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Contemporary Theological Approaches And The Political Role Of The Anglo-American Protestant Denominations In An Urban Complex

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Contemporary Theological Approaches And The Political Role Of The Anglo-American Protestant Denominations In An Urban Complex

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Content This dissertation has been
microfilmed exactly as received 6 7 -1 0 ,7 5 9
CHAPMAN, Ernest Eugene, 1924-
CONTEMPORARY THEOLOGICAL APPROACHES AND
THE POLITICAL ROLE OF THE ANGLO-AMERICAN
PROTESTANT DENOMINATIONS IN AN URBAN COMPLEX.
University of Southern California, Ph.D„ 1967
Political Science, general
University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ernest Eugene Chapman
All Rights Reserved
1967
CONTEMPORARY THEOLOGICAL APPROACHES AND THE POLITICAL
ROLE OF THE ANGLO-AMERICAN PROTESTANT
DENOMINATIONS IN AN URBAN COMPLEX
by
Ernest Eugene Chapman
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(Political Science)
June 1967
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY PARK
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 9 0 0 0 7
This dissertation, written by
...... ERWEST..^GE^.GHAPMAH...........
under the direction of his.....Dissertation Com
mittee, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by the Graduate
School, in partial fulfillment of requirements
for the degree of
D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y
jg y g g f e a ...
Dean
D a te ...............
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
..
r) C jfairm an/
/Lrv.—^ C ' ■ T n iVVJ)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter
I.
II.
III.
IV.
INTRODUCTION ..............................
Purpose and Dimension of the Study
Theology and Political Issues
Urban Problems and Political Community
Judgmental Role of the Denominational
Clergy
Objective of the Study
Research Methodology
Source Materials
Organization of the Study
THEOLOGICAL APPROACHES ....................
Conservative Theology
Liberal Theology
Neo-Orthodox Theology
Ecumenical Theology
Existential Theology
NATIONAL LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
AFFECTING THE POLITICAL ROLE OF THE
DENOMINATIONS ...........................
Separation of Church and State
Post-Protestant America
Methods of Political Influence
Religious Associations in Post-Protestant
America
LOCAL FACTORS RELATED TO THE POLITICAL ROLE
OF THE DENOMINATIONS ....................
Page
1
37
. 77
137
Los Angeles County
Chapter Page
Fragmented Power Structure
1. Legal and Political Traditions
2. Distribution of Authoritative
Decision-Making Power
- - Demographic Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
V. POLITICAL ATTITUDES OF THE CLERGY . . . 185
Conservativism and Liberalism
Supreme Court Decisions
Political Parties
Controversial Issues
VI. POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF THE DENOMINATIONS
Proposition Fourteen— 1964
Denominational Activities— 1965-19 66
Ecumenical Organizational Activities
Individual Church Activities
Epilogue
IN LOS ANGELES 213
APPENDIX 267
BIBLIOGRAPHY 275
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION j
i
I
j
Purpose and Dimension of the Study i
The purpose of this study was to determine what
j
religious associations are doing to assist in making the !
modern urban complex a political community.1 Religious
associations have an important influence on this process of
integration, because religious and political belief systems
are the foundation of the political community.2 Apparently |
in modern society religious and political leaders have not
1Sebastian de Grazia, The Political Community j
(Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1948), p. 189. j
The intellectual articulation of what makes a political
community has been the goal of philosophers since Plato and
Aristotle. What is involved in this type of community was
succinctly stated by de Grazia: " A political community
exists among men who regard each other as brothers. But
they will not think of themselves as a brotherhood until
they have and avow filial love and faith for their ruler
and for their God."
^In the United States particularly the belief system
associated with business is a third belief system. Its com
petitive directive is in opposition to the directive of
cooperation emanating from the other two belief systems.
1
been able to adjust the content of the belief systems suf
ficiently to cope with the physical developments taking
place. In 1938, Lewis Mumford wrote:
Looking back over the course of Western civiliza
tion since the fifteenth century, it is fairly plain
that mechanical integration and social disruption
have gone on side by side. Our capacity for effective
physical organization has enormously increased; but
our ability to create a harmonious counterpoise to
these external linkages by means of co-operative and
civic associations on both a regional and a world
wide basis, like the Christian Church in the Middle
Ages, has not kept pace with these mechanical
triumphs.3
The coexistence of mechanical integration with social dis
ruption has continued into the present decade.
If the religious and political belief systems must
be mutually supportive as the basis for a political commu
nity, then it is important to determine what the religious
associations' belief systems are and what these associa
tions are doing to further the reality of a political com
munity. What they are doing is important in each type of
community— national, state, and local. This study is con
cerned with one kind of local community, the metropolitan
^Lewis Mumford, The Culture of Cities (New York:
Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1938), p. 7.
3 !
area.
Because of limitations of time and funds available
i
for research, this study is limited to a selected group of |
the religious associations in the Los Angeles metropolitan
area. These religious associations meet the following j
criteria: Anglo-American associations, that is, those i
religious associations founded either in the British Isles
i
i
or in the United States but akin to their British brethren
i
l
in religious practices; active participants in the South- j
i
I
ern California Council of Churches; and the denominations j
j
included within the transforming wing of the Calvinist j
tradition in contradistinction to the perfectionist wing j
j
of that tradition. As a result of utilizing these cri- !
i
j
jteria, the study will be dealing with the "mainline" |
j j
Protestant denominations in the Los Angeles areaJ
The restriction of the study to the religious
associations meeting these criteria seems valid for several
^The major denominations included are: The Meth
odist Church (The Evangelical United Brethren Church has
recently voted to merge with The Methodist Church); similar
ly organized Negro Methodist associations; The United Pres
byterian Church; The American Baptist Convention and the
;Negro National Baptist Convention; The Protestant Episcopal
Church in the United States; The United Church of Christ;
and The Disciples of Christ.
reasons. First, the denominations included within this '
segment of Christianity have been the ones most closely
i
associated with the middle class value system embodied
within the American culture. For good or ill, denomina
tional clergy have more frequently thought and acted in I
terms of this value system than have the clergy in other ;
religious associations. Therefore, the denominational j
i
clergy have a familiarity through association and partici- |
pation in the organizational activities of the dominant ;
!
}
groups in the community with their political attitudes and j
behavior. j
Second, following from this association between the j
i
denominational clergy's approach to secular life xn the |
!
community and the existing cultural pattern, their churches j
are often the prestigious churches. The political and j
socioeconomic leaders of the area are frequently found on j
the membership roles of such churches. As a result of thisj
j
i
type of membership through their pastoral functions the
influence of the denominational clergy may be more effec
tive and widespread than it would be in less prestigious
churches.
Third, even though the denominations have been
closely associated with the dominant cultural pattern in
America, they are more likely than other religious associa-!
tions to acknowledge and accommodate themselves to the
changing pattern of societal existence in the modern urban
complex. Their doctrinal positions embody the belief that j
a personal activism directed toward achieving a transform- j
ination of the world into a place in which greater harmony |
of life with life is both desirable and attainable. The j
: |
achievement of this kind of world is possible through the j
i
i
help of God despite the sinful nature of man.
Fourth, because each of the denominations has some
form of centralized church government, they are in some
| I
measure able to transcend the authority and influence of j
the local congregations. Consequently, the denominations'
leaders are often able to act in the interest of the com
munity as a whole rather than to serve as an instrument i
1
j
of justification for the personal values of an individual
congregation, which appears to be the case in many local
churches.
Fifth, historically, the denominations have exer
cised considerable influence on the political development
of the nation. Many of the denominational clergy and laity
exercised leadership>and influence in the process of estab
lishing the republic's political institutions on a rational
basis in order to further the cause of liberty with order, j
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many
i
i
churchmen in the denominations were actively involved in
- m * j
the social gospel movement. This movement was based on the j
recognition of the need to satisfy the material as well as |
the spiritual welfare of men in this world. The social j
gospel movement encouraged both private organizational
activity and governmental intervention through legislation
i
to assist the less fortunate citizens attain a higher
j
standard of living. In many ways this movement was the j
precursor of the contemporary civil rights movement. At
!
the present time, there are large numbers of denominationalj
i
clergy and laity engaged in the civil rights movement and
its corollary, the war on poverty. Modern denominational
theologians have also recognized the necessity for a new
j
theological approach in order to give the denominations j
a philosophical basis for seeking solutions to modern
:
urban problems.
Theology and Political Issues
An important reason for the significance of the
denominations to the political community is their contribu-
jtions to and acceptance of the concept of the secularized
state. Two attributes of the theology of the transforming
wing of Calvinism, individualism and rationalism, have con- j
{
tributed a great deal to the secularization of political |
institutions in America.
Since the Reformation period, the secularization of I
the state has become a fact to be considered in any study
concerning government in America. At the time of the j
Reformation, both Martin Luther and John Calvin were the
primary catalytic agents responsible for advancing the j
secularization process. Their systematic theology, which j
1
emphasized individual responsibility for redemption and !
I |
salvation, contributed to limiting the spiritual authority
.claimed by the Roman Catholic hierarchy over the temporal
iauthority. Ultimately, the theology of Calvin was respons-
;ible for limiting the influence of the denominational
i
clergy on the decisions of political leaders. In his !
theology he placed the responsibility on men for their
;efforts to transform the world, and from this it logically
followed that all citizens, and not primarily the clergy,
should have a part in determining the direction of the life
I of the political community.
Rationalism also contributed to the demise of the
: concept of an organic community where, for the most part,
8 |
each man performed the duties appropriate to his inherited :
status in life. The organic concept of the community in
which church and state were not separate entities was
prevalent prior to the Reformation period. Rationalism I
furthered the process of secularization of the state by
placing stress and hope on the reasoning capability of men !
to understand their environmental arrangement, and to act I
i
on the basis of a rational system of ethics in tune with j
I
i
the laws of nature. !
As a corollary to rationalism, the methodology of
r
scientific investigation made a significant contribution j
i
i
to the secularization of the temporal authority. By |
utilizing this methodology, scientists were able to ex
plain objectively (as natural and to some extent control
lable occurrences) many phenomena which were once attrib- j
I
uted to God's pleasure or displeasure. Consequently,
political leaders no longer needed to rely on a theoretical
|
i
concept of divine approbation in order to assist in pro
viding a satisfactory environmental set-up for the people.
Secularization of the state, which helped to make
existing democratic institutions possible, also helped to
make a political community based on associational plural
ism a reality. Numerous religious associations exist in
9 I
j
the modern American metropolitan areas. Therefore, al- i
though the denominations included in this study were once !
the dominant religious associations in America, they are
now only one influential religious group among several. |
But even more important for the political effec- j
tiveness of the denominations than their minority status j
as religious associations is the fact that the type of
individualism and rationalism associated with Calvinist |
i
theology is no longer appropriate to life in the highly
interdependent but pluralistic modern urban complex. This
]
part of Calvinist theology has tended to isolate man from
man with an attendant impersonalization of society and has j
i
helped to prevent the establishment of a political commu- |
i
l
nity in metropolis.
Denominational clergy are becoming aware of the
need for altering the denominations' theological approach.
Since the second World War, rapidly accelerating quantita
tive changes have created environmental conditions which
seem to indicate a qualitative change in the shape and
style of living. This is especially true of the indus
trialized nations of the world. As a result of these
changes, there is considerable speculation by theologians
and others about the nature of the political community in
10
such a stage of transition.
At this time, the idea that civilization, particu- !
|
larly in regard to metropolitan areas, is in a transitional
stage from one type of cultural ethos to another has been
i
elaborated on by academicians from various disciplines. ]
Harvey Cox, a theologian, in his theoretical analysis of
C
the problems of the modern city, and Gabriel Almond and
Sydney Verba, political scientists, in their study of the
civic culture,^ are examples. I
These three scholars agree on a three stage devel-
j
opmental process in the historical progression of Western j
European civiliza" n. Cox described the development of j
[
this civilization as progressing from the communal stage
i
i
of tribal relationships to the type of individualism con- j
sistent with town relationships; then in the third stage
|
it progressed to the anonymity, mobility, pragmatism, and
profanity of the technopolis. For Almond and Verba, the
^Harvey Cox, The Secular City (New York: The Mac
millan Co., 1965), passim.
^Gabriel Almond and Sydney Verba, The Civic Cul-
;ture (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963),
;passim.
11 I
progression begins with the familial ties of the parochial !
culture which is similar to the tribal stage described by
Cox. The second stage of development is characterized by
Almond and Verba as a subject culture in which most people i
are dependent upon the elite for leadership and guidance.
They describe the third stage as being a participant cul
ture in which more people than in the second stage are
involved in the authoritative decision-making process.
j
Their third stage would correspond, loosely, to both the j
: ' !
I
second and third stages of development as described by j
Cox. In both analyses, the three stages of development
are not discontinuous. Therefore, elements of all three
i
stages are found to exist together in the modern urban I
complex. The third or present stage is apparent but not
yet clearly defined.
i
In such a transitional period from one stage of |
i
development to another, uncertainties about what ought to
; be done to establish a political community necessarily
I
arise. In addition to these uncertainties, significant
portions of the populace hold back from accepting or deal-
; ing with the meaning for the community of the environmental
j changes that are taking place.
j
| The denominations have had a philosophy of politi-
cal action consistent with the middle class value system !
of a small town and rural America.^ The process of finding!
i
and identifying with a theological approach that will give
the denominations a philosophical basis for acting posi- |
! I
tively in regard to the problems of the technopolis is a
difficult and controversial one. Existential theology
seems to be the most appropriate one for this purpose and i
j
will be considered in some detail in this study.
|
Urban Problems and Political Community
f
With the advent of the civil rights movement in j
i
the last half of this century, there has been a trend on
the part of the denominational clergy to take a more pro-
I
;
gressive attitude and approach toward the changes taking
place in the modern urbanized areas. The success of the
j
civil rights movement, including the so-called "war on
poverty," has provided an objective means by which the
effectiveness of the denominations' activities in achieving
^It is not surprising that the denominational
clergy, until recently, have been largely on the side of
the conservative forces in the modern society, since the
spokesmen for conservativism have tended to defend the
value system associated with the town and rural areas.
i
L
13
a political community in the Los Angeles area can be
judged.
Racial and ethnic discrimination and poverty are
the most urgent problems yet unsolved which inhibit the
development of a political community in Los Angeles. Many
community leaders including the clergy have been seeking to
i
obtain satisfactory answers to these problems. j
i
!
In the United States, the civil rights movement has j
j
provided a means for focusing attention on these serious
i
i
i
problems. It has accelerated some of the political and j
i
i
social developments which have been in the process of reali--
zation within the national community since its inception. S
The inauguration of the civil rights movement itself would
seem to be a manifestation of the conflict, which has
existed since the nation was established, between the
principles on which the democratic institutions are based
and their application within the community. i
: One of the important developments which has been
considerably accelerated by the success of the movement is
political equality. The principle of political equality
had been most flagrantly abused in the South where the
political inequality of the Negro was justified because of
|his supposed racial inferiority. The civil rights movement
14
has succeeded in its efforts to gain political equality to
the extent that now the moral authority of the national
government in conjunction with the sanctions at its dis
posal is being employed to assure every citizen the right
to vote and to have his vote carry as much weight as the
vote of any other citizen. In the past political eguality
:has aided other ethnic minorities to achieve integration
into the community as well as a higher standard of living.
Therefore, it is likely that political equality will give
the currently underprivileged ethnic and racial minorities
a lever for attaining these things.
However, under the mid-twentieth century conditions
of greatly facilitated means of transportation and commu
nication, it appears that the progress of presently under
privileged groups may be too minimal for them to achieve
integration (with the middle class) and a comparatively
higher socioeconomic status. The various dislocations in
i the equilibrium in urban areas and especially in the large
metropolitan areas are evidence that the progress of ab-
;sorption of these groups into the mainstream of prosperous
middle class America is not proceeding rapidly enough.8 '
Outside of some areas in the South, political
equality of all racial and ethnic groups is legally recog- j
nized and functions reasonably well.. However, some people,!
in other parts of the country as well as in the South,
suffer in other ways as a result of the gap between the
abstract democratic principles and their application in !
the community.
j
On a deeper level than legal political equality,
the civil rights movement, as well as ancillary movements j
such as the student protest movement, are outward manifes- J
i
tations of an underlying search for meaning and purpose
for all people in an urban and technological society. The
philosophical basis for this quest is that in a free so-
!
ciety each person’s decisions concerning his own fulfill-
j
ment in this life should depend on his individual will and
conscience. In order to achieve this goal, the quest is
:
likely to go beyond a simple demand for political equality
which does not by itself provide the conditions necessary
for the freedom to make responsible choices. This freedom,
^The recent riots in Los Angeles and Chicago are
examples of this type of disturbance in metropolitan areas.
unrestricted by prejudice and poverty, is the essential !
ingredient of maturity for the individual.
i
Furthermore, political equality does not make up .
for the sense of aimlessness which accompanies the absence j
i
of a viable and humane community in the modern technopolis.j
This feeling of aimlessness is also enhanced in indus
trialized urban areas by the realization that survival is !
► • |
no longer dependent upon the utilization of physical labor
in the productive processes. This realization is especial
ly disconcerting in a world in which there is a plethora
j
of people to do the minimal required physical labor neces- j
I
sary for survival.
In the Los Angeles area, the denominational clergy
have taken an active part in the civil rights movement in
I
order to assist in achieving the goal of a political com- I
munity. The new theological approach, existential theol
ogy,® has provided the philosophical basis for their
efforts.
9Situation ethics is another term also used to
denote this kind of approach.
17 |
!
Judgmental Role of the Denominational Clergy
In theory, at least, the clergy have a means of
transcending and uniting all parts of the population into j
|
a political community. The means is their judgmental role j
which is exercised in terms of the eschatological doc
trines of the Christian ethic. In fulfilling this functionj
in society, the clergy, through teaching, serving as
neutral parties in community disputes, and exerting pres
sure and leadership through organizational activities,
provide a means for integrating and uniting the area. In i
these ways the clergy exercise a leadership roles in find
ing a meaningful existence for each individual within the
context of a changing environmental situation.
It is to the advantage of the metropolitan areas I
that the clergy assume and fulfill this sort of role. The
representatives of religious associations are not alone in
seeking answers to the difficult problems of urban life.
In their approach to political issues, however, religious
associations through their representatives have advantages
which secular associations do not possess in the same de
gree. According to Murray Stedman, professor of Government
and chairman of the Department at Trinity College, Hart-
18 i
i
i
ford, Connecticut, the clergy have some advantages over
the representatives of secular associations such as.those I
coming under the general heading of labor, education, and j
the press, when it comes to passing judgment on significant!
issues. One advantage is a greater sense of moral aware
ness, that is, an ability to grasp the moral implications j
of great issues. Another advantage is the clergy's |
j
greater sense of history and of the continuity of human \
j
development.11 0 I
i
There is justifiable concer i that the clergy's j
efforts to contribute to the solution of political and j
i
social problems has been, if not entirely lacking, cer- j
tainly at a minimal level. Be that as it may, religious
associations such as the denominations have periodically
asserted themselves in so called revivals and awakenings.
Once again the denominations are involved in a process of
moral awakening and revival. What they are doing to
assist in achieving a political community in Los Angeles
' L0Murray S. Stedman, Jr., Religion and Politics
in America (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1964) ,
p. 18.
is part of this process.
Objective of the Study j
I
The purpose of this study is to investigate the j
political role of one group of religious associations, the •
Anglo-American denominations, in an urban complex. The j
j
civil rights movement including its various ancillary j
movements has clearly demonstrated the lack of a type of
regional community which can meet the material and psycho- j
logical needs of all its residents. Religious associa-
tions have a vital part in such a movement the objective j
j
of which is to secure a more viable and humane society
than has been the situation in Los Angeles. The denomina
tions have exercised a very active leadership role in
this movement in this area. What they have been doing to ;
create a political community and the philosophical basis
on which they are acting are examined in this study.
i
Research Methodology
Because political scientists have not been greatly
concerned with this type of investigation, a specific
methodological approach is lacking. It is necessary to
20
utilize the available techniques and apply them to an
investigation of the political activities of the denomina- ;
tions.
The interview was the major technique employed. In
order to structure the interviews with the clergy, a
questionnaire was prepared. (See Appendix A for copy of
questionnaire.) The questionnaire was filled out by the I
researcher during the interviews. The clergy were encour- j
i
aged to editorialize on the questions if time permitted.
f
Depending upon the time the clergy could make available,
t
interviews were as short as thirty minutes and as long as !
1
four hours. In all cases, interviews took place in the j
i
office or home of the clergyman. There were thirty-two
interviews in which the questionnaire was utilized. How- j
i
!
ever, a total of fifty-one clergymen from the various |
denominations and from other religious associations were |
I
interviewed. The clergy representing churches located in I
i
different socioeconomic, ethnic or racial, and geographical!
j
areas in Los Angeles County were covered. Interviews were
also held with the clergy in charge of administrative
departments in the various headquarters of the denomina
tions .
In addition, interviews were conducted with gov-
21 j
eminent and private officials in the Los Angeles area who
were working on community projects in conjunction with the J
denominational clergy. Furthermore, in many instances,
conversations with secretaries of both the clergy and
government officials provided a great deal of information
pertinent to the study. The secretaries were also able to ;
make available material such as pamphlets, brochures,
mimeographed statements, and other written documents which
were most helpful.
