Post #5 Question #1

     In God in the White House by Randall Balmer, he examines the similarities and differences in Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon's religious affiliations and how they relate to their presidency. Nixon and Johnson have different views and also different practices in their beliefs which can be traced back to their upbringing and their families religious beliefs. Nixon and Johnson came from different religious backgrounds that affected their own personal views. Johnson's mother was a Baptist and his father was described as neither atheist or agnostic but having religious views and ideas that seemed Christian. Johnson became a part of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ and became baptized quickly. Although this has been viewed as mostly an act of rebellion against his family because they were Baptists. Nixon converted to Christianity after attending an evangelical service that his father brought him to when he was younger and his brothers converted with him at this time.
     During their presidencies, the two men used their beliefs in different ways, Nixon was interested in gaining support and voters and Johnson was concerned with religion when it came to big decisions but he kept it on the back burner most of the time. Although Johnson had the "golden Christian" rule in his presidency and used it when making decisions about the Vietnam War, he did not openly show his beliefs as much as Nixon did. For example, Nixon was very confident in his beliefs and even held worship services in the White House during his presidency. Johnson did not make religion the forefront of his presidency but he did consider his beliefs when making major decisions. Nixon was also known to talk with Billy Graham and receive sermons from him which were described as quickly changing into a political platform. We see this happen when Graham tried to convince Nixon to elect an opposing evangelical of the Vietnam war as his running companion. When Graham came to Johnson to council him, Johnson was very nonchalant about it when Nixon took it more seriously. Lyndon was known for his distinctive attitude and it showed when he he was at a dinner and someone was praying and Johnson blatantly yelled to the man to speak up but the man simply responded that he was not talking to him but to God. This is an example of Johnson's attitude and how he seems to viewing himself as more important than anything else because he thought if he could not hear it then it was not worth it. After Nixon's watergate scandal, he was exposed and many people began to wonder if he was just using his religious views to gain votes. Nixon was also described as having a paranoid manor about him and his decision making. After this scandal of watergate, many Christian supporters struggled with the idea of supporting him because they did not know if they should support the man or his policies. They liked his evangelical driven ideas but once his real motives were uncovered, they were conflicted with supporting him.