John Kennedy was famous for being the first (and only) Catholic President to have been elected. But why did it matter? The reason why so many paid attention to John’s religious affiliation was because of the tension between Protestant and the Catholic presence at the time.
Generations ago, the influx of immigrants of Irish Catholic flooded the East Coast. The Protestant Yankees resented their presence and felt anxious that their position over the city would soon be jeopardized. Soon, discrimination from both sides followed. And now in the mid-nineteenth century, Protestants were starting to feel that same pressure in the political arena. Catholic officials were starting to be elected in high offices such as senators or governers particularly after WW2(Burns,238).Another worry was that of the papal authority over Catholics. As stated, in the Vatican Council of 1870, the pope was infallible in all cases. Many feared that the papacy would have influence over national policy in America, a nation proud of its seperation of church and state. The anticipated spheres of influence ranged from education to medicine(Burns,239).
Kennedy himself never made a display of his religon and was firm in his belief in the seperation of Church and State(Burns, 241). As he states “Nobody in my church gives me orders. It doesn’t work that way….Besides, I can’t act as a private individual does; my responsibility is to my constituents and to the Constitution.”(Burns, 243) Ironically, many Catholic officials criticized him for pushing his religion into “private life”(Burns,247). Strangely enough, Kennedy had never faced such strong interests by others until then. He had not experienced anti-Catholic bias before(Burns, 241).
This wasn’t the first time a Catholic had ran for Presiadent. Al Smith was also a Catholic that made it clear of his devotion to seperation of Church and State(Burns,240). So what was the difference? One was the time Al ran for the 1928 presidency while Kennedy would be running more than 30 years after. That was pleanty of time for the social view of Catholics to change and allow for Catholics to adapt from their immigrant status. Another was their image. Al Smith purposely ran under the image of who he was. He presented himself as a city boy from the slums.(Burns, 252) Meanwhile Kennedy, was “a member of the Senate’s ‘inner club’, holder of a Harvard honorary degree and a Harvard overseer…..a long way from the Irish cottage and the Boston slum.”(Burns, 237)
So what can we learn from this incident? Well, learning the truth of Kennedy’s views on religion and state can help us in determining the views of others despite the rumors or what others say. We also can see a bit more on the impact of America’s devotion to the seperation of church and state. The election of Kennedy not only shows America’s ability to stay true to its foundations but also a barrier being overcome. Studying Kennedy can show us how to overcome other barriers in society.
Works Cited
Burns, James. John Kennedy A Political Profile. New York: Harcourt,Brace &Company, 236-252. Print.
Does Kennedy’s election show “Americans’ devotion to the separation of church and state,” or does the fact that his religious affiliation became an issue at all show how dominant Protestantism has been in American history? One way of reading the controversy over Kennedy is to conclude that the United States enjoys a great deal of religious freedom. On the other hand, the controversy might be interpreted as a sign of the limited range of religious freedom (true, he was not Protestant and managed to be elected, but we have yet to elect a Muslim or Jewish president), as a sign of the privatization of religion in American life (you can believe whatever you want as long as you don’t bring it into the public sphere), or even as a sign of how “class” trumps “religion” in American life (did the Harvard degree and political legacy of the Kennedy family prove more powerful than the concerns about Catholicism?).
If you’re interested in Kennedy’s campaign, you might want to check out the documentary *The Primary*, which contains footage of Kennedy’s campaigning and may have scenes related to this.