Overview

"In his farewell address, Dwight D. Eisenhower warned the nation of the perils of the military-industrial complex. But as Jonathan Herzog shows in this insightful history, Eisenhower had spent his presidency contributing to another, lesser known, Cold War collaboration: the spiritual-industrial complex.This fascinating volume shows that American leaders in the early Cold War years considered the conflict to be profoundly religious; they saw Communism not only as godless but also as a sinister form of religion. Fighting faith with faith, they deliberately used religious beliefs and institutions as part of the plan to defeat the Soviet enemy. Herzog offers an illuminating account of the resultant spiritual-industrial complex, chronicling the rhetoric, the programs, and the policies that became its hallmarks. He shows that well-known actions like the addition of the words ""under God"" to the Pledge of Allegiance were a small part of a much larger and relatively unexplored program that promoted religion nationwide. Herzog shows how these efforts played out in areas of American life both predictable and unexpected--from pulpits and presidential appeals to national faith drives, military training barracks, public school classrooms, and Hollywood epics. Millions of Americans were bombarded with the message that the religious could not be Communists, just a short step from the all-too-common conclusion that the irreligious could not be true Americans. Though the spiritual-industrial complex declined in the 1960s, its statutes, monuments, and sentiments live on as bulwarks against secularism and as reminders that the nation rests upon the groundwork of religious faith. They continue to serve as valuable allies for those defending the place of religion in American life."

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Jonathan Herzog provides [an] excellent overview of the larger story of religion in the early Cold War years and its influence of American foreign policy. ... Herzog provides expansive and effective scholarly explanations of the overarching narrative. --Journal of Cold War Studies A valuable scholarly contribution to what appears an emerging subgenre of Cold War studies focused on the role of religion. Herzog builds on existing scholarship, adding a great deal of detail and new material from a wide range of sources and archives that he has effectively mined to produce a compelling narrative, informed by thought-provoking perspectives. Erudite, well written, and a very good read, the book will appeal to a wide audience. It will fascinate and entertain scholars within the field as well as a more general readership. --American Historical Review Jonathan Herzog skillfully illuminates how religion shaped the rhetoric, symbols, and policies of the early Cold War. In the United States, battling Communism became a purposefully orchestrated campaign for the soul of humankind. --Melvyn P. Leffler, University of Virginia Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, The Spiritual-Industrial Complex makes a valuable contribution to our growing understanding of the important role of religion in U.S. politics and foreign relations in the twentieth century. With an eye for vivid detail, Jonathan Herzog shows how politicians, priests, ministers, businessmen, editors, and other civic leaders defined the United States in contrast to the atheistic Soviet Union, sincerely exhorted Americans to revive their religious faith, and employed religion as a weapon in the conflict between democracy and communism. --David S. Foglesong, author of The American Mission and the Evil Empire This detailed account of the uses American politicians made of religion during the early Cold War casts much needed light on the dynamics of secularization and anti-seculariz

<br> Jonathan Herzog skillfully illuminates how religion shaped the rhetoric, symbols, and policies of the early Cold War. In the United States, battling Communism became a purposefully orchestrated campaign for the soul of humankind. -Melvyn P. Leffler, University of Virginia<p><br> Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, The Spiritual-Industrial Complex makes a valuable contribution to our growing understanding of the important role of religion in U.S. politics and foreign relations in the twentieth century. With an eye for vivid detail, Jonathan Herzog shows how politicians, priests, ministers, businessmen, editors, and other civic leaders defined the United States in contrast to the atheistic Soviet Union, sincerely exhorted Americans to revive their religious faith, and employed religion as a weapon in the conflict between democracy and communism. -David S. Foglesong, author of The American Mission and the Evil Empire <p><br> This detailed account of the uses American polit

The Spiritual-Industrial Complex is a sophisticated addition to our understanding of the complexities of religion and politics in Cold War America. William Inboden, Diplomatic History Jonathan Herzog provides an excellent overview of the larger story of religion in the early Cold War years and its influence of American foreign policy. ... Herzog provides expansive and effective scholarly explanations of the overarching narrative. Journal of Cold War Studies

Jonathan Herzog provides [an] excellent overview of the larger story of religion in the early Cold War years and its influence of American foreign policy...Herzog provides expansive and effective scholarly explanations of the overarching narrative. --Journal of Cold War Studies A valuable scholarly contribution to what appears an emerging subgenre of Cold War studies focused on the role of religion. Herzog builds on existing scholarship, adding a great deal of detail and new material from a wide range of sources and archives that he has effectively mined to produce a compelling narrative, informed by thought-provoking perspectives. Erudite, well written, and a very good read, the book will appeal to a wide audience. It will fascinate and entertain scholars within the field as well as a more general readership. --American Historical Review Jonathan Herzog skillfully illuminates how religion shaped the rhetoric, symbols, and policies of the early Cold War. In the United States, battling Communism became a purposefully orchestrated campaign for the soul of humankind. --Melvyn P. Leffler, University of Virginia Thoroughly researched and engagingly written, The Spiritual-Industrial Complex makes a valuable contribution to our growing understanding of the important role of religion in U.S. politics and foreign relations in the twentieth century. With an eye for vivid detail, Jonathan Herzog shows how politicians, priests, ministers, businessmen, editors, and other civic leaders defined the United States in contrast to the atheistic Soviet Union, sincerely exhorted Americans to revive their religious faith, and employed religion as a weapon in the conflict between democracy and communism. --David S. Foglesong, author of The American Mission and the Evil Empire This detailed account of the uses American politicians made of religion during the early Cold War casts much needed light on the dynamics of secularization and anti-secularization. Herzog also shows how the religion-in-general enthusiasms of the Eisenhower era were supplanted by the more sectarian impulses of the Religious Right of the Reagan Era. --David A. Hollinger, University of California, Berkeley Jonathan Herzog's The Spiritual-Industrial Complex is an eye-opening account of the role organized religion played in fomenting anti-communism in early Cold War America. Every chapter is anchored by brilliant new research. This book is destined to be a Cold War history classic. --Douglas Brinkley, Rice University Herzog's insights into the early years of the cold war are impressive, and the meticulously researched work represents a solid contribution to both the history of that era and the history of religion in America. --Publishers Weekly This is really a great book that reveals much new material about a crucial epoch in U.S. history --Al Menendez, Voice of Reason Herzog convincingly and articulately reveals the institutionalization of the Cold War dichotomy. --CHOICE

Author Information

Jonathan P. Herzog is a member of the U.S. Foreign Service. Prior to joining the State Department, he held positions at Stanford University, the Hoover Institution, and the University of Oregon. He holds a Ph.D. in American history from Stanford.

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