that government alone could not make people industrious or enterprising. It was up to the American people to work hard for their future prosperity—and balance God against greed. As Eisenhower told the annual meeting of the U.