The results of the interviews were used in several
ways. They were used in determining the opinions of the
i
i
denominational clergy on the various aspects of church- I
state relations and on the problems of urban living in
the Los Angeles area. In some parts of the study, particu
larly in Chapter Five, the data acquired in the interviews ;
was used in statistical analysis and comparisons of the j
clergys1 opinions about church-state relations and urban j
problems. The information gained from the editorializing
of the clergy in regard to the questions provided a very
important part of the background for the entire study.
Finally, the results of the interviews were used in deter
mining and describing the ecumenical, the denominational,
and the church activities related to the political life of
22
the Los Angeles area.
Source Materials
Studies concerned with the effect of contemporary
theological approaches on the political role of religious
associations and their clergy as leaders in the task of
creating a political community in metropolitan areas are
i
i
lacking. There have been numerous studies of the writings j
of theologians in relation to their positions on church
and state. Reilly's "Contemporary Thought on Church and
l
State: An Analysis of the Work of Jacques Maritain and j
John Courtney Murray"H is one example. Studies of the
influence of religious interest groups on government may
also be found. Pratt's study of the Protestant Council of
the City of New York covered one ecumenical organizational ;
activity that sought to influence the authoritative deci
sion-making process in that city.12
11John E. Reillyf "Contemporary Thought on Church
and State: An Analysis of the Work of Jacques Maritain and
John Courtney Murray" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation,
Department of Political Science, Harvard, 1961).
12Henry J. Pratt, "The Protestant Council of the
! City of New York as a Political Interest Group" (unpub-
! lished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Political Science,
| Columbia, 1962).
23 j
Political scientists have a stake in studying and
analyzing the effect religious associations have on politi—
cal life in the secular community. In this regard
Sebastian de Grazia has emphasized the mutual support
which religious and political belief systems should have
for each other in order to provide the basis for a politi
cal community. a recent survey of the effect religious
associations have on American politics is Stedman's
j
Religion and Politics in America. T o obtain a wide
range of views concerned with the relationship between
religion and politics, two collections of articles by '
j
political scientists and others are useful: Smith and
Jamison's two volumes, Religion in American Life^ and
Raab's Religious Conflict in A m e r i c a . - ^
-*-^De Grazia, op. cit., Chapters 2-3.
■^Stedman, op. cit.
■^James Ward Smith and A. Leland Jamison (eds.),
Religion in American Life: Religious Perspectives in
American Culture (2 vols., Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1961) .
l^Earl Raab (ed.), Religious Conflict in America:
Studies in the Problems Beyond Bigotry (New York: Double
day and Co., 1964) .
The history of church-state relations in America
is most thoroughly covered in the three volumes, Church and;
State in the United States^ by Canon Stokes and published
in 1950. Recently these three volumes have been admirably
revised and condensed into one volume by Leo Pfeffer.
Pfeffer is also the author of a book. Church, State, and
Freedom,-*-8 which emphasized the constitutional aspects
of the division of labor between church and state in
America. Pfeffer has included much of his earlier work,
as well as recent constitutional interpretations by the j
United States Supreme Court, in the revised, Church and ;
State in the United States.
Two general surveys of the historical and theologi
cal development of Protestantism, Dillenberger and Welch's
-^Anson Phelps Stokes, Church and State in the
United States (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1950).
-*-®Leo Pfeffer, Church, State, and Freedom (Boston:
Beacon Press, 1953).
•^Anson Phelps Stokes and Leo Pfeffer, Church and
State in the United States (New York: Harper and Row Pub
lishers, 1964).
Protestant Christianity20 and Brown's The Spirit of Pro
testantism, 21 assisted in placing the Anglo-American de
nominations in the proper perspective within the broad
scope of Protestant development. Because it traces the
historical development of American Protestantism in !
regard to its effect on religious associational pluralism
in the modern community, Littell's From State Church to
Pluralism22 was beneficial. In a more general way than j
i
Littell does, Niebuhr discusses the relationship between |
Christian ethics and democratic government in Nations and j
E m p i r e s . 23 More concerned with the effect Christian |
I
ethics has had, specifically, on American political devel- j
i
opment, Niebuhr and Heimert collaborated on a succeeding j
i
___________________ i
.1 — ■ .— I- I , i . , , , . I , i i
2®John Dillenberger and Claude Welch, Protestant
Christianity (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1954).
2-^-Robert McAfee Brown, The Spirit of Protestantism
(2nd. ed. rev.; New York: Oxford University Press, 1965).
22Franklin Hamlin Littell, From State Church to
Pluralism: A Protestant Interpretation of Religion in
American History (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co.,
1962).
23Reinhold Niebuhr, Nations and Empires: Recurring
Patterns in the Political Order (London: Faber and Faber,
1959).
work, A Nation So Conceived.24
A knowledge of the writings of theologians was
essential to the accomplishment of this study. Particu
larly important for this purpose were the works of theo
logians who are concerned with how contemporary religious
associations can help modern man in becoming part of a
meaningful community in this world. In this regard, the
personal reflections and soul searching of Bonhoeffer,^5
a clergyman writing under considerable strain in a Nazi
j
prison, are informative. Tillich has written a great deal j
as a theologian and as an academician, but two of his
i
books, the companion works— The Shaking of the Founda- j
i
2 6 2 7 I
tions and The New Being^ '— were most useful for this j
i
study. These two books were compilations of sermons which I
i
i
i
|
^ R e i n h o l d Niebuhr and Alan Heimert, A Nation So i
Conceived; Reflections on the history of America from its j
early visions to its present power (New York: Charles j
Scribner's Sons, 1963). j
2 5 ^
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from ;
Prison, (trans.) Reginald H. Fuller (New York: The Mac
millan Co., 1953).
2 fi
Paul Tillich, The Shaking of the Foundations
(New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948).
2 7
Paul Tillich, The New Being (New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1955).
27
Professor Tillich, for the most part, delivered at Union
Theological Seminary. These sermons make available a
fairly concise statement of his approach to Christian
existential theology.
Two Anglican bishops have contributed to the fur
ther development and acceptance of existential theology in j
the present decade. In Doing the Truth,28 Bishop Pike
explains how individuals should make major decisions j
affecting their lives on the basis of Christian ethics and j
|
not in terms of the established mores, religious or secu- j
lar, of the society. In Honest to God^ and The New Refor-1
i
mation,30 Bishop Robinson offers his critical appraisal of j
s
the established institution of the Christian Church, and
of its role in the community. Apparently, Bishop Robin
son's goal is the articulation of a lay theology which can :
28James A. Pike, Doing the Truth: A Summary of
Christian Ethics (2nd ed. rev.; New York: The Macmillan
Co., 1965) .
29
John A. T. Robinson, Honest to God (Philadelphia:
The Westminster Press, 1963).
30
John A. T. Robinson, The New Reformation (Phila
delphia: The Westminster Press, 1965).
28 !
meet the needs of the laity in a secularized community.
The changing function of the religious associations;
and their churches in the technopolis has also come under
scrutiny by contemporary theologians. Two of the most
noteworthy theoretical analyses of this function are Cox's ;
The Secular City^l and Winter's The New Creation as Metrop-^
olis.32 two collections of writings by churchmen, sociol- :
i
ogists, and social workers, The Church and Community I
Organization^ ana The Church and the Exploding Metrop- j
I
o l i s , 34 were useful because they illustrated how religious j
i
associations could apply Christian ethics to current prob- I
lems in the metropolitan areas. In this respect, methods j
|
of conflict and reconciliation have been utilized by I
i
denominational clergy in dealing with urban problems j
33-Harvey Cox, The Secular City; Secularization andj
Urbanization in Theological Perspective (New York: The I
Macmillan Co., 1965). I
i
32
Gibson Winter, The New Creation as Metropolis:
A design for the Church's task in an urban world (New York:
The Macmillan Co., 1963).
33j0hn R. Fry (ed.), The Church and Community Or
ganization (New York: National Council of Churches, 1965).
34
Robert Lee (ed.), The Church and the Exploding
Metropolis (Richmond: John^Knox Press, 1965).
29
through community organizations. Schaller has analyzed
the advantages of these two methods,35 and he concludes j
that ultimately reconciliation is the most satisfactory
method available for helping people to help themselves.
Sociologists have been active in the study and j
analysis of religious associations and their role in the
community. As one of the first sociologists to be con-
i
cerned about the influence of theology on secular activi- ;
i
i
ties, Weber has made significant contributions for this '
j
kind of study. In this regard, his analysis of the connec-j
i
i
tions between theology and the economic arena, and hence j
the political and social arenas, as the theme of The S
i
1
Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.36 helped to j
explain much about a society in the process of becoming
secularized. In a secularized society, Herberg's thesis !
is that the function of religious associations has been to j
j
serve as a means of identification for individuals in a
•^Lyle E. Schaller, Community Organization: Con
flict and Reconciliation (Nashville: Abingdon Press,
1966) .
36
Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of
1 Capitalism, (trans.) Talcott Parsons (New York: Charles
;Scribner's Sons, 1958).
30
society where personal relationships were temporary and j
people were highly mobile.37 The continuing analysis by
I
sociologists of the role of religious associations in the :
j
community is exemplified by Salisbury's Religion in Ameri- j
can Culture: A Sociological Interpretation.38 j
Sociologists have also made empirical studies of
i
religious associations and their impact on secular insti
tutions. Lenski's efforts to verify Herberg's thesis by
an empirical study of religious associations in the Detroit
area is an example.^ His work is a guide post for future
efforts in this kind of endeavor. In the same type of
empirical study, Schroeder and Obenhaus conducted an in- i
i
vestigation in a midwestern county.
•^Will Herberg, Protestant— Catholic— Jew: An |
Essay in American Religious Sociology (2nd. ed. rev.; Gar
den City: Doubleday and Co., 1960).
*3 Q
W. Seward Salisbury, Religion in American Cul
ture: A Sociological Interpretation (Homewood, 111.: The
Dorsey Press, 1964).
39
Gerhard Lenski, The Religious Factor: A Sociol
ogist' s Inquiry (Garden City: Doubleday and Co., 1963) .
40w. Widick Schroeder and Victor Obenhaus, Religion
in American Culture: Unity and Diversity in a Midwestern
County (London: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1964).
The difficulties associated with life in metropol- '
itan areas have resulted in more attention being given by
academicians to these problems and their analysis. A
recent general but thorough survey of metropolitan areas j
and their problems is The Metropolis: Its People, Poli- !
tics, and Economic Life.^ An informative study specific- |
ally dealing with the Los Angeles area and its special I
situation is Southern California Metropolis: A Study in
j
« 4 9 i
Development of Government for a Metropolitan Area. ^ In |
i
I
addition, the wealth of data and information available in j
Background for Planning...1963^ published by the Research j
Department of the Welfare Planning Council, Los Angeles
Region, is most useful to an objective appraisal and analy
sis of the problems unique to the Los Angeles metropolitan
area.
4-*-John C. Bollens and Henry J. Schmandt, The
Metropolis; Its People, Politics, and Economic Life (New
York: Harper and Row, 1965).
Winston W. Crouch and Beatrice Dmerman, South
ern California Metropolis: A Study in Development of
Government for a Metropolitan Area (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1963).
^Marchia Meeker, Background for Planning...1963
(Los Angeles: Research Department, Welfare Planning Coun
cil, Los Angeles Region, 1964).
32 !
. I
Understanding the authoritative decision-making
process in a community is essential to effective political j
|
action by voluntary associations such as the denominations.!
The use of the scientific method of analysis of this |
i
decision-making process by political scientists and polit- I
i
ical sociologists has considerably expanded the available
information on this subject. Some of the significant I
]
j
publications on this subject have been Hunter's Community j
M M [
Power Structure; A Study of Decision Makers,44 Dahl1s !
Who Governs: Democracy and Power in an American City, . ^5
and most recently, Agger, Goldrich, and Swanson's The
Rulers and the Ruled.^6 The latter publication was
especially fruitful for this study. Making use of their
l
i
predecessor's research and techniques of research and
adding some of their own, the authors were able to make
44
Floyd Hunter, Community Power Structure: A
Study of Decision Makers (Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press, 1953).
45
Robert A. Dahl, Who Governs: Democracy and Power
in an American City (New Haven: Yale University Press,
1961).
^Robert E. Agger, Daniel Goldrich, and Bert E.
Swanson, The Rulers and the Ruled (New York: John Wiley
and Sons, 1964).
33 j
i
I
inclusive generalizations about the nature of the decision- !
making process in the community.
The manner in which the shape and style of living
has been changing in the metropolis is thoughtfully pre
sented by Greer in Governing the Metropolis. ^ His pre
sentation of the changing pattern of living is valuable '
for an understanding of the kind of role churchmen are
called upon to fulfill in helping to achieve a political
community in Los Angeles. Banfield and Wilson's City Pol- |
i
j
itics^® was also useful for this understanding. j
I
For an analysis of the historical development of j
cities and their function for men, Mumford's The Culture \
j
of Cities^ remains an outstanding work of this type al
though it was published in 1938. With regard to a philos
ophy of the ideal life in a contemporary urban community, |
i
(
^Scott Greer, Governing the Metropolis (New York:
John Wiley and Sons, 1962).
48Edward C. Banfield and James Q. Wilson, City
Politics (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1963).
49
Mumford, op. cit.
34 |
!
Haworth has written a book called The Good City.50
As general background information for this study j
l
E*T
such books as Marty's The New Shape of American Religion, J \
Clark's The Christian Case Against Poverty,52 wilson and
Davis's The Church in the Racially Changing Community,53
Stringfellow's My People Is The E n e m y , 54 and Dirk's Reli
gion in Action5^ were invaluable.
A report^^ by a Special Committee on Church and j
Lawrence Haworth, The Good City (Bloomington,
Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1963).
51
Martin E. Marty, The New Shape of American Reli
gion (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1959).
52
Henry Clark, The Christian Case Agarnst Poverty
(New York: Association Press, 1965).
53
Robert L. Wilson and James H. Davis, The Church
in the Racially Changing Community (New York: Abingdon
Press, 1966).
54
William Stringfellow, My People Is The Enemy
(Garden City: Doubleday and Co., 1964).
5^Lee E. Dirks, Religion in Action: How America's
Faiths are Meeting New Challenges (Silver Springs, Md.:
Newsbook, The National Observer, 1965).
Relations Between Church and State, a Report of
the Special Committee on Relations Between Church and
State in the United States of America of The United Presby
terian Church in the United States of America (Philadel
phia: Office of the General Assembly, 1963).
35 |
i
State to the 175th General Assembly of the United Presby
terian Church was very beneficial in determining one of
j
the major denomination's positions on contemporary church- ;
state relationships. Furthermore the successful comple- |
tion of this study was aided immeasurably by the Los
Angeles Times1 coverage of the activities of religious
associations in the Los Angeles area. j
I
Organization of the Study j
|
Chapter I consists of an introduction to the j
problem to be dealt with in the study, the procedure used j
in obtaining the information for the study, and the source j
!
materials related to the study.
|
Chapter II is concerned with the five approaches |
j
Christians within the major Protestant denominations sub
scribe to concerning man's relationship to God, society,
|
and his fellowman, and the appropriateness of each ap
proach for facilitating the process of social change in the
modern urban complex.
i
Chapter III is a summarization of the national
legal and institutional factors which affect the political
role of the denominations in the United States.
Chapter IV includes a survey of the local factors
in the Los Angeles area which are related to the political !
efficacy of the denominations in making this metropolitan
area a political community.
Chapter V deals with the opinions and attitudes
of the denominational clergy toward church-state relations '
and toward urban problems with particular emphasis on the
Los Angeles area.
Chapter VI is a presentation of the ecumenical,
' |
denominational, and church activities related to the !
j
political life of the Los Angeles area. These activities
j
are described and analyzed in regard to their effective- '
ness in helping to achieve the goal of a political commu- I
nity in this metropolitan area.
CHAPTER II
THEOLOGICAL APPROACHES
Although efforts are being made to bring the
various Christian churches together to achieve the Chris
tian ethic of an inclusive brotherhood of man, the
sions remain.-*- The divisions are most apparent in
three major branches of Christianity: Protestant,
Catholic, and Orthodox.
But within Protestantism there are also disagree- j
i
ments based on theological considerations, seriously ;
affecting its efforts to influence the shape and style of
I
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ i
-*-Joseph H. Fichter, S.J., "Church Strategy in the
Metropolis: A Roman Catholic Viewpoint," The Church and
the Exploding Metropolis, Robert Lee (ed.) (Richmond: John
Knox Press, 1965), p. 102. "Social scientists never tire
of searching for the solidarity factor in religion. They
are haunted by the ghost of Durkheim, who thouglfe that reli
gion was both a product and a creator of social groups.
Religionists call this factor fellowship, or brotherhood,
or fraternal society, but they have also always faced the
problem of in-group solidarity and out-group hostility."
divi-
the
Roman
37
38
modern society.2 This chapter will examine the five 1
approaches Christians within the major Protestant denomina-
j
tions subscribe to concerning man's relationship to God, j
society, and his fellowman, and the appropriateness of
i
each for facilitating the process of social change in the !
modern urban complex. Neither the clergy or the laity in j
Protestantism are agreed on the social function of the i
i
church. Consequently, the individual churches and the j
i
I
j
denominations are divided internally on the social philoso-l
phy which ought to prevail in Protestantism toward the j
church's interaction with the community. j
Until recently, conservatism, liberalism, and neo- j
orthodoxy have been the theological approaches of the J
: g r e a t m a j o r i t y o f P r o t e s t a n t d e n o m in a t io n s and p r o f e s s i n g |
|
: Protestants."^ Robert McAfee Brown suggests that there is j
2Political analysts tend to categorize the three
'branches of Christianity as separate and united groupings.
Perhaps, it would be more useful for purposes of political
behavioral analysis to recognize these differences and to
classify Protestantism according to theological considera
tions within its ranks. See Seymour Lipset's article,
"Religion and Politics in American History," in Religious
, Conflict in America, ed. Earl Raab (Garden City: Doubleday
and Co., 1964), pp. 60-89.
i 3
W. Seward Salisbury, Religion in American Culture
: (Homewood, 111.: The Dorsey Press, 1964), p. 118.
39 |
a fourth approach, ecumenical theology, growing out of the !
awareness of the similarities among the denominations.^ ;
But most importantly, the problems created by such social
maladjustments as ethnic conflicts and the various secu
larisms^ in the modern world have given impetus to the
development of a fifth approach, existential theology. j
This last approach is able to provide a philosoph- ;
ical basis for a more active political and social role for j
the denominations in the community. One of the purposes j
|
of this study is to explore the possibilities for the
political role of the denominations in an urban complex j
through accepting existential theology as the basis for a j
social philosophy.
It is important to understand what is involved in
I
I
each of these five theological approaches in order to j
comprehend the lack of group cohesiveness which affects j
i
j
the political role of the denominations in an urban com- j
^Robert McAfee Brown, The Spirit of Protestantism
{New York: Oxford University Press, 1965), p. 34.
^Harvey Cox, The Secular City (New York: The Mac-
I millan Co., 1965), p. 21. Cox refers to secularism as the
; name for an ideology, a new closed world-view which func-
I tions very much like a new religion.
40 j
plex. In this chapter each of the theological approaches j
is briefly surveyed. |
j
Conservative Theology j
The conservative theology is a metaphysical
approach which postulates a supernatural force outside the |
natural world revealed to man primarily through the mira- |
cles and the Bible. The Bible is taken literally by con
servatives as the revelation of divine intervention in the j
i
i
lives of men in order to demonstrate an eternal life in j
body and spirit. Conservatives accept the supernatural i
interpretation of Jesus' life— the Virgin Birth, the phys-
1
ical resurrection of the body that was buried for three
days, and the miracles— as the fundamental proofs of God's
concern and activity with men.®
I
The theological conservatives place great emphasis j
on the acceptance of these criteria as the basis for sal
vation, and much effort is devoted to working out doc
trines and statements which explicitly express these cri
teria. In past situations this effort to define the
^Salisbury, op. cit., p. 122.
41
standards of belief by which salvation may be obtained >
has resulted in a theological scholasticism, such as that i
of the medieval period or of the era of New England Puri- ;
tanism. In both instances the power structure of the
temporal authority was used to enforce the prescribed
standards of belief. This approach is largely concerned
about means to attain salvation for a life beyond this :
corrupt and sinful world. The prescribed means for
i
attaining salvation may be either by fulfilling the
sacramental rules of the church or by practicing a form
of worldly asceticism.
In the modern period in the United States, the
theological conservatives do not have the same inter
dependence with governmental authorities as they had in
either the medieval or Puritan periods. With the modern |
|
secularization of political authority the conservatives
; have had to wage a defensive campaign to preserve what is
left of their influence on the culture. The rear guard
action to continue prayers in the public schools through
; an amendment to the Constitution is an example of this
| type of effort by the conservative forces. No longer able
! to control the political processes by a popular majority
jof the eligible voters, there is an attempt to make use of
42
constitutional forms to obtain the desired end.^
The attempt to preserve prayer in the public
schools exemplified two aspects of the theological con
servatives' position on worldly affairs which tend to
place them in opposition to their less-metaphysically
oriented fellow believers. First, the conservatives tend
to be concerned primarily with the acceptance of state
ments or doctrines about God with the hope that this makes
practicing Christians out of those who publicly acknowl
edge the statements or doctrines as their own.** Second,
the conservatives often assume that a simple faith in a
metaphysical being offers a definite and clear cut answer
to the perplexing questions of the hour.** Both aspects of
the conservatives orientation toward social problems are
expressed by William Jennings Bryan: "A man can be born
again; the springs of life can be cleansed instantly. . .
