Oh Catholic, My Catholic- John F. Kennedy's Separation of Church & State and Present-Day Implications (Question 4)

            

          When America’s first and only Catholic president, John F. Kennedy spoke to a gathering of Protestant religious leaders in Houston, Texas, he fought for their support by confronting the “so-called religious issue” head-on. In this 1960 speech, Kennedy argued that he was “not the Catholic candidate” but the “Democratic… candidate” and that any preoccupation with his Catholicism would be a deliberate disregard for the real issues facing the America of the 1950s and 60s: war, hunger, poverty, education, technological advancement, communism, ignorance, and despair. Kennedy stressed the fundamental importance of separation of church and state in the United States, which, in keeping with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, entailed “no political preference” or deference to any church power, assuring his fellow Americans that as president he would accept no advise from any ecclesiastical source, even from the pope. While Kennedy maintained that he would not disavow his Catholic faith, he hoped that Americans would judge him based on his positions on key issues, not by the church he attended on Sundays. If everyone voted under the notion of a feud between Catholic and Protestant denominations, the whole nation would lose over the Catholic issue. Kennedy hoped to unite Americans of different faiths, to “refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division…promote brotherhood,” while paving the way for future presidential office-holders of diverse creeds and religious beliefs.

            In his preface to God in the White House, Randall Balmer points out that Kennedy’s speech at the Rice Hotel and his emphasis of separation of church and state is a far cry from the overtly religious statements of later presidents. Since Kennedy’s election, the “religious issue” has come to the campaign forefront in several elections, most notably with Mormon candidates like Mitt Romney. With the election of 2016 and throughout the Trump presidency, America has heard similar rhetoric from President Trump, urging Americans to look past the “fake news” distracting from the real issues facing its citizens and leaders. President Trump publicly aligns with Protestant leaders like Jerry Falwell, Jr., and the Protestant majority that elected him while not explicitly declaring his own personal religious stance. The election of President Trump in 2016, more than 50 years since John F. Kennedy gave his “church and state” speech at the Rice Hotel, is evidence that Kennedy was successful not only in winning the presidency but also in separating the issue of religion from the greater issues and functions of the executive office. In 2017, when it comes to voting, religion plays a part in voters’ decisions, usually in the form of positions on issues like abortion and sexuality. Ultimately, the success of diverse and not overtly Protestant presidential candidates is testament to Kennedy’s assertion that “all men and all churches are created equal.”