If this is true of one, it can be true of any number.
Earl Raab, "The Nature of the Conflict," Reli
gious Conflict in America, ed. Earl Raab (Garden City:
Doubleday and Co., 1964), p. 11.
8
Brown, op. cit., p. 7,
**Ibid., p. 31.
43
Thus a nation can be born in a day if the ideals of the
people can be changed.
Theological conservatives are themselves divided
into three groups.^ One group includes those within the
major denominations and cuts across organization lines.
The second group contains the sincere fundamentalists out- |
side the denominations. There are about five million
persons who claim membership in the several Churches of
God, Adventists, Churches of Christ, various Pentecostal
Churches, the Church of the Nazarene, and the Assemblies
12
of God. The organizational spokesman for this group is
the National Association of Evangelicals. A third group
of conservatives exists on the fringe of the other two
groups. Ralph Lord Roy has called this latter group the
■^Richard Hofstadter, The American Political Tradi
tion (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1948), p. 186.
11
Salisbury, op. cit., Chap. viii. Theological
conservatives have been characterized by Salisbury as
"Third Force Protestantism."
^ Ibid. f p. 157. In regard to the influence of
theological conservatives within Protestantism, Salisbury
concludes: "Because of the sincerity of their practices,
represented in both worship and in contributions, Third-
Force churches exercise an influence that is out of pro
portion to their numbers."
44 !
|
"Apostles of Discord" whose spokesmen in a ministry of I
hate are termed by him collectively as the "Protestant j
13 ■
Underworld."
Although the ability to wield influence is greater
in a pluralistic society through a numerically large group j
which possesses strong cohesive qualities and has the i
willingness and desire to propagate its views, theological J
i
conservatives are characterized by several features which j
tend to reduce their political efficacy. While these j
limitations are more likely to be true of theological
conservatives outside the major denominations, it is true
j
to a lesser extent of those within.
One such feature is that the theological conserva
tives do not favor an ecumenical approach to social and
political issues in the secular community.-*-4 Each church
■*-^Ralph Lord Roy, Apostles of Discord (Boston: The
Beacon Press, 1953), p. 4.
14Ibid., pp. 183-196. The National Association of
Evangelicals, however, maintains an active interest in
issues which have an affect on the position of the funda
mentalist churches in the community. It has opposed lib
eralism in domestic affairs and internationalism in world
iaffairs for fear of their affect on fundamentalist reli
gious beliefs. More radical and disruptive in defense of
I its ultra-conservative position on the fringes of Protest
antism is the American Council of Churches. This organi-
group holds that it has correctly interpreted the meaning
of the Scriptures for man and is very doubtful about the
interpretations of other churches. Another such feature
is that the membership is drawn largely from a lower
status group than is found in the "old line" Protestant
denominations. Community leaders and government officials
are more likely to come from middle and high status groups.
The National Council of Churches, in a survey of the reli
gious affiliation of the members of the Eighty-seventh
Congress, found that 300 members of Congress or 56 per
cent of the total number were, from four of the higher
status denominations: Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist,
IE
and Episcopal. J Finally, theological conservatives are
not so likely to become involved in secular political
affairs because the typical member is absorbed in religious
zation has been under the long-time leadership of Carl
Mclntire, pastor of the Bible Presbyterian Church of
Collingswood, New Jersey. Mclntire left the Presbyterian
Church when he was censured for his activities by the
General Assembly in 1936 and formed his own organization,
the Bible Presbyterian Church.
^Salisbury, op. cit., p. 345.
46
activities. His behavior is so guided by religious values
that he approaches the conservative ideal of living a sepa
rated religious existence apart from the secular world.
Neither the laity nor the clergy in this group places much
emphasis on education of a secular nature. Because of
the centrality of the religious role no real conflict be
tween the secular and the sacred is recognized, but secu
lar affairs and problems tend to be seen as peripheral in
importance and effect.
Theological conservatives within the traditional
American denominations, on the other hand, are sufficiently
secularly oriented to prevail upon the denominational
leaders not to take political action to alleviate inequi
ties in the economic and social system.^ Although the
power of the theological conservatives varies in each urban
area and on different issues, there is a relatively influ
ential conservative group in the Los Angeles area in each
of the denominations. However, this group's influence is
16Ibid., p. 157.
Improbably one important reason for a greater
secular orientation of this group is the higher educa
tional attainment of the clergy within the denominations.
47
more apparent in the high status churches in the area such
as the Episcopal, Presbyterian, and United Church of
Christ than in the Baptist and Methodist churches.18 ^he
latter two have traditionally followed a more active
social gospel line and tend to have a more significant
following among the working class, even though all of the
denominations are predominantly middle class based.
Among the theological conservatives on the fringe
of Protestantism are persons of doubtful sincerity or
conviction associated with organizations which purport to
bring the truth about the-Christian Gospel to the people.
In addition to Carl Mclntire and his American Council of
Christian Churches,19 this group includes men such as
18
For example, the Los Angeles Presbytery recently
voted not to support the grape strike currently being con
ducted in the Delano area of California. In regard to
Proposition Fourteen, there was also considerable opposi
tion from both clerical and lay participants in the Pres
bytery monthly meeting to the recommendation for a No vote
on the Proposition. On the other hand, the Methodist
clergy in the Annual Conference of 1964 were almost unani
mously against passage of Proposition Fourteen, but there
was some lay opposition to the recommendation for a No
vote on the Proposition by the Board of Christian Social
Concerns.
19Ralph Lord Roy, Communism and the Churches (New
York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1960), p. 229. "Mcln
tire 's dislikes are manifold— he denounces the Southern
48
Edgar C. Bundy, head of the Church League of America;
Billy James Hargis, leader, of The Christian Crusade; and
Gerald L. K. Smith, who made a career out of crude denun-
• o n
ciations of Negroes, Jews, and Protestant leadership. u
According to these men, the Christian message includes
some form of ethnic superiority. This claim of Caucasian
superiority is accompanied by a charge that the more lib
eral socioeconomic and political beliefs and activities of
the denominations are communist inspired. The influence
of these individuals and organizations has not been without
some effect on theological conservatives within the tradi-
Baptist Convention, the American Bible Society, the
National Association of Evangelicals, the Inter-Varsity
Christian Fellowship, Youth for Christ, the Moody Bible
Institute, and all of the other important religious groups,
without regard to theology or political orientation. He
attacks Billy Graham as a compromiser. He has described
Brotherhood Week, sponsored by the National Conference of
Christians and Jews, as a 'gross perversion of scriptural
teachings 1."
^Ibid. , p. 22 8.
49
p i
tional Protestant denominations.
Liberal Theology
Christian liberalism was an outgrowth of the intel-:
lectual ferment and reorientation of thought toward theol
ogy in the nineteenth century. It was directed to a con- i
siderable degree against the scholasticism of the orthodox i
22 ' '
Protestants of the two previous centuries. Perhaps the j
i
greatest contribution of Christian liberalism to modern |
I
I
I
theological considerations has been the emancipation of
21
In the course of one interview with a theologi- !
cally conservative clergyman of the United Presbyterian j
Church, the clergyman alleged that Dr. Eugene Carson Blake,j
recently the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the j
Church, as the new General Secretary of the World Council j
of Churches seemed to be following the communist line in j
his statements and actions in regard to the war in Viet- j
nam. However, this clergyman also made a point of inform- j
ing me that he was not a member of the John Birch Society
and did not intend to become a member. As a matter of j
fact, he stated> he had turned down an invitation to give
the invocation at a Society meeting. In. regard to the j
influence of the Birch Society in one of the denominations,!
in another interview a Methodist clergyman administrator
asserted that the Society had attempted to influence the
official action of individual churches on Proposition Four
teen by trying to gain control of the lay governing board.
22John Dillenberger and Claude Welch, Protestant
;Christianity (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1954),
!pp. 179-180.
50
theological thought from the attempt to define in human
terms a diety detached from the world and from the attempt
to make explicit the so-called unchangeableness of God's
program for man's salvation.
Christian liberalism has its beginning withr the
philosopher Immanuel Kant, who denied the possibility of
knowing God through pure or theoretical reason and sys
tematically attacked the traditional proofs for God's
existence outside the natural world. Nevertheless, for
Kant there was still a basis for religious belief in the
awareness by the self of the moral law which is universal.
Kant referred to the process of awareness of the moral code
as practical reason, in opposition to knowledge, which is
pure reason. While recognizing that man in his actions
was subject to deviations from the universal moral code,
he believed that by a deliberate act man could overcome
those tendencies which contradicted the moral law. Accord
ing to Kant, in order to help men to overcome these immoral
propensities, the existence of God must be postulated as a
sort of psychological sanction to encourage men to make
this deliberate effort.23
23Ibid., pp. 157-158.
51
Thus Kant set the stage for the doctrine of indi
vidualism in the sense it is used by the Christian lib-
9 d
eral, and for the doctrine of the immanence of God in the
2 5
world. These two doctrines are the basic tenets of
liberal theology. Utilizing these two basic tenets theo
logical liberals place great emphasis on the test of
reason for religious beliefs and on the authority of
personal experience for religious awareness. Liberals do
not accept the supernatural events of Jesus' recorded life
and prefer to think in terms of the "Jesus of history"
2 f
rather than the "Christ of the Creeds." Rejecting the
doctrine of the fall of man and original sin, liberals are
^George H. Sabine, History of Political Thought
(New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961), p. 745.
"Individualism in some form or other has usually been re
garded by liberals as an axiom of any theory of value.
For liberals who stand in the Christian tradition it would
perhaps have seemed as well stated by Jesus as by any phil
osophical system when he said, 'The Sabbath is made for
man, and not man for the Sabbath.1"
25
Dillenberger and Welch, op. cit., p. 218. "God
is not one who, exists wholly apart from the world, acts
only occasionally, or interrupts the natural order in
effecting his will. . . . In effect, the liberal doctrine
of immanence involved the breaking of the traditional dis
tinction between natural and supernatural."
2®Salisbury, op. cit., pp. 120-121.
52
not concerned with the goodness or badness of man. They
prefer to believe that man is shaped by his environment
while at the same time he may also shape his environment.
Probably foremost among the attributes of the
theological approach of the Christian liberals is what
Dillenberger and Welch call the liberal spirit— the spirit
of open mindedness, of tolerance and humility, and of
devotion to truth wherever it might be found. This spirit
has in some degree always been present within the Christian
tradition, but as a result of the efforts of the theologi
cal liberals of the nineteenth century, it has become an
established feature of Protestant thought.^
There are four other themes or attributes of lib
eral Protestantism which have been carried over into the
twentieth century from nineteenth century Christian liberal
thought. First, respect for science and the scientific
method has remained a definite characteristic not only in
regard to the material world but in Biblical criticism and
the study of the history of religion. Second, theological
liberals have held to a scepticism as to the possibility of
achieving certain knowledge of ultimate reality, conse-
^oillenberger an^ Welch, op. cit., pp. 211-212.
quently placing some doubt on the idea of immortality of
man. Although this theme of scepticism persists in liberal
theology, it has been modified to some extent by a renewed
emphasis on the centrality of Jesus' life and teaching
stripped of the attached mythology (the Virgin Birth, a
prescientific world-view with its three-story universe, its
ascensions into heaven, its descents into hell). Third,
another theme has been the emphasis upon the continuity of
man with the natural world and, derived from this conti
nuity, a natural law discernible through man's reasoning
capabilities and an acceptance of the evolutionary princi
ple as it applies to man and nature. Later theological
liberals have tended to modify this third theme somewhat
to give more emphasis to the dignity of man and the triumph
of the spirit over natural tendencies; man's activities
should not be thought of only in terms of the mere inter
play of brute natural forces. Fourth, there has been a
confidence in man and his future which, of course, was
related to the general optimism of the nineteenth century
outlook for the development of civilization in its success
ful utilization of nature for man's purposes. As a result
of the horrendous occurrences in regard to total wars and
depressions of the twentieth century, this fourth theme of
54 !
Christian liberalism has almost passed from the s c e n e . 28 i
These four themes persist in varying forms up to |
the present time, although liberal theology as a distinct
force within Christian thinking has been somewhat lessened
by the developments of the twentieth century. But indi- j
vidualism, one of the two basic doctrines of nineteenth
century theological liberals, still considerably influencesj
denominational thinking in the Los Angeles area.29 Pos- j
!
1
sibly this is a result of three factors: common agreement
on the idea of individualism among more traditional theo
logical liberals and conservatives, although for differing
reasons; a beneficent environmental situation in southern |
!
California without the more serious constrictions of space
which exist in older urban areas; and the relative newness
of many of the local clergy to the a r e a . 20 Yet recent
i
- i
i
i
28Ibid., pp. 213-224.
29a leader in the conciliar movement in Los Angeles
commented that an individualistic frontier psychology has
prevailed in Los Angeles religious circles to the extent
that two of the leading prelates, Bishop Kennedy of The
Methodist Church and Bishop Bloy of the Episcopal Church,
had never personally met.
30several of the clergy I interviewed stated that
because they had been in the area for only a few years,
they did not have the confidence of the members of the con-
55 |
events in the area are causing denominational leaders to
look to older metropolitan areas for examples of religious i
cooperation among the denominations in meeting religious >
i
i
obligations to the developing metropolis. |
Nevertheless, theological liberalism's most sig
nificant legacy is the establishment of a framework for an
open-minded questioning of theological assumptions. In
my opinion this has been a necessary requirement for con
temporary speculations in theology as these speculations
relate to the modern political community.
One of the most significant achievements of the
nineteenth century theological liberals was their part in
creating the sort of Christian intellectual environment
which made acceptance of the social gospel possible for
many individuals within the denominations.^2 The social
gregation which a longer tenure and association with the
problems of the community would have made possible.
31
One young clergyman new to the area remarked
that Los Angeles has not been particularly noted in reli
gious circles for its creative thinking in regard to the
ecumenical movement of the denominations.
2^The theoretical framework for much of the socio
economic and political activity of the late nineteenth and
iearly twentieth centuries was based on the twin concepts
| that unrestricted competition would lead to the public
gospel movement, which had its beginning shortly after the j
termination of the Civil War,^ was centered around two ;
i
developments: "a broader conception of the church's func
tion, and a nascent critique of the patterns and ideology j
i
of the existing order.It was an attempt to extend the I
activities of the churches into the socioeconomic and j
political realms and to counteract the association of j
|
Christianity with the established order. The partial in
ternalization of the social gospel by the Protestant
good and that the good of all would result as a by-product
of the pursuit of self-interest. The social gospel move
ment was a reaction by many churchmen against the lack of
human compassion which was the result of the fulfillment
of these concepts.
Walter Rauschenbusch, a Baptist minister, who was
the most noteworthy American exponent of Christian social
ism at the turn of the century in reacting to the results
of the economic system exclaimed: "Progress slackens when
a single class appropriates the social results of the com
mon labor. ..." Eric Goldman, Rendezvous with Destiny
; (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956), p. 83.
^A. P. Stokes and L. Pfeffer, Church and State in
the United States (New York: Harper and Row, 1964), p. 300.
"But it was not until the slaves had been liberated by the
Civil War that 'the social impulse of Christianity' was set
free to devote itself to the relief of the new industrial
conditions which the war had helped to create. Up to that
' time public interests of the Church had been mainly ab-
! sorbed in the question of slavery; now religion became the
most powerful drive behind the humanitarian movements of
the age."
i
I ^Dillenberger and Welch, op. cit., p. 245.
57
denominations has tended to keep the denominations to some
extent oriented toward the welfare of the lower status
groups in the community. Although the Roman Catholic
Church has been traditionally more closely associated with
the labor movement in the United States,55 ^he Protestant
denominations through the social gospel movement have
maintained contact with the working class and have helped
to sustain a generally friendly attitude toward religion
within the labor movement.56
The social gospel movement of the early twentieth
century suffered from the emphasis on survival resulting
from the events of the first half of the twentieth cen
tury. However, with the comparative calm and prosperity
of the third quarter of this century there has been an
increasing concern with the church's obligations to the
35
Recently all seven of the Roman Catholic bishops
in California gave their support to the unions in the
grape strike in Delano.
56Henry B. Mayo, Introduction to Marxist Theory
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1960), p. 253. Mayo
points out that in England the association of religion with
working-class movements prevented working-class hostility
to religion, and was and is an obstacle to the spread of
Marxism in the labor movement.
entire community of which it is a part.^7 This renewal of
interest in an extension of the social gospel movement ;
into the present period is affecting the denominations'
interest and participation in what is now called the com
munity organization movement. j
i
Contemporaneous with the growing interest in the
church1s involvement in socioeconomic and political activ-
i
ities in the community has been a growing intellectual
ferment in theological circles about the relationship |
among men, church, and God. The intellectual ferment is j
i
particularly evident in the writings of the European theo- !
j
logians, such as Tillich and Bonhoeffer, who were sub- j
i
jected to the rigor of a totalitarian regime in Germany. j
37 .
Lyle E. Schaller, Community Organization: Con- ;
flict and Reconciliation (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1966), |
p. 67. But in reacting to the papers presented at a con- j
ference on community organization of church leaders, j
Shirley E. Green, Associate Director, Commission on the
Church and Economic Life, Department of Church and Society,
National Council of Churches, commented, '"This is where I
came in.1 He went on to note that many of the suggestions
that the churches and churchmen should participate in the
community organization process, in the struggle for eco
nomic and political power, and in the pursuit of social
justice are paralleled in the writings of Washington
Gladden and Walter Rauschenbusch."
38Ibid., p. 50.
59
It has been true of American theologians as well, especial-^
ly H. Richard Niebuhr and Reinhold Niebuhr, who were for a
long time deeply immersed in social analysis. ^ Possibly
because of the greater political and social instability
on the European continent much of the seminal thinking
about the secular function of organized religion in modern '
i
urban life has come from men associated with the conti- j
nental Protestant tradition rather than the Anglo-American j
|
tradition.4^ Within the last decade, however, a wider
39 !
Christopher Lasch, The New Radicalism in America,i
1889-1963 (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965), p. 300.
Lasch in commenting on the changes which have taken place j
in the development of Reinhold Niebuhr's thinking as a i
result of the events of the twentieth century states:
"Having begun his career in the ministry as a social gospel
liberal, he gradually returned to the orthodoxy of the
Pauline and Lutheran traditions, and it was from this per
spective with its emphasis on the fallibility of man and j
the absurdity of human pretensions, that he launched his '
campaign against both political and religious liberalism."
40John A. T. Robinson, The New Reformation (Phila
delphia: The Westminster Press, 1965), p. 63. Bishop I
Robinson writes: "In Britain, with the illusion that the
inherited structures are still fundamentally viable, we
have been forced to less radically new thinking and action
than either on the Continent of Europe or in some circles
in America. In America, indeed, the traditional struc
tures are far stronger and more successful (so much so
that I recently came away feeling that at least in England
we are nearer to death and so perhaps to resurrection!)."
60
circle of American and British theologians within the
denominations has begun to deal with the problems of man's
relationship and obligations to other men and to God in
the secular urban complexes of the nation. The efforts
of these religious scholars has given rise to new theo
logical systems.
Neo-orthodox Theology i
I
I
American theologians, particularly Reinhold j
Niebuhr, have developed a theological system which has
been labeled neo-orthodox.^ Recognizing the need for an j
[
i
I
approach to religion which could provide a psychological
i
sanction sufficiently powerful to overcome the inhumanity j
42 ■
of men within the in-group toward men in.the out-group, j
^Brown, op. cit. , p. 32. Brown comments: "That
the sands on the theological beach have been shifting is
due not only to the pressure of world [sic] events but also
to a new theological current as well. This particular cur-|
rent eludes descriptive labels even more tenaciously than j
the liberal sands upon which it beats, but the most widely
used label is neo-orthodoxy.”
42
With the secularization of the state, Christian
ethics has had to be dependent upon psychological enforce
ment rather than upon political authority.
neo-orthodox thought tends to favor the paradoxical doc- j
trine of the incarnation. Jesus, as is true with all men :
' !
!
everywhere, could not carry out the will of God without thei
!
aid of divine guidance. Therefore, Jesus was, of neces-
I
sity, both divine and human; but even more than that, j
I
Jesus was the product of direct divine intervention in the j
secular affairs of men.43 Consequently, according to neo- j
|
orthodoxy, to carry out the will of God in this life and
to achieve "the peace that passes understanding," men must
be aware of the teachings and life of Jesus. Men cannot
determine right action on the basis of reason alone. Men
must use the teachings and life of Jesus as a means of
guidance in their lives and apply them in all of their
worldly activities.
According to these neo-orthodox theologians, the
Bible, subject to the modifications of scientific and
historical criticisms, is still the best source of the
|teachings and life of Jesus. It is the function of both
the clergy and the laity to know this source well in order
to carry out the Christian mission in the modern urban
complex.
i
i
43Salisbury, op. cit., p. 123.
62
An equally important part of neo-orthodoxy is an
emphasis on the sinful nature of men.44 There is a need
for the grace of God in order for men to overcome their
human pride. Religious institutions are essential to
provide a community in which men may work together to
achieve a Christian life.
Because the neo-orthodox position is as closely
identified as liberalism with the social gospel movement
in its emphasis on participation in socioeconomic and
political activities, it provides an additional stimulus
to active participation in worldly activities by the
clergy. Neo-orthodoxy, however, has not achieved an equal
status with liberalism in the denominations although it
is beginning to permeate the denominations in their worship
and religious practices. Salisbury concludes that the
preaching and worship of most of the individual Protestant
churches represents the liberal rather than the conserva
tive or neo-orthodox position.4^ it is possible that
should neo-orthodoxy with its roots in the divine nature
^Brown, op. cit., pp. 32-33.
^Salisbury, op. cit., p. 123.
of Jesus come to be more widely accepted within the denomi
nations, it may provide an intellectual bridge for the
sincere theological conservative to reorient his other
worldly approach toward a greater concern for the social
and political problems of this world.
Ecumenical Theology
The importance of unity among the denominations
in dealing with the complexities of modern urban life is
obvious; therefore, ecumenical theology may be rather
briefly summarized here. It is a development growing out
of the realization by many Protestant Christians of the
need for a more unified position by the denominations in
order to provide a more effective force— politically,
economically, and socially— for helping to make the culture
of the urban complex a more human one. Ecumenical theology
is also the result of the recognition that Christians as
Christians must be concerned with the problems of this
^On the basis of my observations in Los Angeles,
the Seventh Day Adventists and some Lutheran churches are
utilizing this intellectual bridge to the traditional
American denominations in relation to ecumenical activi
ties in the community.
64
world and that the Christian community as a whole should
be able to work together to find possible answers to these !
I
47 i
problems. i
I
i
Ecumenical theology is also an acknowledgment of !
|
the fact that most of the differences between the denomina-j
i
tions are actually only institutional differences and not
i
theological differences. Brown puts the case for this type
of religious cooperation among the denominations succinctly
when he writes: "The major impetus, however, comes from
a recognition that Christians are already one in Christ,
and must, in obedience to him, make their unity mani
fest."48
In the Los Angeles area there is considerable evi
dence of greater cooperation among the denominations in
order to become a more effective force in this urban com
plex. Certainly, the percolation of the ideas embodied in
the fifth theological approach, existential theology, can
4^The Episcopal, United Presbyterian, Methodist,
United Church of Christ, Christian (Disciples of Christ).,
Evangelical United Brethren and African Methodist Episcopal
churches are currently engaged in annual meetings looking
toward merger under the title of Consultation for Church
Union.
40
’°Brown, op. cit., p. 36.
65
o n ly g i v e a d d ed im p e tu s t o t h e f u r t h e r d e v e lo p m e n t o f t h e
e c u m e n ic a l m ovem en t e v e r y w h e r e .
|
E x i s t e n t i a l T h e o lo g y
E x i s t e n t i a l t h e o l o g y , l i k e n e o - o r t h o d o x y , o w es a j
g r e a t d e a l t o t h e s p i r i t o f l i b e r a l i s m a s a l i b e r a t i n g j
f o r c e fro m t h e c l o s e d s y s t e m o f a God d w e l l i n g on a n o t h e r j
p la n e o f e x i s t e n c e s e p a r a t e fro m t h i s w o r ld . B u t t h i s n ew !
i
j
a p p r o a c h t o t h e o l o g y , w h ic h B is h o p R o b in so n h a s te r m e d j
"The New R e f o r m a t i o n ," ^ see m s t o d i f f e r r a t h e r s i g n i f i
c a n t l y fro m n e o - o r t h o d o x y i n t h e m anner i n w h ic h J e s u s I
I
b e co m es known t o m en . E x i s t e n t i a l t h e o l o g y an d n e o - o r t h o
d ox t h e o l o g y b o t h p l a c e c o n s i d e r a b l e e m p h a s is o n t h e c o n
c e p t o f t h e i n c a r n a t i o n , b u t t h e p o i n t o f d e p a r t u r e f o r
t h e i n d i v i d u a l i n e x i s t e n t i a l t h e o l o g y i s t h e human n a t u r e j
o f J e s u s r a t h e r th a n t h e d i v i n e n a t u r e . E x i s t e n t i a l i s t s
b e l i e v e t h a t t h e human n a t u r e o f J e s u s i s a l l t h a t men a r e
a b l e t o a r t i c u l a t e a b o u t t h e man J e s u s . As B is h o p R o b in so n
s t a t e s :
T h is i n d u c t i v e a p p r o a c h t o C h r i s t i a n d o c t r i n e i s ,
I am c o n v in c e d , a d i s c i p l i n e w h ic h t h e C h u rch h a s g o t
49
R o b in s o n , o p . c i t . , p a s s im .
66
to relearn. . . . It does not prescribe the ends j
negatively. But it does insist that the ends are I
only to be reached from the beginning— and the be- j
ginning for men today, as for the first disciples,
is from Jesus as a completely human man— whatever \
else they may be compelled to see in him. 50 j
|
Thus the certainty that Jesus was also divine as well as j
I
human is the result of a faith which goes beyond the power ;
j
of reason and the acceptance of religious forms.^
Theological existentialists take the position that
the religious institution and its sacramental functions
are not the only means of becoming aware of the divine
force in society. Consequently, there is for these theo
logians both a latent and a manifest church existing in
the w o r l d . 52 T h e present day Christian must work and
^ Ibid., p. 42.
■^Paul Tillich, The New Being (New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1955), p. 78. Tillich believes: "When
I we have left behind all objective probabilities about God
; and the Christ, and all subjective approximations to God
; and the Christ, when all preliminary certainties have dis-
; appeared, the ultimate certainty may appear to us. And in
the power of this certainty, though never secure and never
without temptation, we may walk from certainty to cer
tainty ."
"^Charles W. Kegley and Robert W. Bretall, The
Theology of Paul Tillich (New York: The Macmillan Co.,
1952), p. 259. Tillich defines the latent church and the
manifest church as follows: "The latent church is an in
definite historical group which within paganism, Judaism,
67
study to understand the meaning of Jesus' ministry and its !
relevance to life in whatever area it may be employed.
The use of scientific research and critical historical
interpretation, as in neo-orthodoxy and liberalism, are
essential tools for the study of the teachings and life of
Jesus.
However, unlike neo-orthodoxy, the psychological
sanction embodied in existential theology is not a negative!
one of a divine judgment in regard to the sinful nature
of man and the necessity of the grace of God to overcome j
human pride. There is instead a positive sanction in
which man obtains meaning and purpose for his life in j
being aware of the work of the divine force in the develop-!
i
i
ment of man's interrelationships with others and with God j
I
in the urban community. In relation to this theological \
approach, Gibson Winter points out that the "historical j
I
|
struggle for the new mankind becomes the arena of man's
answerability to God. The ministry of proclamation is |
still needed in the world, but that task is the work of
or humanism actualizes the New Being, while the manifest
church is actualized directly and manifestly."
68
laity in the various world spheres*"53 Cox j^as phrased
this same idea rather succinctly: "It is his experience j
54
of the transcendent which makes man man." Because God i
may disclose His presence in any capacity and at any mo- ;
ment within the activities of the secular world,^ the j
Christian must be fully committed to being a part of this j
i
I
world and to relating to his fellowman in order to under- j
i
j
stand the divine action in the development of the social j
and political environment.
It is true of any new theoretical analysis that
objections are raised to its implications for the social
53Gibson Winter, The New Creation as Metropolis
(New York: The Macmillan Co., 1963), p. 56.
54
Cox, op. cit., p. 261. Furthermore, Margaret
Mead in a recent talk at St. Paul's Cathedral in Los An
geles in which she dealt with Christianity across cultural
and national borders pointed out that homo sapiens is the
ionly form of the animal species which has the capacity to
:transcend his own immediate social, cultural, and physical
jenvironment and to think in terms of the species as a
I whole. Man is also the only form of animal species that
has the capacity to define for itself an in-group which is
capable of treating with hostility all others regarded as
being in the out-group.
55
Ibid., p. 258. For Cox this means "God dis-
;closes himself at those places and in those ways he chooses
■ and not as man would want. And he always discloses himself
as one who is at once different from man, unconditionally
|for man, and entirely unavailable for coercion and manipu
lation by. man."
order. It is possible to discern several objections which
can be raised in regard to existential theology. One ob
jection might be that the concept of a divine force being
known primarily through the activities of men in this
world may be inadequate for satisfying the psychological
needs of man. It does not offer the certainty of both a
spiritual and physical life in the hereafter as a reward
for the self-discipline of either abiding by the rules of |
religious institutions or adapting one's self to the
i
i
greater rigor of exclusionary pietistic or rationalistic
i
worldly asceticism.^6 j
Another objection which might be raised is that |
i
this theology is implicitly a reincarnation of deter- j
j
j
minism, especially the kind of determinism which is simi- j
lar to that derived from the Hegelian concept of the World j
Spirit making itself known through the ideas of rational j
i
]
man, and further development of these ideas through the
C/T
Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit
of Capitalism (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958),
p. 154. In regard to rationalistic worldly asceticism
which has had a strong influence on denominational think
ing, Weber concludes: "This rationalization of conduct
within this world, but for the sake of the world beyond,
was the consequence of the concept of calling of ascetic
Protestantism."
70
C7
dialectic as the key to a theory of social change. If
this criticism be true, it could be claimed that man is
merely the object of a force acting independently of any
human contro1.
A third objection which could arise if such a
divine force as the World Spirit concept were negated is
that in the absence of this type of divine force there
would be remain only the liberal approach of the individual
guided primarily by his rational self-interest and his
self-preservation. But under present circumstances, the
modern liberal is without the hope of the nineteenth cen-
57
Sabine, op. cit., p. 154. In discussing the dia
lectic as Hegel conceived it, Sabine comments: "It was a
method applicable to every subject matter in which the
concepts of progressive change and development are rele
vant, and in such subjects, it is indispensable, for ana
lytic understanding works only with the mechanical juxta
position of discrete parts and cannot grasp the necessity
inherent in process." (italics mine)
It is interesting to note that the development of
thought in the theological families resembles somewhat the
dialectical development of ideas. The ideas of the theo
logical conservatives were contradicted by those of the
liberals and this resulted in the synthesis of neo-ortho
doxy. However, existential theological thought created a
different approach following a line of development sepa
rate from but parallel with liberalism and neo-orthodoxy.
Significant deviations from rationalistic deductive sys
tems often occur in relation to actual developments.
71
tury liberal in the evolution of man into a more perfect
type of human being.
These three objections are related to the posi
tions taken by the proponents of the three theological
families already discussed: God existing primarily on
another plane of existence; the dependence upon reason to
j
ascertain purpose for man; and the emphasis upon the sin- j
ful nature of man. One reply to these objections may be j
found in the inadequacy of organized religion in its
present institutionalized form to meet the need for j
i
reconciling the divergent interests present in a secular
ized urban society.
Religious professionals by themselves are no j
i
i
longer able to provide the needed guidance in contemporary |
society, because of society's complexity in organization
i
and processes. Furthermore, the residential culture in :
which the Christian congregation has been rooted has re- |
suited in the churches being concerned primarily with
private values of emotional balance and the nurture of
l
i
children. The Christian congregation as a community has
been divorced from the centers of power more directly
responsible for shaping the style of the secular so-
72
ciety.^®
In accepting the secularization of society as the
creation of the divine force, existential theologians in
the denominations have suggested a suitable method for the :
believers— those who accept a God who is in partnership
with men in this world and at the same time is the ulti
mate reality^— to be the servant church in secular society!
and to take an active part in shaping the political and
cultural life of the community. According to one theo- I
logian, Gibson Winter, the denominations can best accom- j
j
plish their mission through an informed and active laity: j
A laity, theologically self-conscious and socially |
alert, is the form through which the Church's witness |
in metropolitan society will be realized. Metropolis
itself is calling forth this form of the Church, for
the struggle for metropolitan unity is also the strug- j
gle for a human society.60
^^Winter, op. cit., pp. 10-13.
^Cox, op. cit., p. 260. In a secular society, j
however, "There is, of course, no high court before which j
those who affirm God's reality and hiddenness can press
their case against those who suspect as Kafka did, that
there is No One There at all."
I
^Winter, op. cit., p. 50.
73
Cox has advocated the partnership concept as the
theoretical approach appropriate to achieving an active
laity.He believes this concept is the culmination of
man’s historical development and a sign of man's maturity, j
Employing the concept of the I-Thou relationship as de
veloped by Martin Buber, Cox shows how the relationship
between God and man has progressed toward the partnership
concept through the three stages of man's development. In i
|
the tribal relationship there is a pre-I-Thou type of
i
I
individual who does not experience God as fully "other” j
but rather he himself is a part of God and vice versa. j
I
But in a society marked by vertical authority, that is,
the period of town culture and individualism, the rela- j
j
tionship is the classic I-Thou encounter in which there is
a confrontation with God as the "other" who has authority
over man. In the modern urban society, however, the rela- j
tionship is more one of partnership in which God is j
experienced as truly "other" but more in the sense of a j
i
1
mature family relationship. "Rather than participation or j
confrontation, it is a relationship of a l o n g s i d e n e s s . "^2
®^Cox, op. cit. , pp. 264-265.
62Ibid., p. 263.
This type of relationship between God and man would seem to
require an effort by the believer to search for the meaning
of his existence here and now in relation to the develop
ment of man in society, which in the modern era is a
secular one. A partnership of this type implies activity
by both partners in the task of creating a human society
in the metropolis.
If the thinking of the existential theologians
first permeates into the ranks of the denominations and
then is understood and accepted by them, this approach to
theology may serve as the philosophical basis for the
denominations' active participation in the process of
social change as it occurs in an urban society.
Although this approach to theology provides, in my
opinion, the most suitable foundation for the denomina
tion's ability to assist in the reconciling of divergent
interests within the community, the suitable personal
involvement by the majority of church members is not likely
Ibid., p. 255. Cox suggests: "Politics also
describes man's role in response to God. It is 'activity,
and reflection on activity, which aims at and analyzes
what it takes to make and keep human life human in the
world.1"
75
C A
to come about in the near future. Therefore, because
the active and practical Christian must work within the
context of his. environment with all its modern complexity, ;
perhaps justice is the highest attainable level of motiva- j
tion for organized religious groups seeking to influence ;
public policy. In regard to justice in relation to power, :
Schaller concludes: !
|
To the Christian, justice requires that the pri- !
mary goal must always be human resource development. j
Often the acquisition of power is necessary to achieve j
this primary goal— however, the acquisition and use j
of power should never become the primary goal; it is ]
always a means and never an end.^~* j
widick Schroeder and Victor Obenhaus, Reli
gion in American Culture; Unity and Diversity in a Mid
western County (London: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1964),
p. 182. Schroeder and Obenhaus report in their study of
the various churches in a county in Iowa: "In each tradi
tion examined, persons who represented the various possible
options of relating the Christian faith to the world were
found, but there was no clear configuration in.any of the
traditions. Only in a very few cases did respondents in
any of the traditions extant in Corn County reveal any
self-conscious reflection on the issue of the relationship
between the church and the world." This finding of
Schroeder and Obenhaus in regard to religion is similar to
the finding of Campbell, et aJ. in The American Voter re
garding political ideology.
65
Schaller, op. cit., p. 128.
76
What the Anglo-American denominations are doing first to
accomplish a mission of reconciliation in the Los Angeles
area, and second what they are doing to. achieve justice
for all of the residents of this area, will be covered in
a later chapter.
CHAPTER III
NATIONAL LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS AFFECTING
THE POLITICAL ROLE OF THE DENOMINATIONS
In addition to the various theological approaches ,
]
four historical and sociopolitical factors are relevant
to the political position of the denominations in an urban j
complex: (1) the legal separation of church and state; j
i
(2) the environment of post-Protestant America; (3) the j
i
methods of influence appropriate to a democratic community;!
1
and (4) the other religious associations in the United
States. |
Anglo-American Protestant denominations are no j
i
longer dominant; they are merely one of several religious
i
associations. Consequently, their political influence is j
related to their ability to achieve alliances with other
*
religious bodies and with secular institutions, and to j
j
their ability to act as a group in support of political |
programs and issues. The ability of the denominations to
assist in reconciling the diverse interests in the metro- j
77
78
politan areas depends on their success in developing this
influence.
It is important, for a fuller understanding of the
American polity, to have some knowledge as to how one
religious interest group, the denominations derived from
an Anglo-American background, is influencing the decision- j
making process in an urban complex. One of the purposes
of this study is to determine how the denominations !
j
i
through the process of reconciliation in the metropolis i
!
|
are taking advantage of the Supreme Court's recent inter- j
pretations of the First Amendment clauses dealing with j
!
religion. |
|
Separation of Church and State j
i
i
Of the several historical factors affecting the j
political and social position of the denominations in the
modern urban complex, perhaps the most important is the I
n I
legal separation of religious and political institutions, j
1-Will Herberg, Protestant— Catholic— Jew (rev.;
New York: Doubleday and Co., 1960), p. 86. “Denomina
tional pluralism, as the American idea of the church may
be called, obviously implies that no church can look to
the state for its members or support. Voluntarism and
evangelism are thus the immediate consequences of the
American idea."
79
The incorporation of separation in the Constitution re
flects the importance of the multiplicity of religious
groupings2 and the theological convictions of American
Protestants.2 The theological approach of Protestant re
formers established a foundation for individual responsi
bility to God. The idea of man's own responsibility for
his actions gave him the freedom to choose, which, in
turn, gave rise to the principle of voluntarism associated
2John C. Bennett, Christians and the State (New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958), pp. 208-209. Ben
nett indicates there were two important influences which I
resulted in a trend away from religious establishments at j
the time of the Revolution. "One was the influence of the |
'sectarian' religious bodies such as the Baptists who had
always been opposed to all ties between Church and State. :
. . . The other influence was that of the intellectuals
influenced by the Enlightenment, especially Thomas Jeffer- I
son and James Madison, who were powerful advocates of J
religious liberty and who sensed threats to liberty in ]
every form of religious establishment."
^William Lee Miller, "Religion and Political Atti
tudes ," Religious Perspectives in American Culture, James
Ward Smith and A. Leland Jamison (eds.) (Princeton: Prince-j
ton University Press, 1961), p. 90. The best-known corol- j
lary of the "voluntary principle" in religion is in con- j
siderable measure the product of theological convictions 1
about the sovereign power of God and the freedom of man. j
"A large part of American Christianity affirms the volun
tary principle in religion not in spite of, but because j
of, what it believes. This affirmation has been helped
along by a liberal and democratic environment, but the
religious spirit helped in turn to create that environ
ment ."
with the denominations.^ Under favorable political condi
tions, voluntary religious associations of committed equal
participants has become central to American understanding
of religion and culture.^ The voluntary principle of
American Protestantism has been a significant factor in
shaping the constitutional principle of separation of
church and state.®
^Ibid., p. 94. "The penumbra of beyondness, abso- j
luteness, and mystery fades away, and leaves— as the core j
of what Americans think religion to be— the moral." i
^Ibid., pp. 90-91. "The Calvinist will to order |
the society, under God, became the revivalist's attempt at j
converting the society by individual and voluntary means. ;
The assumption of this free church religion is that the
personal religious convictions of individuals, freely
gathered in churches and acting in voluntary associations,
will permeate the society by persuasion and example."
i
^Sidney Hook, "Religious Liberty from the Viewpoint!
of a Secular Humanist," Religious Conflict in America, ed.
Earl Raab (Garden City: Doubleday and Co., 1964), p. 141.
On the other hand. Hook is of the opinion that: "History
of religious struggle and conflicts has not been primarily
an attempt to increase the sphere of political and personalj
freedom, but rather to exercise domination with respect to j
religious dogma or practice or to win independence of such j
domination. . . . Religious tolerance has developed more j
as a consequence of the impotence of religions to impose
their dogmas on each other than as a consequence of spirit
ual humility in the quest for understanding first and last
things."
81
The principle of legal separation of church and
state is a unique and important contribution of American
statesmen and churchmen to the theory of democratic govern
ment. ? Partly as a result of its successful application
in the United States, this concept is being emulated in
other countries striving for democracy. In Mexico, for
example, the historic dependent relationship between church-
and state— to directly employ the power and other possesses!
as an engine for its own purposes^— was one factor hinder- j
ing the growth of democratic political institutions and |
|
modern technology.^ j
^Leo Pfeffer, "Freedom and Separation: America's \
Contribution to Civilization," Religious Conflict in Ameri-j
ca, ed. Raab, op. cit., p. 152. One of the most well-
known scholars of the principle of separation of church
and state has written: "America has made many contribu
tions to civilization, but none equals, and certainly none ;
exceeds, the contribution epitomized in the first sixteen
words of the Bill of Rights: 'Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof.'" !
I
O l
°Leo Pfeffer, Church, State, and Freedom (Boston: j
Beacon Press, 1953), p. 604. 1
I
Q j
Gerhard Lenski, The Religious Factor (Garden City:j
Doubleday and Co., 1963), p. 315. "In view of the social
heritage of contemporary Catholicism, it seems unlikely
that in the forseeable future any devoutly Catholic state
will become a leading industrial nation— one in the fore-
ifront of economic development and progress."
82
In the United States, the distribution of authori
tative decision-making power was divided between the state
and national governments by the Constitution and its
subsequent amendments and interpretations. For many years ,
the national government was concerned only with its posi
tion with regard to the legal status of organized reli
gion.
The question of the relationship between organized |
I
religions and the state governments was left to the states i
to resolve.^ However, the Fourteenth Amendment, added j
shortly after the Civil War, has been interpreted in this I
century by the United States Supreme Court to extend many
parts of the Bill of Rights to the state governments. j
|
Most importantly for this study, the Court has extended j
!
I
t
the stipulations of the First Amendment regarding religion j
to the states. The Court's action is conducive to the j
secularization of state governments and their subsidiaries
even though all of the states had already provided in j
'
substance for the idea of separation of church and state
^'0 Anson Stokes and Leo Pfeffer, Church and State
in the United States, Vol. I (rev.; New York: Harper and
Row, Publishers, 1964), p. 91.
83
within their jurisdictions.
There are several advantages to the application of
the concept of separation of church and state in contem
porary society. Its most significant advantage to the
denominations is in continuing to give legal sanction to
the principle of voluntarism in a religiously pluralistic
community. Each religious community may pursue its own
ends as far as man's relationship to God is concerned.
They may also use any appropriate means to achieve their
i
j
ends as long as the means remain within the accepted moral j
i
I
limits set by society.encouragement by the federal |
11
Ibid., p. 158. Stokes and Pfeffer report in re- !
gard to the development of religious liberty in the
states: "The development may be summarized by noting that j
when, during the second quarter of the twentieth century, !
the Supreme Court ruled that under the Fourteenth Amend- !
ment the states were subject to the same restrictions in :
respect to religious liberty and Church-State separation |
as were imposed upon the Federal government by the First
Amendment, the Court was simply giving Federal constitu
tional substance to what was in any event in effect in all
the states."
1 ?
Hook, op. cit., p. 152. Defending the role of the
state in limiting the means employed by religious organiza
tions to obtain their ends, Hook writes: "The primacy of
morality to religion is the most fundamental reason for
preserving the independence and neutrality of the state.
For religious dogmas, or rather the practices allegedly
derived from them, often run counter to the principles of
■enlightened morality."
84
government of the principle of voluntarism helps to pre
vent the overt use of the political authority by a powerful
religious grouping in a local or regional area.
Recently, the Supreme Court has carried the prin
ciple of voluntarism in religious belief to a logical !
conclusion. The Court's decisions indicate that the secu
lar and the sacred are separate and distinguishable |
throughout the political system; therefore, it has applied
the concept of separation of church and state to public j
I
!
institutions anywhere within the federal system. In the j
i
i
Court's view the states and their subsidiary organizations
are secular institutions. For example, the Court has de- j
cided that the public schools may not be used for purposes
l 1
of propagating or confirming theological assumptions. j
In line with the voluntary principle, the denominations
i
have given official approval to the Court's action. The
Special Committee on Church and State of the United Pres-
j
byterian Church, in the first of its twelve recommenda- j
Robert McCloskey, "Principles, Powers, and
Values," Religion and the Public Order: 1964, ed. Donald
Giannella (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965), p.
8. For a specific decision in this matter, see Abington
School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963).
85
tions adopted in 1963 by the 175th General Assembly of
the Church, declared:
» Public schools are creations of the whole society
operating through civil authority and justify their
existence solely in terms of their usefulness to the
society. Their role is to nurture the cultural,
social and material advancement of all citizens by a
special system of instruction through intellectual
and social disciplines and to stimulate a free search
for truth within this discipline. . . . Public
schools should neither be hostile to religious be
liefs nor act in any manner which tends to favor
one religion or church over another.14
The denominational clergy in the Los Angeles area
have generally supported the idea of keeping the public
schools free from the encroachments of organized reli
gions . Twenty-five out of thirty-one clergymen inter
viewed in the area approved of the Court's decisions
against non-sectarian prayers and Bible reading for reli
gious purposes in the public schools. Out of the five
clergymen who disapproved of both decisions, three were
theological conservatives and two were Roman Catholic
14
Relations Between Church and State, a Report of
the Special Committee on Relations Between Church and
State in the United States of America of The United Pres
byterian Church in the United States of America, p. 6.
86
priests. ^ One clergyman approved of the decision against
prayers but disapproved of the decision against Bible
reading. All but two of the denominational clergy also
approved of the decision against religious instruction by
members of the clergy on public school property. These
two were joined in their disapproval by the two Roman
Catholic priests. Only two of all of the clergymen dis
approved of the decision in favor of released time for
religious instruction away from public school property.
On the national level, administrative leaders have
expressed their support of the Court's decisions. The
Reverend Dr. J. Blaine Fister, head of the National Coun
cil of Churches’ Church and Public School Department
claimed: "The Court has done the church a great service
in forcing it to rethink its educational strategy and
challenging it to provide religious instruction 'beyond
16
the ghetto of one hour on Sunday morning1."
l^The two priests were the only ones included in
the survey.
"Educators Probe School Prayer Decision," The
Episcopal Review, XVII (April, 1966) , p. 5.
87
Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has not failed to
realize the impact which religion has had on the American
people. Although the Court in the Schempp c a s e - * - ^ prohib
ited Bible reading for religious purposes in the public
■ ' i
schools, it declared that teaching religion and the Bible i
objectively were appropriate subjects for the curricu-
18
ium. Both Dr. Fister and his associate, Dr. Hunt, agree i
!
that professional instructors teaching within the secular j
|
sphere of the public schools are able to do a better job |
|
of teaching the Bible as literature and history— and as j
indispensable background material for the humanities— than j
are amateurs who teach for less than one hour a week.-^ !
Thus, the Court and the denominations confirm the American j
heritage of a pervasive liberalism influenced and supported
-*-^Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S.
203 (1963).
18Ibid., p. 225. Mr. Justice Clark in writing the
majority decision for himself and seven of his colleagues
stated: "It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy
of study for its literary and historic qualities. Nothing
we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible
or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a
secular program of education may not be effected consist
ently with the First Amendment."
l^The Episcopal Review, XVII, loc. cit.
88
by a voluntary Christianity.2®
Even though the Protestant denominations have
favored the voluntary principle in religion, they have
played an important part in shaping the policies of the
political institutions. The influence of the denomina
tions was strongly felt in the founding of the Republic
and during the nineteenth century when Anglo-American
Protestantism was the dominant religion. With the revival
of interest in religion following World War II, the
denominations may be expected to continue to be an impor
tant political factor in the community.
The "wall of separation" between church and state
has never been insurmountable in the broad sense of reli
gious influence on the policies of government.2- * - p0r
example, in 1948 in the McCollum case,2* * which denied the
use of public school facilities for religious education,
Miller, op. cit., p. 105.
21Stokes and Pfeffer, op. cit., p. 55. Although
the phrase, "wall of separation" may be attributable to
Thomas Jefferson, nevertheless, "he believed that civil
liberties in the last analysis were dependent on religion,
on belief in God.1 1
22Relation Between Church and State, op. cit.,
p. 26.
89
Justice Frankfurter in his interpretation of Jefferson's
metaphor went so far as to equate the phrases, "church and
state" and "religion and state." The Justice's interpre
tation seemed to imply that the ethics of religion must
be separated from the ethics of public life. J Within a
few year, however, this interpretation was countered by
an interpretation more in line with American customs than
Justice Frankfurter's. In 1952, the Zorach case2^
affirmed the released time principle of permitting reli
gious education on school time away from public school
premises. The Court, through Justice Douglas, asserted:
We are a religious people whose institutions
pre-suppose a Supreme Being. . . . When the state
encourages religious instruction or cooperates
with religious authorities by adjusting the sched
ule of public events to sectarian needs, it follows
the best of our traditions. For it then respects
the religious nature of our people and accommodates
the public service to their spiritual needs. To
hold that it may not would be to find in the Con
stitution a requirement that the government show a
callous indifference to religious groups.25
22McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203
(1948) .
^ Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (1952) .
2^Ibid., pp. 313-314.
90
The Supreme Court has continued up to the present this
broader interpretation of the neutrality of the state in
regard to facilitating organized religion's influence
within the political system. As one prominent law profes- ;
sor has expressed the essence of the relationship between j
religious liberty and governmental neutrality, "This
principle of religious liberty is incompatible with an
absolute separation of church and state. . . . The Consti- !
|
tution does not shrink religious liberty to the liberty
9 fk '
which is compatible with strict separation." j
j
Existential theologians would have the denomina- j
tions become an active political force within but not over j
2 7 1
the community. Consequently, m considering the modern i
2^Wilber G. Katz, "Freedom of Religion vs. Separa- ■
tion," in Raab, op. cit., p. 164. Wilber Katz is Professor;
of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School. He pre- i
viously taught at the University of Chicago for over thirty|
years where he also served as dean of the Law School for
over ten years. He is Chairman of the Commission on
Church-State Relations of the Episcopal Church.
^Harvey Cox, The Secular City (New York: The Mac- j
millan Co., 1965), p. 256. As Cox puts it: "Speaking of
God in a secular fashion is thus a political issue. It
entails our discerning where God is working and then join
ing His work. Standing in a picket line is a way of
speaking. By doing it a Christian speaks of God. He helps
alter the word 'God' by changing the society in which it
has been trivialized, by moving away from the context
91
political position of the denominations the traditional
two swords concept is no longer appropriate. The tradi
tional approach of theologians has been that history may
be viewed in terms of two separate but interwoven strands. !
t
The strategy of the church has been directed toward bring- j
ing outsiders into the security of the sanctuary. Contem- ;
porary Christians, who believe the great issue of the
time is the remodeling of this world according to the j
I
teachings of Jesus, advocate a strategy of working within 1
i
i
and for this world— the physical world being equally with I
the church the creation of the Supreme B e i n g . 28 j
|
To the extent the idea of a wall of separation j
between church and state tends to reflect the traditional j
institutional struggle between organized religions and the j
i
|
state for the individual's loyalty and support, it is a j
valuable attribute of American constitutional law. It has j
where 1God-talk1 usually occurs, and by shedding the
stereo-type roles in which God's name is usually intoned."
^Robert W. Spike, "The Metropolis: Crucible for
Theological Reconstruction," The Church and the Exploding
Metropolis, ed. Robert Lee (Richmond: John Knox Press,
1965) , p. 41. Robert Spike is General Secretary for Pro
gram, United Church Board for Homeland Ministries and
Lecturer in Church and Community at Union Theological
Seminary.
92
been especially useful in a denominationally-separated
religious community. The concept of state neutrality is
an appropriate one to accommodate the efforts of those
individuals who believe that a Christian's responsibility
is to discern the meaning and purpose of God in this ;
world, and who wish to be as unhindered as is consistent
with political effectiveness in modern society by insti-
I
tutional inertia, self-preservation, and control. !
|
Because the doctrine of the legal separation of j
j
religious and governmental institutions has encouraged an j
i
I
internal conflict in the denominations over their role in j
|
the secular problems of the community,^ many of the j
clergy have been hesitant about taking an active role in j
i
!
political affairs for fear of encroaching on a theoretical ;
i
wall of separation between church and state. As R. Morton :
Darrow has claimed, "Whatever else the doctrine of the j
|
'wall of separation' has done, it has thrown a shadow of
29
Ibid., p. 34. Spike has made a clear distinc
tion along theological lines between the two major group
ings within the denominations: "The metropolis will be
the arena in which the major theological battle of the
century will be fought. It must be between those who
stand primarily under the shadow of a doctrine of the
church and those who are oriented toward a doctrine of
the world."
93
guilt upon church participation in political affairs."30
It is equally true in a religiously pluralistic community
that the direct intervention of the denominations into
politics creates external as well as internal problems.
For example, a leading Presbyterian clergyman reported
that when the New York Presbytery of the United Presby
terian Church endorsed the platform on which Congressman
Lindsay, the Republican candidate for mayor of New York
city, was running and thereby implicitly endorsed his
candidacy, the supporters of Mr. Beam, his Democratic
opponent for the office, raised the cry of anti
semitism. 31
Even though the major Protestant denominations
are hesitant about intervening overtly as organized inter
est groups in political affairs, they are in a position to
fulfill a judgmental role in relation to political and
30r . Morton Darrow, "The Church and Techniques of
Political Action," Religious Perspectives in American Cul
ture, James Ward Smith and A. Leland Jamison (eds.)
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1961), p. 162.
31
During the campaign this clergyman was in New
York City on business and at the same time visiting his
son, a Presbyterian clergyman in that area.
94
social issues. 3 2 The neutrality of the state in regard
to organized religions lends support to this role for the
denominations by recognizing their right to influence pub
lic opinion outside their own religious community. One of I
the political-moral functions of the church is to provide
objective standards of excellence by which the results of
governmental and communal decisions may be judged. Hans
j
Morgenthau concludes, "In their genuine manifestations i
|
religion, philosophy, tragedy, and humor require an objec- j
tive position outside society. They require objective
i
standards through which society can be understood, judged, j
I
and given meaning."^ :
3 2 "Bishop Bloy Endorses Proposed Watts Hospital,"
The Episcopal Review, XVII (June, 1966), p. 4. As an
example, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Ange
les with the unanimous support of the Diocesan Council
endorsed the bond issue for the proposed Watts Hospital in
a written communication handed out at church services on
the Sunday before the election and also in the monthly
diocesan newspaper. The Bishop stated: "The McCone Com
mission's pinpointing of this need has led to the bond j
issue which will be put before the voters of Los Angeles j
(County) as Proposition A on June 7. This commission, j
with others who have the welfare of all citizens of our
community at heart, have urged the building of this hospi
tal. I am pleased to give my whole-hearted support to
this project."
Hans Morgenthau, The Purpose of American Poli
tics (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1960), pp. 227-228.
95
Until recently Protestants have been inclined to
accept the covert use of political power by the authorities
in the community and to support indirectly the established ;
power structure.They have considered inappropriate to
i
a republican form of government the overt use of political j
35
power to obtain social and economic justice. But m the ■
last few years, the denominations have given official
recognition to the possibility of civil disobedience where |
i
the authority of government has been employed contrary to
i
i
their understanding of the best interests of the entire j
community. In addition, individual churchmen have become i
personally involved with the cause of the politically I
3^Floyd Hunter, Community Power Structure (Chapel
Hill: University of North Carolina, 1953), p. 82. In his
study of the power structure of Atlanta, Hunter reported
that at the time of his research the clergy were not in
the top group of decision makers. "It may be noted here j
that none of the ministers of churches in Regional City !
were chosen as top leaders by the persons interviewed in j
the study. . . . It is understood, however, that in order j
to get a project well under way it would be important to j
bring the churches in, but they are not as institutions, j
considered crucial in the decision-making process." j
35John C. Bennett, "The Church and Power Con
flicts," The Church and Community Organization, ed. John
R. Fry (New York: National Council of Churches, 1965),
pp. 135-136.
96
significant contemporary protest groups, Negro rights and
student anti-war actions. Professor Harrop Freeman be
lieves the two groups are in reality one protest movement
and that this movement is the "most important new moral-
political force in America since the Granger-Progressive-
Labor movements laid the foundations of the New Deal." j
i
By way of comparison, the situation in a similarly !
democratic but more religiously and ethnically homogeneous j
i
country like England is enlightening.37 in England, where
church and state are not legally separate, a direct state
I
subsidy to the clergy can be an advantage in that the i
)
subsidy can provide the clergy with a more secure financialj
l
base than if they were dependent upon their congregations, j
|
This aids the clergy to be somewhat independent of con
gregational or denominational control and inertia, and
such governmental support helps to establish an explora- j
I
tory ministry in a secular society that can operate rela- '
3^Harrop A. Freeman, "The Legality of Challenge," I
Los Angeles Times, April 24, 1966. j
I
* 3 7 i
-"John C.- Bennett, op. cit., p. 206. Bennett be- j
lieves that the "most wonderful combination of things is
to be found in the Anglican establishment. The Church of
England itself is not supported financially by the state,
but it has its own endowments."
97
tively independently of the established institutions of
both church and state.
This brief consideration of one advantage to an
established church in a democratic unitary state points
up the problems in a•federal system of government where
governmental power is distributed among several govern
ments. The series of recent public school decisions by
the United States Supreme Court regulating the interaction I
between organized religion and a secular public institu- |
tion exemplifies the fact that most difficult problems
of church-state adjustment, for the present, are likely ;
I
to occur in state jurisdictions rather than federal. Each j
state, of course, has its own unique problems to solve.
Most of these problems are in such fields as education
and the general welfare, fields that have been largely
under the legal control of the states and their subdivi
sions.38 I
i
j
Post-Protestant America
The second factor affecting the position of the
denominations in the modern urban complex is the effect of
38Stokes and Pfeffer, op. cit., p. 579.
9 8
the historical domination of Protestantism in shaping the
American cultural and institutional patterns. Historically
the United States has been a Protestant nation, since its
culture and institutions have been shaped mainly by denom- :
inational Protestants. Until the twentieth century the
holders of power have been primarily Protestants.^9 while
this is still true on the national level, it is becoming
significantly less so in the metropolitan areas. |
!
One of the more important reasons for the continua-;
|
tion of the Protestant Christian America myth is the sta- j
tistics published in relation to church membership.40 j
Membership is estimated to be 64 per cent of the popula
tion— about sixty-seven million Protestants and about j
j
forty-five million Roman Catholics.41 However, there is j
^Gerhard Lenski, "The Four Socio-Religious j
Groups," Raab, op. cit., p. 44. j
40pierre Berton, The Comfortable Pew (Philadelphia:
J. B. Lippincott Co., 1965), p. 56. More than a century
ago, the Danish philosopher-theologian Kierkegaard recog
nized the importance of numbers on the imagination. He
said, "The illusion of a Christian nation is due doubtless
to the power which numbers exercise over the imagination."
43-The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1965 (New
York, 1965), p. 624.
99
doubt about the reliability and the validity of these
figures in regard to the committed membership. One theo
logian has pointed out:
Nothing is more elusive in church history than
honest statistics . . . all of the major religious
bodies keep a large percentage of "dead wood" on
the rolls, and church statistics are considerably
less reliable than production figures on corn,
wheat, pigs, b e e f . 42
Many Americans tend to claim membership in a reli-
j
gious grouping when in reality their claim is only a means
by which they relate to the community in some manner. j
According to Will Herberg's analysis of this type of
identification, the claim to church membership is a means
by which the individual gains a feeling of self-identifi- j
cation and social location in the complex and impersonal
world in which he lives. For many of these individuals,
commitment to the religious-ethical ideal of an inclusive
brotherhood of man is not a significant aspect of their [
f
affiliation.^ j
^^Franklin H. Littell, From State Church to Plu
ralism (Garden City: Doubleday and Co., 1962), pp. 30-31.
Many of the clergy 1 interviewed were aware of this prob-
'lem and were trying to keep church records accurate.
^Herberg, pp. cit., p. 265. Herberg describes
this motivation in perceptive terms. "What Americans
100
By virtue of their real or presumed dominant
position, the denominations have often been aligned with
the community power structure. Rather than seeking polit- ;
ical influence they have emphasized the goal of individual
salvation and redemption through acts of piety including
regular attendance at services. Therefore, the infusion
of power conflicts over controversial issues that involve
the denominations' position vis-a-vis the policies of
i
secular institutions in the community has caused the ;
I
clergy considerable concern over the inevitable divisions |
j
created within both the churches and the denominations.44 \
believe in when they are religious is— religion itself.
Of course, religious Americans speak of God and Christ, j
but what they seem to regard as really redemptive is pri- j
marily religion, the 'positive1 attitude of believing. It j
is this faith in faith, this religion that makes religion
its own object, that is the outstanding characteristic of j
contemporary American religiosity." Lenski in his Detroit |
study obtained evidence to support Herberg's description.
Lenski, op. cit., pp. 34-36.
^In the course of my interviews in Los Angeles,
churchmen often expressed their concern for the factional- |
ism created within their churches over the question of the
involvement of the individual churches as well as the
denominations in political and social issues. Unfortu
nately, more than one clergyman gave as a reason the view
that "politics is a dirty business" for which he had
little interest or time.
101
However, the fact that the religious composition
of the power structure in urban areas has been changing
gives the denominations an incentive to organize into a
political force to continue their influence in these im
portant a r e a s . ^5 But because Protestants continue to
think in terms of a Christian Protestant America, they
fail to realize America is not now either Christian or j
Protestant.^6 As a result they do not recognize the im- !
j
portance of forming a cohesive organized interest group.to j
!
i
represent denominational Protestant viewpoints on modern j
i
problems. Protestant Councils have been organized in !
i
urban areas, but grass roots support is often lacking.
^Lenski, loc. cit. According to Lenski, from the
Protestant viewpoint "Increasingly positions of power are j
being occupied by people whose commitment to traditional '
American standards, particularly those with a distinctive
Protestant flavor, is not certain. Their rise may well
; lead to a transformation of the traditional institutional
system hence they are to be feared."
^®"U.S. Protestantism: Time for a Second Reforma- J
tion," Newsweek, LXVIII (January 3, 1966), p. 34. News
week made this point in rather strong words: "Indeed, in
the eyes of many observors, conventional Protestantism—
for years comfortably established in the public imagina-
: tion as the nation’s 'official1 religion— stood revealed
' within a secularized American society as the empty, dis
pirited inheritance of a faceless and fragmented religious
majority, the least demanding option among the major reli-
i gious faiths."
Consequently they fail to exercise much influence on the 1
community power structure. i
i
It is also significant that the Christian Protest- |
ant myth is especially prevalent among the dissident theo- j
logical conservatives on the fringe of Protestantism, who j
are also actively engaged in reactionary nativistic pol
itics. 4 ^ As stated in Chapter Two, although the leadershipj
|
involved in this type of religious politics is not drawn
from the denominational clergy, there is support for such
politics among the conservative clergy and laity. In a
religiously pluralistic as well as secularistic community,
|
non-Christians and Roman Catholics associate these individ-j
uals with the committed Christians in the denominations.
This association makes the task of influencing political
and communal decisions more difficult for the denominations
because it alienates potential allies. The denominations1
ability to form alliances with the liberal wing of the
4^Bishop Mueller, President of the National Coun
cil of Churches, in a speech to a semi-annual meeting of
the Los Angeles Council of Churches referred to this
group as "religious Nazis.1 1
103
Roman Catholic Church48 and with secular organizations to
support their programs has been lessened because of the
activity of these individuals.
Furthermore, the fringe or dissident Protestants
have an evangelistic fervor in presenting and supporting
theologically conservative Protestantism. In their view,
i conservative Protestantism is closely associated with the
■ "American way of life," and the two beliefs are hardly
distinguishable from a description of the white middle
class ethos. Philosophically, dissident Protestants base
' their definition on the Protestant work ethic4® and on
48There is a rapproachement between the denomina-
i tions and the Roman Catholic Church since Vatican Council
j II. As evidence of this, a Cardinal, Archbishop Cushing of
; Boston, attended a meeting of the 178th General Assembly
of the United Presbyterian Church. This was an historic
i event. Dan Thrapp, religion editor of the Los Angeles
Times, reported concerning the Cardinal's statement at the
: meeting: "He noted that until Pope John XXIII called his
: Ecumenical Council at Rome, a cardinal's appearance before
| a Protestant body would have been almost impossible." Dan
i L. Thrapp, "Cardinal Cushing Causes Stir at Assembly of
Presbyterians," Los Angeles Times, May 20, 1966.
4^Cox, op. cit., p. 182. "Even in technopolitan
I culture we still often hold to the proposition that having
I some kind of job is an indispensable character-building
| activity and perhaps even an act of religious devotion.
; The pay we derive from our job is a pat on the head admin-
; istered by Adam Smith's invisible hand. Since that invis-
; ible hand is the closest many people get to Calvin's prov
supposed Caucasian racial superiority.^
Dissident Protestants' association of race, class, j
t
and work, ethic with religion has a strong appeal to in- ;
secure individuals in this period of uncertainty about
values and the future. It especially appeals to those who j
identify with Protestantism but who lack the conviction j
required to be a servant and a prophetic leader in the |
!
secular community.^ !
I
Their fervor in support of Americanism and Protes^
idential God (from whom it is directly descended), the job.
has a sacred value. It provides the orthodox bridge be
tween morals and economics, the key to the kingdom of con
sumption. "
^Martin E. Marty, The New Shape of American Reli
gion (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1959), p. 15. Accord
ing to Marty the real strength of the present revival came
from the middle-brow middle class, "the New Americans who
seemed to congregate in the suburbs. At the center of
these impulses was what the late Paul Hutchinson called the
'cult of reassurance— a sort of alliance between one aspect
of religion, the "I will fear no evil" aspect, and depth
psychology to overcome modern personality disintegra
tions . ' "
5 1 ] 3 e r t o n , pp. cit. , p. 87. "When Christianity be
comes part of the religious and social establishment, when
it weaves itself into the national creed, it becomes an
inflexible religion, suffering truly from a kind of "right
ness" that renders it disdainful of new conditions, mores,
habits, or attitudes. It looks back upon the past rather
than forward into the future, until it becomes itself fos
silized, using symbols and language no longer appropriate
to its place and time."
• 105 |
tantism as they have defined them is comparable to the I
I
revivalistic spirit of the fundamentalists of the late I
C O
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In contrast j
to the contemporary approach of the dissident Protestants, |
the revivalistic spirit of the fundamentalists was egali- j
tarian as well as anti-intellectual. Fundamentalism had
an activist quality related to its Armenian background
which gave rise to a wide concern for everyone's spiritual
welfare.^ Their concern was implicit in their great
emphasis on the redemption of those who had fallen prey
to sin regardless of who they were. Used in this context,
sin was related to the Scriptures even though its main
thrust was against sins of the flesh such as drink, promis-
5^Marty, op. cit., p. 9. All previous revivals in
iAmerica had a theologically conservative approach but in
each period of revival its outward thrust was blunted by
other approaches. As Marty claims: "What is marked from
Edwards down to Billy Sunday (and I use the word 'down'
; advisedly) is the way the more conservative side of main-
; stream Protestant Christianity— the side that was always
most effected by revival— saw its particular witness ecode
against the environment or corrode as it contacted some
what different witnesses."
53lbid., p. 24. The methodology in these revivals
had been to employ the concept of a total covenanted com
munity to which God would respond.
106
cuity, and gambling.54 Unfortunately the dissident
Protestants are concerned with a different type of sin. ;
In their view sin comprises any belief inconsistent with j
their definition of Protestantism and the "American way of j
life." |
The dissident Protestants1 dedication to and activej
support of their beliefs hinders the political effective- j
ness of the denominations. For example, their accusations
of communist influence among the denominational clergy
because of their secular activities makes an active polit
ical role more difficult.
Furthermore, the denominations have sacrificed
1 theological rigor in their concern for numbers. Conse-
; quently they are limited in their political influence by
accepting a generalized theological commitment suffi-
!
ciently vague to alienate no one. For the same financial [
and numerical reasons that political parties make their
platform ambiguous, churchmen have made the Christian
ethic ambiguous. As a result, elected officials, who often
:overlook the party platform on which they were elected,
^Daniel The Radical Right (Garden City:
Doubleday and Co., 1963), p. 63.
107 !
are also likely to ignore the petitions, letters, and pro- '
tests of churchmen who have no real program to offer and
only a nominally committed supporting organization behind ;
|
them. |
The limitations created by the fact of a post- |
Protestant America on the political influence of the de- j
|
nominations is acutely demonstrated by their lessening j
effectiveness on political issues which concern them.55
Similar to other influential but declining interest groups,
the denominations concentrate their efforts on opposing j
the passage of pending bills in the legislature or in j
! C C j
seeking repeal of statutes already in existence. ° Thus I
the political activity of the denominations in the twenti
eth century has been primarily negative on political
I
issues, instead of taking a positive and progressive stand
j
on them. It is suggested here that this type of approach
to politics, in turn, creates a negative attitude toward
: political involvement which will have to be changed if the
denominations are to exercise forward-looking or prophetic
55Littell, op. cit., pp.150-151.
| ' ’5 j y [ Urray stedman, Jr., Religion and Politics in
: America (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1964), p.
j 108
i • J
leadership in the community. ^7 \
A significant exception to the politically negative j
role of the denominations in post-Protestant America is j
their part in the current civil rights movement and the j
: i
related passage of civil rights legislation.^® Their posi-|
j
;tive political action in this area can be a turning point |
}
in the political role of the clergy and the denominations, j
However, it should be recognized that the success of this
movement and the achievement of effective legislation is
the fulfillment of the nation's original sense of mission—
5?Gerhard Lenski, The Religious Factor {Garden
City: Doubleday and Co., 1963), p.177. According to
;Lenski, the negative attitude toward governmental authority
has its brighter side. In regard to the use of govern-
jmental power to enforce controversial moral standards,
active white Protestants are less likely to believe that
this power should be used to suppress contrary practices.
|The one exception was in the case of Sunday business. On
the basis of my interviews, I found that for the most part
;the clergy in Los Angeles, favored allowing business to
j remain open on Sunday.
^® Although taking a positive moral position in
relation to Proposition Fourteen, the denominations were
forced into a negative stand in that they found it neces
sary to favor a "No" vote on the initiative. The Califor-
inia Real Estate Association had taken positive action to
protect what it conceived to be its interest. One clergy-
|man remarked during an interview that the denominations
;as usual were too late with too little in that the initia-
I tive should never have been allowed to obtain sufficient
|names to appear on the ballot.
"its messianic or quasi-messianic consciousness of being
the initiator and bearer of the principles of constitution
al democracy."^ It could be argued, therefore, that this
effort on the part of the clergy and the denominations was
extraordinarily late in coming and was a means for assuag
ing a guilty conscience for a long period of inaction on
behalf of equality and justice for all citizens.
An empirical study carried out in Detroit in 1958
supports the need for a stronger associational involvement
by the denominational membership. Gerhard Lenski found
that white adherents of the major Protestant denominations
had only moderate involvement in their socioreligious
group. This was the case with both associational and com
munal i n v o l v e m e n t . jn contrast, minority socioreligious
Reinhold Niebuhr, A Nation So Conceived (New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1963), p. 12.
6 n
Lenski, The Religious Factor . . ., p. 19.
:Lenski follows Tonnies1 distinction between associations
and communities. "Associations, (Gesellschaften) arise
out of the desire of men to attain specific, but limited,
ends without regard for the affective character of the
[Social relationships required by their collective effort.
. . .By contrast, communities (Gemeinschaften) arise out
i of the natural attraction of like-minded persons for whom
|social relationships established are an end in themselves,
land not merely means to some other end."
110
groups— Jews and Negro Protestants— had a strong communal
bond. The Roman Catholics were found to have a strong
I
associational involvement but only a moderate communal I
bond.*^ From this information, it can be deduced that
: white denominational Protestants in a post-Protestant
]
: i
period are the least likely of the socioreligious groups j
to form an active organized religious political force in
the community.
Because white Protestants and Roman Catholics are
by far the largest socioreligious groups, they have less
need for a strong communal bond than do the minorities.
However, the fact that Catholics have a strong associa
tional involvement accounts in part for the political
effectiveness of the National Catholic Welfare Conference,
; the organizational spokesman for Roman Catholicism.
This discussion of the political ramifications of
: a no-longer dominant denominational Protestantism under-
| scores an important conclusion of this study: theological
commitment in an associational context within the denomina-
61Ibid., p. 37.
tions has been considerably eroded.if the denominations!
want to be politically more efficacious and to function j
j
more effectively in a judgmental role in a secular society,
they need a basis for a stronger associational involvement
i
than they have at p r e s e n t . 6 3 Existential theology can
i
provide a philosophical foundation for this type of in-
i
I
volvement.
Methods of Political Influence
Considering the two factors that church and state
are legally separate and that America is now a religiously
pluralistic nation, the political influence of the denomi
nations can no longer be dependent upon political leaders
6 J
Littell, op. cit., p. 81. "The larger churches
thus enter the period of theological and ethical conflict,
in the twentieth century, without disciplined troops and
without a clear understanding of the line of battle. This
is the major price paid for the enormous statistical suc-
| cess of a century and a half of mass conversions."
Lenski, The Religious Factor . . ., p. 21.
Early American Protestants in their concern for theology
; would have given a different picture. Calvinists and
! Puritans were highly committed and involved in their reli-
! gious associations. Lenski points out that Weber has
! attributed the development of the spirit of capitalism to
■ this strong associational involvement.
who are also denominational Protestants. Consequently the
denominations1 political influence takes two different
forms. In one form it is like that of any other organized
interest group in a community based on associational plu-
)
ralism.^ As an interest group it is subject to the
requirements that make such groups successful in their
operations. Therefore, the denominations' influence on
political affairs depends on their proximity or relevancy
(in the thinking of their adherents) to the arena of poli
tics, and on the legitimacy of their claim to influence
decision making in the governmental process.^ As it is
understood in this sense, the interaction between politics
and organized religion in the United States is based on
organizational pressures, group interaction and identity,
®^Stedman, op. cit., p. 11.
6J5james ward Smith and A. Leland Jamison (eds.),
: "Introduction to Religious Perspectives in American Cul-
: ture," II, Religion in American Life (Princeton: Prince-
: ton University Press, 1961), p. 5. "On the one hand,
Americans as individuals inject into political conflicts
and debates innumerable shadings which are religious in
i character; on the other hand, the churches as organized
; institutions are important elements in the power structure
| of American political methods.1 1
and group interest.66
One of the most well-known attempts on the part
)
of the denominations to organize a powerful interest
group for the purpose of influencing public policy was the
Anti-Saloon League organized in 1893 in Oberlin, Ohio, to
secure the passage of prohibitory legislation on the
liquor traffic. The League was supported by the denomina
tions but most forcefully by the two largest and most
active among the working class, the Methodist and Baptist.
By 1919 it had secured the acceptance of the Eighteenth
Amendment to the Constitution. Unfortunately for the
future use of direct action in nationally organized in
terest groups by the denominations, this attempt at posi
tive political action was not well received by a majority
of Americans. Indeed, the "high-pressure" method employed
to secure the adoption of this Amendment did not give the
nation great confidence in the plan of direct action by
religious associations in state affairs.67 &s a result of
^Robert Lane, Political Life (Glencoe, 111.: The
Free Press, 1959), p. 247.
^Stokes and Pfeffer, op. cit., p. 313.
114
the debacle of Prohibition, the denominations have been
more circumspect in attempting to control (directly) pub- j
l
|
lie policy.
In the other form of political influence, the
I
denominations' theological approach affects the behavior |
!
of the individual's decision making with respect to the I
f
s
political system. While it is difficult to verify empiri
cally the extent of the effect of a citizen's religious
affiliation on his behavior, it is probably of consider
able significance. 8 Peter Odegard has categorized reli
gious beliefs as being among the silent issues in a j
national political campaign. He believes that, "Beneath
the raucous ballyhoo of every presidential contest there
lie the silent issues, which, in the end, often exert more
influence on the result than those so loudly argued in
the tumult and shouting of the campaign."^9
68Along this line of thinking the effect of the
denominations' teaching and practice in regard to marriage
and divorce has had considerable influence on the behavior
of the voter in that bachelorhood and divorce are often
stigmas not easily overcome in seeking political office
irregardless of other merits of the candidate.
^^Peter Odegard (ed.). Religion and Politics
(Dobbs Ferry, New York: 1960), p. v.
The significance of religious affiliation is also
felt at the local level. In a case study of a campaign
for an assembly seat in the state of Washington in 1958,
a law student at the University of Washington, Wes Ullman,
and his fellow campaigners were surprised by the impor
tance of the candidate's religious affiliation in the
minds of the voters. Almost the only question voters
asked the candidate or his co-workers on the doorbell ring'
ing part of their campaign related to the religion of the
candidate. The candidate and his wife reported large
numbers of calls came into their home asking this type of
question. While only a small minority of citizens voiced
the question, it came from both Catholic and Protestant
voters, and from voters with a wide variety of educational
and economic backgrounds. This evidence supports Her-
berg1s claim that "American religion and American society
would seem to be so closely interrelated as to make it
virtually impossible to understand either without refer
ence to the other."71
70Information obtained in a Lecture.
71Herberg, op. cit., p. 3.
116
Within these two forms of influence, the clergy
(through their religious establishment) may follow two
different approaches toward either directly or indirectly j
influencing the political process. First, they may sup- j
j
port the status quo as the most satisfactory approach. j
i
j
This approach results in the clergy advocating a conform- j
ist-producing tendency by claiming God's favor for the i
American way of life as it is expressed in previous and
contemporary cultural and political patterns.^2 Secondly,
the clergy may utilize their influence to bring to a
fuller realization the Christian ethical ideal implicit in
the secular democratic creed as the creed is applied to a
changing environment. Following this second type of
approach, the denominations would be involved in a situa-
7?
T. W. Adorno, Else Frenkel-Brunswik, Daniel J.
Levinson, and R. Nevitt Sanford, The Authoritarian Per
sonality (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1950), p. 730.
"The more this cement is needed for the maintenance of the
status quo and the more dubious its inherent truth becomes,
the more obstinately is its authority upheld and the more
hostile, destructive and negative features come to the
fore. The transformation of religion into an agency of
social conformity makes it fall in line with most other
: conformist tendencies. Adherence to Christianity under
such conditions easily lends itself to abuse; to subservi-
' ence, overadjustment, and ingroup loyalty as an ideology
| that covers up hatred against the disbeliever, the dis-
: senter, the Jew."
117
tion of creative tension between organized religion and
!
i
secular society.
At this point, it is desirable to distinguish be- j
|
tween the "American way of life" and the broader demo
cratic creed with regard to their relationship to the
i
American polity. The former is essentially an idealized j
|
i
description of the middle class ethos peculiar to the
American community. The latter, with minor variations in
the American environment, is the broader democratic creed
as it applies to all nations. Arnold Rose has described
■ the creed as it applies in a wider context than the Ameri-
1 can scene:
"American ideals" are just human ideals as they
have grown up in our common Western civilization
upon the foundation of Judaism and Christianity and
under the influence of the economic, scientific,
and political development over a number of centuries.
The American Creed is older and wider than America
itself.74
' Thus if churchmen rationalize or justify the status quo
73Berton, op. cit., p. 75. "Though religion may be
able to support a system of social morals at any given
period, it is questionable whether Christianity can."
74Arnold Rose, The Negro in America (New York:
Harper and Brothers, 1964), p. 9.
118
based on the "American way of life," as Christians they !
are not influencing others to commit themselves to the j
i
i
democratic creed and the religious-ethical ideal in rela- j
tion to their political behavior in the community. j
In addition, if the primary purpose of denomina- j
tional Protestantism is to assure divine sanction for the j
"American way of life," it establishes itself as an
American cultural religion. Christianity, however, is a
world religion.In their ministerial functions, if the
clergy implement the democratic creed, they are both exer
cising prophetic leadership and fulfilling a judgmental
role. The fulfillment of these roles results in a creative
^Bennett, op. cit., p. 148. Bennett agrees:
: "The Church needs many ministers who identify themselves
with the efforts of the poor to gain power to balance the
thousands of ministers who give implicitly their blessing
to the way the strong keep their power."
^Martin E. Marty, The Restless Church, ed. Will-
iiam Kilbourn (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott and Co.,
i 1966), Preface. "People in our modern, pluralist, secular
i world have been successfully devising a civic or societal
religion much like the Romanitas of the ancient world or
the Christendom of the Middle Ages. . . . That some civic
or societal religion is inevitable is a commonly accepted
observation. Whether it is good or bad depends on what
one thinks of the prophetic or Protestant or classical
Christianity which is supposed to measure or judge
society."
119
;tension between Christianity and society which makes the
Church a political force. Because change is an ingredient
much in evidence in a society rapidly expanding technolog- j
ically and numerically, the future political relevance of
|
the denominations depends on their present ability to cope
creatively with the changes taking place. * » |
|
Religious Associations in Post-Protestant America
In post-Protestant America other Christian reli
gious associations have an effect on the denominations'
ability to influence social and political decisions.
!
There are six associations which will be briefly discussed
in the remainder of the chapter: (1) transforming Calvin-
7 7
ism; (2) perfectionist Calvinism; (3) Lutheranism;
(4) Orthodoxy; (5) Roman Catholicism; and (6) the recently
organized sects centered around non-Biblical charismatic
'leadership.
Prior to the influx of immigrants from central and
eastern Europe and Ireland in the latter half of the nine
teenth century, the predominant American religion was
77W . Widick Schroeder and Victor Qbenhaus, Religion
in American Culture (London: The Free Press of Glencoe,
1964), pp. 199-201.
..............................■ ■ ■ .... ” I
120 |
Calvinistic Protestantism. Fortunately for the develop- j
i
I
ment of American democratic government, early American
Protestantism was the heir of a moderate English Reforma- j
I
I
tion during the reign of Elizabeth I. Religious tolera- j
tion was not an unknown virtue in Elizabethan England.78
And significantly, unlike the other Christian associations,
Calvinistic theology has been based on an ethics of posi
tive action in this world.79
The denominations with which this study is con
cerned come under the transforming wing of Calvinism,
which has embraced the spirit of activism to a much great
extent than its perfectionist wing. The denominations
have adhered to the idea that man is capable of creating
a more harmonious world in which to live. Even though
man's sinful nature prevents perfect harmony from being j
achieved, the denominations' approach embodies an activism
78Ferdinand Schevill, A History of Europe (New
York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1947), pp. 168-169.
^George H. Sabine, A History of Political Theory
(New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961), p. 364.
"And indeed, what better motive can there be to relentless
activity— to steel the will and, if need be, to harden the
heart— than a whole-souled conviction that a man is the
chosen instrument of God's will?"
which recognizes the responsibility of man to work toward
that end.
|
Three of the five Protestant families described by j
!
Brown are included under the transforming wing of Calvin- j
ism: Episcopal, Presbyterian, and "Free Churches."80 The
|
last family includes the Methodist, Baptist, Congregational
and Christian churches although individual churches within
i
this group are closer in doctrine to the perfectionist
wing.
Two doctrines have been most influential in the
denominations. All three of the denominational families
: i
have experienced a Calvinistic heritage mediated through |
a Puritan background, and from this heritage, the doc
trines of the individual's sacred calling in the secular
world and of rationalistic worldly asceticism have been
most influential.These two doctrines seem to have been
^Robert McAfee Brown, The Spirit of Protestantism
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1965), pp. 26-29.
Brown includes the Society of Friends in this category al
though he recognizes they are often classified with the
sects. The Friends though small in number have followed a
; strongly activist line, and they have often cooperated with
; the denominations.
81Lenski, The Religious Factor . . ., pp. 116-117.
; For example, Lenski shows that there is a correlation
122
responsible for the sociopolitical activism of the com
mitted denominational Protestant.
However, the concept of voluntarism in denomina
tional religious practices and a changing environmental
situation have affected the extent to which these doctrines
can be the basis of an associational involvement in the
modern world. The denominations are the religious associa
tion most likely to develop appropriate doctrines to deal
with the changing situation. The denominations have held
that the church is not an end in itself but only a means to
an end which is greater knowledge of God and of His will.
Therefore, the means is subject to change. The denomina
tions also recognize that complete knowledge of God is not
now and may never be available to earthly man; therefore,
they have encouraged intellectual autonomy, doubt, and
curiosity.82
: between these doctrines and the spirit of capitalism. He
; found that committed white Protestants of both the working
and middle classes are more involved with the spirit of
capitalism than the marginal Protestants. Committed Negro
Protestants are as involved with the spirit as are Catho
lics in general even though white Catholics are much more
:likely to be in the middle class.
82Ibid., p. 204.
123
The perfectionist wing of Calvinism is composed of
two groups; those associations tracing their history to i
!
the Reformation era and those of more recent origin. Reli-j
i
gious associations in the first category include small I
i
groups like the Moravians and Mennonites and significant j
|
portions of some large groups like the Baptists. It also j
includes medium sized but growing associations like the
Seventh Day Adventists. In the second category are reli
gious associations like the Pentecostals and the Assem
blies of God. Broad associational bonds in this grouping
are minimal, and church groups proliferate rapidly with
each new faction trying to recapture the "purity" which
has been lost by its "misguided" predecessors.88
The perfectionist wing is characterized by a vision
of the coming Kingdom of God. Related to this millenarial
approach is a type of ethical legalism which outlines
rather specific behavior patterns adherents are expected
84
to observe to be acceptable at the day of judgment. ^
Because of their ethical legalism and millenarial hopes,
88Brown, op. cit., p. 30.
84Ibid., p. 29.
124
there is a feeling for the exclusiveness of the group in
relation to outsiders. In this regard, Schroeder and
Obenhaus note that, "One of the powerful latent functions j
j
of doctrinal emphasis is the solidification of the group
and exclusion of n o n - m e m b e r s ."85
The doctrines of the religious associations within
the perfectionist wing cause them to remain aloof from
the broader social and political concerns of the secular
world. As a result they do not cooperate with the denomi
nations in ecumenical efforts to exert political influ
ence.
The Lutherans comprise the oldest Protestant group
^Schroeder and Obenhaus, op. cit., p. 200.
^Brown, op. cit., pp. 29-30. Brown comments on
the emotional aspect of perfectionist Calvinism: "An
emotional type of religious conversion is usually norma
tive for membership in these groups, and those converted
expect the imminent return of Christ in judgment. They
make repeated use of a few Biblical passages to support
their position and believe intensely in the present and
direct guidance of the Holy Spirit. As a rule they have
little social concern, putting their emphasis on keeping
'unspotted from the world'." For example, the Pentecost-
als believe that baptism of the Holy Spirit comes about
through speaking in tongues. Aimie Semple McPherson,
"Declaration of Faith," The International Church of the
Foursquare Gospel, pp. 16-17.
125 |
with a self-conscious identity,87 an£ numerically they are
the largest Protestant body in the world. 88 Scripture is
the primary determinant of their theology, and right doc- !
. i
trine based on Scriptural interpretation mediated through j
i
the guidance of the Holy Spirit is of utmost importance.89 j
i
i
Lutheranism is conservatively oriented in compari- !
i
son with the denominations in relation to liturgy and |
ritual. A professor of philosophy and a Lutheran clergy
man, Charles Kegley, writes about the Lutheran service:
For, more than any other Christians with the
possible exception of the Anglican communion, it con
served the essential elements of pre-Reformation
liturgy and church architecture, the role of con
fession, both public and private, the rich tradition j
in music and in church festivals, in literature, and
even in the external characteristics of traditional
Christian practice."
87Ibid., p. 25.
88Charles W. Kegley, Protestantism in Transition
: {New York: The Macmillan Co., 1965), p. 40.
i 89Brown, loc. cit. "So important is doctrine, in-
ideed, that a number of different Lutheran groups exist,
each feeling that the others compromise the truth at some
important point."
"Kegley, op. cit. , p. 41.
But most significant for the absence of an activist
and united denominational Protestantism including Lutherans
has been the Lutheran doctrine of the absolute separation
of the two realms, church and state.^ Because of this
doctrine, Lutheranism has been historically inclined to
an attitude of political quietism.^2 This attitude is
being reconsidered by many Lutherans in view of the results
of the church's weak resistence to totalitarian political
systems,93 today a number of Lutherans cooperate with
the denominations' political and social concerns. Some
Lutheran bodies such as the Lutheran Church in America are
active members of the various councils of churches.
Ecumenically oriented Lutherans in America are
^ B e n n e t t , p p . cit., p. 40. "Luther's distinction
i between the Christians and the world and the suggestion
; that Christians— of course he guards himself by saying
I 'true Christians'— do not need to be under government is
; one of his greatest errors and a curious one in view of
; his own emphasis in other contexts on the sins of the re
deemed. "
Q O
^Brown, loc. cit.
^In an interview, the President of a Lutheran
I University remarked that the Lutheran Church in America
j had more in common with the denominations than it did with
! some Lutheran bodies. However, more conservatively ori-
| ented Lutheran bodies such as the Missouri Synod remain
aloof from the denominations.
127 |
becoming indistinguishable from the denominations as the i
process of Americanization goes on. Jaroslav Pelikan,
!
Professor of ecclesiastical history at Yale divinity
!
school, concludes, "American Lutheranism will continue to j
adapt itself even more completely to its American Protes- j
tant environment during the next decades, and that, for
better or for worse, it will become a denomination."^
The fourth association, Orthodoxy, is geograph
ically centered in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, but
there are over three million members of Eastern Orthodox
Churches in the United States.^ Orthodox bodies are
organized along ethnic lines, with the Greeks being by far
the largest group in the United States with Russians and
Armenians in second and third place. Each ethnic body is
autonomous and has little or no connection with other
i
ethnic Orthodox bodies.
America and Canada are the only countries in which
Orthodoxy is not the dominant religion which has an Ortho-
94
Jaroslav Pelikan, "American Lutheranism: Denom-
i ination or Confession?," What's Ahead for the Churches,
! ed. Kyle Haseldon and Martin E. Marty (New York: Sheed
; and Ward, 1964), p. 189.
I ^5The World Almanac, 1965, p. 624.
128
dox membership large enough for a sustained dialogue with
!
Q £
the denominations. Even though Eastern Orthodox bodies j
i
l
i
believe their church to be the One, Holy, Catholic and j
I
Apostolic Church," they cooperate ecumenically with Pro-
i
testant bodies in the councils of churches.98
Orthodoxy considers Scripture and tradition, as !
I
these two elements are interpreted in the on-going life of
the whole church, to be the foundation of its theology.99
In its worship service it gives the feeling to communi
cants of actually participating in and actualizing the life
of Jesus. Because of the distinctive ability to create
this impression, Orthodoxy offers an outstanding example
98John S. Romanides, "The Orthodox: Arrival and
'Dialogue,1 1 in Haseldon and Marty, op. cit., p. 150.
"Kegley, op. cit., pp. 37-38.
I 98For example, the Armenian Orthodox Church ac
tively participates in the Commission on Church and Race
of the Southern California Council of Churches. The Very
Reverend Torkom Manoogian is a member of the Commission's
Board of Directors. The Greek Orthodox Church has also
supplied a past president of the National Council of
Churches.
: 99Brown, op. cit., p. 38.
i
i
129
of corporate worship as an expression of Christian
faith.100
As the process of Americanization proceeds with
; ethnic groups, it is likely that Orthodoxy will become a
fourth acceptable religious identification in American
society. However, because of Orthodoxy's emphasis on
tradition, ethnicity, and ecclesiastical church adminis
tration, it is not as likely as Lutheranism to become a
denomination. It now occupies a position somewhere be
tween that of the Roman Catholics and the Jews in relation
to the denominations.
Numerically, Roman Catholicism is the largest
branch of Christianity in the world and the largest reli-
j gious association in the United States. As a result of
its extensive membership as well as its doctrinal cohesive
ness, Roman Catholicism exercises considerable political
influence on all levels of government independently of
iother religious associations.
There are several reasons why Roman Catholicism is
a more doctrinally cohesive association than are the denom-
;inations. Because many if not most Roman Catholics believe
100Ibid., pp. 38-39.
130 |
that the Roman Catholic Church is the only true church of |
Christ, it has not been easy for them to accept the prin- \
I
|
ciple of voluntarism even in a religiously pluralistic
s t a t e . -^1 Secondly, the rigid hierarchical organizational j
I
pyramid of the church and the clear distinction in church j
i
matters between priest and layman, strengthens the asso-
ciational bond, since the communicants are dependent on
the church for redemption and salvation. 2 The strong
associational bond enhances the political influence of the
church by providing cohesive group support. Thirdly,
their previous rejection and their exclusion from commu
nity leadership groups by the majority Protestants have
1 ( ] 0
given Catholics an abiding loyalty to their church.
lOlstokes and Pfeffer, op. cit., p. 50.
•^O^Lenski, The Religious Factor . . ., pp. 270-273.
;Lenski concludes that in comparison with denominational
■ Protestantism, Roman Catholicism encourages obedience to
: the church and reduces the intellectual autonomy of its
communicants. A strong heteronomic orientation is particu
larly prevalent among the Catholic clergy.
■^^Herberg, op. cit., p. 233. "These feelings of
rejection, exclusion, and grievance though they no longer
correspond to the facts of American life, and though they
are deplored by more thoughtful Catholics, are still a real
force among the great mass of Catholic people in this coun-
; try. It takes a long time for such wounds to heal."
i
r
Theologically, Roman Catholicism has emphasized ;
j
tradition as interpreted and revealed by ecclesiastical j
i
I
authority, and it has considered the seven sacraments \
|
administered by the priesthood as the means of salvation. j
Scripture has an important place in the theology, but it i
is not the final authority as with Protestantism. Unlike |
Protestantism, Biblical interpretation in relation to j
modern problems is determined by the upper echelons of the
church hierarchy.
Modern Catholic theologians are developing
approaches that are more flexible in relation to inter- j
pretation of tradition and the Scriptures than were pre
vious conservative interpretations. These theologians do
not equate society, state, and government, as commonly
found in conservative and tradition-oriented Catholic
circles. John Courtney Murray, a Jesuit scholar and theo
logian, believes that equating three different aspects of
the national community is a mistake leading to erroneous
c o n c l u s i o n s . - * - ^ Father Cooke, chairman of the department
of theology at Marquette University, has summarized the
104Thomas T. Love, John Courtney Murray: Contem.'
;porary Church-State Theory (Garden City: Doubleday and
| Co. , 1965) , p. 78 . ___________________________________________
evolving position of the liberal American Catholic group:
There can always be the danger for Catholics,
because of their essential commitment to the greater I
value of the life beyond, that they will undercommit
themselves to the betterment of the present life.
More and more it seems that American Catholics are
escaping this danger, are realizing that Christian
ity is truly eschatological in the sense that the
world to come will develop out of the Christianiza
tion of the world which is, and are increasingly
accepting the role of living the truth and the
charity of Christ in the midst of their brethren.10^
If these modern liberal Catholic writings become
more widely disseminated and accepted among the faithful—
particularly among the Bishops— Roman Catholicism can move
closer to the denominations in political and social con
cerns. The results of Vatican Council II have demon
strated that the church can utilize ideas and methods that
are consistent with effective cooperation with the other
branches of Christianity.106
Cooperation by the Roman Catholic Church with the
denominations varies with the issue involved and the juris-
* i n c
Bernard Cooke, S.J., "America's Catholic Commu
nity; Increasing Involvement," in Haseldon and Marty, op.
cit., p. 149.
l06Brown, op. cit., p. ix. The possibility of an
organic union between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism,
however, is remote.
133 I
i
i
I
diction under which it falls. On the municipal level, the !
diocesan bishop and his officials in the chancery speak j
i
i
for the church. On local issues the bishop's approach to j
politics and religion is the dominant factor in the
church's position. On the national level the National j
Catholic Welfare Conference is the church's spokesman. ;
All of the American bishops are eligible for membership i
!
i
in the NCWC, but as a group it does not have any ecclesi- j
astical or legislative authority over the individual mem
bers. The NCWC maintains an efficient and influential
organization in Washington, D.C. to protect and represent
|
TO 8
the interests of Roman Catholics.
The last group of religious associations do not
have much in common except they all have originated from
"inspired" prophets who have combined some Christian
teachings with tribal or cultural values.-*-09 The three
lO^Stedman, pp. cit., p. 91. "The NCWC is there
fore, the instrument of the American bishops. At the same
time, the autonomy of each diocese is guaranteed."
108Ibid., p. 92.
109Littell, op. cit., p. 83.
134
most influential associations in this category are the
Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints),
Christian Scientists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Except for
purposes of religious identification as one of the three j
l
i
acceptable religious groupings, these associations have j
little in common with denominational Protestantism. They |
do not join in ecumenical activities with other religious
associations.
Although individual members are often opposed to
the Roman Catholic Church and its doctrines, these asso
ciations have much in common with Roman Catholicism's
position that truth has been revealed to it and that sal
vation is obtained through the acceptance and practice of
its doctrine. Unlike Catholicism, however, all of these
groups are of comparatively recent origin. They are de
rived from the religious turmoil of the nineteenth century
and from denominational Protestantism's failure to empha
size certain aspects of Biblical practices thought to be
relevant to modern Christianity. For example, Mormon-
ism filled the need for the spirit of brotherhood economics
and practical community, Christian Science emphasized the
il0Ibid.
135 j
j
importance of spiritual healing, and Jehovah's Witnesses |
stressed the eschatological theme.m
The Mormons have a membership of close to two mil
lion; Jehovah's Witnesses have over three hundred thousand j
members; Christian Scientists do not list membership sta
tistics. 112 Mormons have their greatest concentration in j
!
Utah and the surrounding states with a large number lo
cated in Southern California; Christian Scientists are an
urban middle class sect found throughout the Unites States
but also with large numbers in this area; and Jehovah's
Witnesses are an urban proletarian sect.-*-13 The Witnesses
i
have had considerable influence on the preservation and
extension of religious freedom through litigation which
they have carried to the United States Supreme Court. ^
11]-Ibid. , p. 90.
^••^The World Almanac, 1965, pp. 624-625.
ll^Littell, op. cit. , pp. 83-92.
■^■^Dayton D. McKean, "The State, The Church, and
The Lobby," in Smith and Jamison, op. cit., II, p. 133.
"The religious body called Jehovah's Witnesses should go
down in our history as the most litigious group on reli
gious matters ever to arise in this country. They have
done more than all other sects combined to induce the
Supreme Court to interpret the First Amendment."
136
Because these religious associations are closed
systems, there is little likelihood they will become in
volved with the denominations in cooperative efforts to
solve metropolitan problems. In the Los Angeles area
there was no evidence of their cooperation in relation to
these problems.
In this chapter the position of the denominations
in regard to their relationship with American political
institutions and with other religious associations has
been covered. The acceptable methods of exerting politi
cal influence in a democratic community for the religious
associations were also dealt with. The next chapter is
concerned with the local factors affecting the political
role of the denominations in the Los Angeles area.
CHAPTER IV
LOCAL FACTORS RELATED TO THE POLITICAL
ROLE OF THE DENOMINATIONS
In a country as large as the United States sig
nificant variations in metropolitan areas and in their
■ political systems are to be expected. An important aspect
of the variations in political systems is the amount of
decentralization of governmental structure and the frag-
; mentation of power. Other variations in metropolitan areas
are manifested in the following: demographic factors,
. including size, composition, and mobility of the popula
tion; socioeconomic factors such as level of education,
income, and kind of labor force; and ecological factors
pertaining to the social structural patterns existing in
the community.1
The material in this chapter covers these govern
mental, demographic, and socioeconomic aspects of the Los
■^•Leo F. Schnore, The Urban Scene (New York: The
Free Press, 1965), p. 19.
137
138
Angeles metropolitan area, and their effect on the politi
cal role of the denominations in the decision-making j
i
process of this community. The study of ecological factorsj
j
i
is beyond the scope of this study. j
Robert E. Agger and his colleagues have shown in
their study of community power structure that political
decisions are often shaped by the political ideology of
the community leaders and that political decisions are the
cause of variations in the socioeconomic system. But be
cause political theory is less well developed than eco
nomic or social theory, the cause-and-effeet sequence is
I
frequently assumed to flow from the socioeconomic system
to the political system.3 Whatever the direction of flow
of cause and effect, demographic and socioeconomic as well
as political factors play a large part in the decision
making process, and a study dealing with a metropolitan
area could not be considered complete without their inclu
sion.
^Robert E. Agger, Daniel Goldrich, Bert E. Swanson,
The Rulers and the Ruled (New York: John Wiley and Son,
1964), pp. 669-673.
3Ibid., p. 114.
139
I
|
Los Angeles County
|
As a political and geographical unit, the Los
Angeles area has some distinctive characteristics which
make analysis difficult but interesting and informative
for political scientists. For the purpose of this study, \
\
Los Angeles County shall be considered as comprising the j
i
Los Angeles metropolitan area. To determine how the denom
inations are able to exercise their political role thereby
influencing decision-making in this metropolitan area, the
relevant governmental and socioeconomic factors will be
briefly considered.
In general terms a metropolitan area is defined
as an area consisting of heavily populated land whose cen
tral and other portions have a high degree of economic
and social interaction.^ The national Bureau of the Budget
: has tried to provide an empirical basis for defining what
is termed a standard metropolitan statistical area.
According to the Budget Bureau, an SMSA contains at least
4John c. Bollens and Henry J. Schmandt, The Metrop
olis (New York: Harper and Row, 1965), p. 6.
14Q
one large city of not less than 50,000 people and includes
the county in which the city is located as well as adjacen
counties which are also metropolitan in character and are
economically and socially integrated with the county con
taining the central city.^ On the basis of this defini
tion Los Angeles and Orange Counties compose one metropol
itan unit. However, Crouch and Dinerman in their recent
study of the Los Angeles area concluded that although
"Orange County has many associations with Los Angeles, the
communities are still sufficiently distinct to justify
I
/ r
their operating as separate governmental entities."0 Con
sequently, for the purpose of their study Los Angeles
County comprised the Los Angeles metropolitan area.^
In analyzing the political role of the denomina
tions, Los Angeles County like most metropolitan areas has
5Ibid., p. 7.
Winston W. Crouch and Beatrice Dinerman, Southern
California Metropolis (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1963), p. 7.
^In this same vein the Los Angeles Presbytery of
; the United Presbyterian Church has proposed to add more
presbyteries in Southern California in order to have the
Los Angeles Presbytery be concerned solely with problems
;of Los Angeles County.
141 |
j
several unique features which require consideration. It |
is one of the largest counties in the United States in j
both area and population.® Although it is the second j
largest metropolitan area in total population,, it is only j
!
ninth in population density.9 As a result the residents j
are afforded more open space than are those in some of the
older and more crowded areas in the East.-**9
t
Three of the most noteworthy factors in the devel
opment of Los Angeles are the recentness of its growth, the
®Los Angeles Times, September 1, 1966, Part I, p.
3. According to the California State Department of Fi
nance, Los Angeles County's population as of July 1, 1966,
was estimated at 6,957,000 people.
q
Bollens and Schmandt, op. cit., p. 75
•^Marcia Meeker, Background for Planning.... 1963
(Los Angeles, 1964), p. 8. Miss Meeker of the Research
Department of the Welfare Planning Council for the Los An
geles region wrote that, "In spite of its past growth, Los
Angeles County still is a community of low population
density and will be able to absorb many thousands of addi
tional families for some time to come." In a more dramatic
approach, Time wrote, "Having grown outward, Los Angeles
is now in the process of growing upward, a shift reflected
in the thrusting towers near city hall and the modern,
luxury high-rise apartment houses that now line the west
end of Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills and Westwood.
Still, for all the city's growth, there remain many areas
of country living deep inside the city limits, where hills
and valleys, treed lawns and wild animals abound." Time,
(September 2, 1966), p. 15.
142
rapidity of its increase, and the mobility of the area's
residents.All three factors are interrelated, and it j
i
is easily deduced from them that a large number of the
i
j
i
residents of particular sections are newcomers to that j
1 2 i
section. ;
i
The first two factors have been well publicized. |
f
However, the last one is less well-known. Rates of resi- !
# i
dential mobility within the area are higher for Los An
geles than for any other SMSA. The Bureau of the Census
reports that 18.9 per cent of the civilian population in
the Los Angeles area moved their residence within the
County in 1959-1960, whereas only 8.4 per cent did so in
1
New York and only 14.4 per cent moved in Chicago. ^
11
Bollens and Schmandt, op. cit., p. 18. In the
1950-1960 decade, the Los Angeles area grew by more than
50 per cent which is substantially more than the nation's
population growth of 18.5 per cent during the decade.
Time has also commented that, "Los Angeles is probably the
fastest-growing city in the history of the world." Time,
loc. cit.
■^Meeker, op. cit., p. 4. In the 1950-1960 decade,
1,181,200 newcomers came here.
■^Crouch and Dinerman, op. cit., p. 4.
Because many of the residents not on retirement came to j
Los Angeles for better employment, they are also more j
i
vertically as well as horizontally mobile than in other j
areas.^ j
!
Mobility, whether geographical or occupational, is |
. j
in some ways a desirable thing.15 However, there are dis- j
advantages to a highly mobile population in an area like j
:Los Angeles where authoritative decision-making is frag
mented to such a large extent. In this type of political
14Ibid., p. 213. "Mobility of the population,
both as to residence and employment, has been a meaningful
: phenomenon of economic, social, and. political conditions
in the Los Angeles area for decades."
-^-^Harvey Cox, The Secular City (New York: The Mac
millan and Co., 1965), p. 57. Cox believes that: "Motifs
! of mobility and homelessness, of wandering and of pilgrim-
! ages informed the self-understanding of the earliest Chris
tian community. They knew that here they had 'no lasting
city' . . . They were essentially travelers. This under
standing of the Christian life as a journey appears time
i and again in Christian history, from St. John of the
! Cross to Dante's Divine Comedy to Bunyan's Pilgrim's Prog-
1 ress to Kierkegaard. Unfortunately it has been individual-
ized, whereas the earliest vision was of a people moving
together; nonetheless the basic image remained." Richard
Austin Smith, "Los Angeles, Prototype or Supercity," For-
j tune, LXXI (March, 1965), p. 212. Smith also approves of
mobility. "Whatever glass-and-steel monuments may be
i built downtown, the essence of Los Angeles, its true
j identifying characteristic, is mobility. . . . Perfection
i of this essential mobility will surely give Los Angeles an
| identity among the cities of the world such as no mere
■ assemblage of buildings could ever match."
144
environment, mobility encourages the further fragmentation
. I
of power because small groups of people can readily create j
an independent governmental unit to satisfy their needs. |
!
i
The flight to the suburbs is another problem asso- |
ciated with mobility in the metropolitan areas. The great j
expansion of the suburbs has meant a considerable increase j
!
in the number of incorporated cities. With regard to the j
Los Angeles area, Crouch and Dinerman conclude:
These trends in population movements are not
unique to Los Angeles. Consequences emanating from
the development of urban areas and the subsequent
"flight to the suburbs" have been felt throughout
the nation, if not throughout the world. However,
nowhere has the impact of these countervailing
forces been more evident than in the Los Angeles
metropolitan a r e a . 16
The large increase of incorporated cities in Los
Angeles is due to two factors. First, there are a large
number of new residents who do not identify with the metro
politan area and who think first in terms of their local
community.17 Secondly, until recently the incorporation
•^Crouch and Dinerman, op. cit., p. 259.
I7Ibid., p. 212. Furthermore as the authors point
out, "Suburbs in the Los Angeles area, unlike those in
many other great metropolitan complexes of the United
States, are not the products of any vast migration from
the central city."
laws of the state have made it possible for local areas of
considerable variation in size to become incorporated
cities quite easily. Consequently local areas have often
incorporated for reasons such as the desire to avoid
higher taxes or racial integration. The expansion in the
number of independent local governments has added to an
already fragmented and decentralized governmental struc
ture in the County.
Fragmented Power Structure
The unusual fragmentation of the political power
structure is an important factor to be considered in rela
tion to the political effectiveness of the denominations
in the area. Two of the causes of the fragmentation are
the legal and political traditions prevalent in the area
and the distribution of authoritative decision-making
power among community leaders other than elected officials.
1. Legal and Political Traditions
One of the traditions prevalent in Los Angeles is
the spirit of localism.^-® This spirit has been fostered
-*-®Ibid. , p. 286. "Great emphasis has been placed
146
and enhanced by the Jeffersonian and Jacksonian ideologies.
These ideologies embrace the twin ideas of a "grass-roots" j
approach to authoritative decision-making and a distrust i
of those who exercise the power of institutional govern- j
ment. ^
i
Localism is evident within the central city itself j
j
where there are elected honorary mayors of formerly inde- j
20
pendent cities such as Highland Park and Eagle Rock. It
is also evident in the only effective area-wide government,
Los Angeles County. The County has decentralized its
functional activities to accommodate the needs of widely
separated sections of local residents comprising approxi-
upon the fragmented loyalties of Los Angeles residents,
as exemplified by the growth of distinct communities
served by locally oriented community associations."
19Bollens and Schmandt, op. cit., pp. 493-494.
20Time, loc. cit. Time's description is apropos:
"Los Angeles is an amalgam of disparate communities so
bewildering that even natives do not know— or care— where
one begins and the other leaves off. The city proper is
complex enough* an agglomeration of 60—odd communities as
different as elm-and-pine-shaded Encino in the San Fernando
Valley and Venice, a tawdry oceanside spot ten miles to
the South."
mately a million people who have not joined already estab- !
lished municipalities.21 j
I
The concept of a geographically and numerically
small local community as the ideal one has been abetted by j
j
the decentralization of social and economic institutions j
i
j
as well as governmental ones.22 Various instances of de- j
centralization can be cited. The department stores and
other commercial enterprises have established branches in
heavily populated areas, lessening the need for the resi
dents to leave the local area. The presence of local
newspapers with very limited coverage of other than local
news has increased the tendency of residents to think in I
terms of their local community rather than the larger com
munity .
Religious organizations have followed the suburban
21-Meeker, op. cit., p. 10.
^Schnore, op. cit., p. 89. "It appears that all
the typical activities— the so-called 'secondary' and
'tertiary' functions of fabrication, distribution, and
control— have been subjected in some degree to the same
forces of decentralization that have so dramatically al
tered the residential pattern within local areas. The
reduction of the friction imposed by distance has had
noticeable effects in almost every sphere of life."
trend, and the denominations have expended large sums of
j
money on new churches in suburbia to satisfy the prestigi-
ous needs of the local congregations. Because of their j
!
1
support of localism, the suburban churches have had a con- j
I
siderable impact in limiting the identification of members j
to their local area.^ Like the neighborhood school the
neighborhood church has become a symbol for the suburbanite
of successful identification with the "American way of
life."2^ Furthermore, the neighborhood church with the i
clergy attending to the personal needs of the local con
gregation has enhanced the concept of individualism appro-
! !
priate to the confessional assembly approach to religion
22Crouch and Dinerman, op. cit., pp. 268-278.
2^Franklin H. Littell, From State Church to Plural-
; ism (Garden City: Doubleday and Co., 1962), p. 137. Lit
tell has sharply criticized the suburban churches for their
support of the concept of localism. "The image about which
| the churches1 concept of their work takes form seems to be
the re-creation of the pre-Revolutionary village as the
i standard form of community life. . . . The happy country-
I side of white, Protestant, virtuous America is the mis
begotten dream used to justify every corrupt nativist
scheme for oppressing and exploiting those who don't fit.
. . . The effort to transform the image to the green lawns
of suburbia continues, but it shatters on the high mobility
i and political irresponsibility characteristic of the new
areas."
Ironically, in the central area of Los Angeles
149
I
i
by providing an ordered religious refuge apart from the j
secular problems of the area-wide community.^6 j
!
Another important tradition prevalent in Los An- j
i
i
geles is nonpartisanship as the ideal in the politics of ]
i
j
local government. Nonpartisanship has given added impetus j
to the fragmentation of power. James Q. Wilson in his j
i
study of political clubs in Los Angeles reported, "Califor-|
i
nia politics has been less a struggle and more a search for
power."27 Historically, "partisan activity continues to
there are several spacious and beautiful churches which are
: rarely more than a third filled. They are easily accessi
ble by freeway, and parking on Sunday is not a problem. A
greater participation by the denominational membership in
the activities of the inner-city churches would give the
suburbanites more of a sense of identity with the metro
politan area, and a greater awareness of some of the prob
lems of the city.
26Gibson winter, The New Creation as Metropolis
(New York: The Macmillan Co., 1963), pp. 66-67. Arguing
; for a different form of the church, Winter states: "Once
the Church accepts her calling to be a living testimony of
the Spirit in the world, she has to forego a safe anchorage
iin the cultic body or confessional assembly. The medieval
■ and Reformation forms of the Church embodied the Message
i in the familial web of society. Once this web is broken
and replaced by organizational forces, as it is in contem-
' porary society, a new form of the Church is needed."
27
James Q. Wilson, The Amateur Democrat (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1962), p. 96.
150
be deeply molded by the anti-party legacy of Hiram Johnson
and the statutory restrictions on political parties enacted
over forty years ago."2® j
Political parties in other metropolitan areas have
provided the necessary training and background for politi- j
j
cal leaders to work toward integration of the whole commu- !
nity, but they have been effectively prevented from doing
so in Los Angeles. Political parties do not function as
aggregators of interests in this metropolitan area; non-
i
partisanship has resulted in a prevalence of special- i
I
!
interest groups. These groups devote their attention to
aggregating persons concerned with articulating and pro-
90
moting a single dominant interest. Thus nonpartisanship
has encouraged the growth of ad hoc groups which support
■ individual issues and are active only in the campaigns of
individual candidates they favor. Power centers have
; developed around particular functional activities such as
education, water, and police to the detriment of a general-
purpose agency and the kind of responsible leadership
2^Ibid.
2^Crouch and Dinerman, op. cit., p. 14.
151
needed for the integration of problem-solving on a metro
politan level.
I
One area-wide advisory agency recently organized j
under state legislative authorization, the Southern Cali
fornia Association of Governments, has made a beginning
in attacking regional problems. The Urban Affairs Editor j
j
of the Los Angeles Times has reported that although SCAG
was originally created as a defensive measure to help the
cities and counties retain their home rule prerogatives,
it has emerged as a device for bringing some order to the
^ Ibid., p. 393. "Los Angeles, a relatively
young metropolitan area, does not have among its leader
ship groups individuals whose interests are in a sense
detached from interest-group advantage. Some great urban
centers, such as New York and Philadelphia, have a cadre
of senior statesmen who respond to calls for civic leader
ship from time to time. Some have "graduated" from the
partisan battles or struggles of industry and have con
siderable wealth as well as personal prestige. Others are
members of old families with inherited wealth who possess
marked ability in their own right. To say that Los Angeles
does not possess either type of potential leader is not to
state a value judgment that such leadership is indispens
able or that it is to be hoped for in the future. One
must simply observe that no such types exist here, and
that the types present and active will determine the
choice of change in government of the metropolitan area,
if there is to be change."
152 j
1
: chaotic growth patterns of the area.31 I
While it is always difficult to determine cause j
i
|
and effect in socioeconomic and political affairs, in the j
i
Los Angeles area these two traditions, local home rule and j
j
nonpartisanship, are related to the absence of a single j
strong area-wide political leadership. Only the mayor of |
Los Angeles city holds an elective office with sufficient
authority and prestige to speak for the area.-*2 But the
prestige and authority of this office is limited by the
restrictions placed on the mayor's authority by a city
charter which divides the authoritative decision-making
power among the city council, the administrative commis
sions and departments, and the mayor himself. The mayor's
ability to speak and act for the area is limited by jeal-
3*-Ray Herbert, "SCAG Emerges as Force for Regional
Order," Los Angeles Times, August 22, 1966, Part II, p. 1.
See also Thadeus Eugene Shoemaker's "Local Agency Formation
Commission" (unpublished Master's Dissertation, University
;of Southern California, 1965).
In regard to the mayor's prestige m the area, I
found during my interviews with religious leaders in Los
;Angeles that the present mayor was evidently not held in
high regard in some quarters in relation to his leadership
;on racial and poverty problems, two of the most crucial
issues arising in urban areas today.
153
I
ousies and antipathies expressed by the suburban leaders )
towards the central c i t y . 33 ^0 l o s Angeles mayor has been |
l
I
able to use the office as a springboard to higher politi
cal office.
i
As a result of the fragmentation of political j
i
authority, the denominations are not able to exert their j
i
I
influence on a single power center or group of leaders to |
I
achieve the goal of an integrated community. In contrast
to the situation in Los Angeles, Mayor Daley in Chicago
has overcome the decentralization and fragmentation of
governmental authority by a centralization of power in his
office. Banfield and Wilson have likened Mayor Daley to
a man who performs an entrepreneurial function similar to
that of a real estate broker who brings together in one
place people who wish to buy and sell land. In the case
of the Chicago Mayor the product is i n f l u e n c e . 34 jn con
junction with his broker ability, Mayor Daley has a firm
33crouch and Dinerman, op. cit., p. 388.
34Edward Banfield and James Q. Wilson, City
Politics {Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press and
M.I.T. Press, 1963), pp. 104-105.
154
base for his position in his leadership of the Democratic
Party organization in the Chicago area.
Thus, Dr. Martin Luther King in last summer's
civil rights drive in Chicago was able to secure from the
Mayor much of what he was seeking for the Negro minority
group. It is significant that with the support of
Chicago's religious leaders among other community leaders.
Dr. King accomplished his ends by dealing directly with
the Mayor. All of the ninety persons present at the final
summit conference between Dr. King and Mayor Daley, in
cluding the heads of the Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish
church bodies, were aware that the Mayor is able to exer
cise the power to carry out his part of the agreement, and
that the city government is now fully committed to racial
equality, open housing, and elimination of s l u m s . ^5
An important point is apparent from the success of
the Chicago civil rights drive. The great majority of the
religious leaders of all faiths were united in the drive
for improvement of the socioeconomic position of the
3 5 d . j . r . Bruckern, "Chicago Could Affect Future
of Daley and King," Los Angeles Times, August 29, 1966,
jPart I, p. 7.
Negroes. In the metropolitan areas where Roman Catholicism'
is the largest religious association, it is essential for j
|
the success of a rights drive that the three major faiths |
work together. In Chicago the newly appointed diocesan j
bishop, Archbishop Cody from New Orleans, was clearly sup- |
i
porting the King drive. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, |
the Roman Catholic leadership has chosen not to take the
lead or to cooperate with other religious associations in
such drives.36
2. Distribution of Authoritative
Decision-making Power
Another factor affecting the political role of the
denominations in Los Angeles is the wide distribution of
3®Edward Keating, "The McIntyre/Goldwater Axis,"
;Ramparts, III (November, 1964), p. 37. A Catholic himself,
Mr. Keating is a strong critic of the Cardinal. "Cardinal
!McIntyre's extraordinary stand on race, his heavy concen
tration of finances and his support of the John Birch So
ciety, as well as his newspaper's constant hate-communism
campaign, have directly aided and comforted those forces
that make up the Goldwater philosophy. The Cardinal has
created an atmosphere of fear and apprehension that re
stricts liberal energies to sporadic and disjointed out
bursts that are quickly squelched by the Cardinal himself
or by his journalistic lackeys." In two efforts to inter
view Roman Catholic priests still in the Cardinal's good
graces, I found much hesitancy on their part in making any
jkind of statement which might be attributed to them.
156 !
I
!
i
iauthoritative decision-making power. There are a large j
number of elected officials involved in the governmental !
i
i
jurisdictions of seventy-six municipalities and the county
government. However, there are even more in the various
kinds of special districts that abound in the a r e a . j
Appointed officials in these governments who make political !
|
as well as administrative decisions also exercise signifi
cant influence in determining policies.
The findings of Agger and his colleagues have shown
that manifest and potentially manifest political leaders
are often social and economic notables apart from the
p O
elected and administrative officials. The number and
37smithr Fortune, LXXI, p. 210. "The multiplicity
iof cities would naturally be expected to produce such irri
tants, but Los Angeles is also crammed with special tax
districts, usually single-purpose organizations perforce
designed to provide local service at no risk to local sov
ereignties. There are now 246 of these in the county-ceme-
tery districts, debris districts, hospital districts, gar
bage districts, library districts, ad infinitum; many over
lap and most operate substantially without democratic
control either by local government or by the individual
resident— who, typically, finds he must support anywhere
from six to ten of them."
■^Robert E. Agger, Daniel Goldrich, and Bert E.
’ Swanson, The Rulers and the Ruled (New York: John Wiley and
Sons, 1964), pp. 324-325. Manifest leaders on any issues,
|however, constitute only a fraction of the total political
leadership of the community's power structure.
157
influence of social and economic leaders depend on the
individuals and the type of community under analysis.
Therefore, in order for the denominations to actively in- I
fluence authoritative decision-making in the power centers , j
the political leaders of whatever kind of responsible for
i
these decisions have to be known to the denominations and
their allies. The political leadership wherever it is
found must also be susceptible to the influence of volun
tary organizations like the denominations.
Although empirical studies have been carried out
on the decision-making process in smaller communities, not
!
a great deal has been done in relation to studying this
process in the larger cities or in metropolitan areas.
This is especially true of the large urban areas in the
W e s t . Consequently, it is necessary for the denomina-
39Ibid., Chapter viii, passim. For other analyses
of community power structure, see Robert Dahl’s Who Gov-
erns, and Floyd Hunter’s Community Power Structure.
40&gger, et al., op. cit., p. 760. Agger, et al.,
in their speculations on the applicability of their find
ings to the big cities exclude the cities of the West.
,"In extending our speculations we shall be concerned with
the big cities of the East and Midwest, rather than the
newer large cities of the West. But the extent to which
cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco resemble St.
iLouis, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York more than they
158
tions to rely on studies primarily concerned with the j
analysis of governmental and legal institutions and on the j
j
impressions of individuals who are most qualified to make |
J
|
judgments concerning the political leaders active in the j
decision-making process in this area.^ ®
Under the circumstances of divisiveness and frag- j
mentation in Los Angeles in which the denominations must
function, they need a consensual constituency within their
own ranks if they are going to effectively influence polit
ical decisions. Such a constituency is also necessary for
effectiveness in integrating the minorities and the poor
into the community. Also because the metropolitan area is
so fragmented, a united constituency would be helpful in
making available to the community the type of leadership
capable of thinking and acting in terms of metropolitan-
i
wide interests.
do an Oretown during the late 1940's and early 1950's can
only be decided by further research."
^■^An Episcopal priest in the East Los Angeles
Parish reported that in his opinion five men held the most
power in the area. They were the Board of Supervisors of
| the County. He also stated that two of these men were by
far the most powerful, and that very few decisions could
: be made without their approval and consent.
However, the denominations do not have a consensual!
i
constituency. There are divisions among the clergy as j
;
well as the laity. One of the divisions among the clergy j
j
i
is on the desirability of having a metropolitan-wide gov- !
i
ernment. They are divided on this issue for very practi- j
i
cal reasons.^2 I
Seven of the twenty-four clergymen responding
registered disapproval of a regional type of government.^
Of the seven who responded negatively, three were pastors
of well-established Negro parishes in the central city.
They had neither sought nor attained significant influen-
■
tial status in the white community.^ Three were white
42
Although there was no measure of intensity of
feeling on this issue, it was my impression that even the
clergy in favor of it were not enthusiastic about a drastic
governmental reorganization in the area.
^Some of the clergymen interviewed are not in
cluded in this sample because they failed to respond to
the question. However, these eighteen clerics represent
a small cross-section of the area in regard to geographic
and socioeconomic placement.
4^Several Negro clergymen expressed the belief
that of the three Negro members of the city council only
one, Thomas Bradley, had not been absorbed into the city's
white power structure.
16Q I
j
clergymen with middle class parishes in racially mixed j
areas of the central city. They indicated a conservative j
approach to politics and to religion.The seventh was |
a white minister in an historically distinctive area of j
!
the central city. He had a white working class congrega- j
tion, and he felt his constituents were ignored by the ;
i
city as it is.
Inasmuch as the numbers are not large, they cannot
be considered conclusive; however, they are in line with
the findings in other urban centers. Negro clergymen like
Negro politicians— the two are often synonymous— who have
their power base in the Negro community are not likely to
want their influence in the central city to be diluted by
the addition of white suburbs to the city's voting lists.^
^On a series of eleven questions dealing with
decisions of the Supreme Court on recent issues, these
clergymen disapproved not only of the Court's general
approach to Constitutional questions but of specific lib
eral decisions such as those on school prayers, Bible
reading, Constitutional rights of the Communist Party, and
governmental aid to private and parochial institutions in
the interest of the general welfare. By reputation among
the clergy, the congregations served by these clergymen as
well as the ministerial staff were considered to be con
servatively oriented.
46
One Negro clergyman in this group stated that he
thought it was just fine that some whites could have their
little islands of segregation in the suburbs.
161 !
i
In this regard Bollens and Schmandt found that: j
For the most part, Negro political leaders look. j
with disfavor on efforts to reorder the system. |
Their base of operation and strength lies in the
central city. An area-wide government poses a threat I
to their hard-won and long-in-coming major political j
influence by joining the predominantly white elec- j
torate of suburbia to that of the core municipality.1 ^ |
I
The disapproval by conservative clergymen is in line with
the fear, prevalent among conservatives, of adding to the
scope of governmental activities.
There is a discernible pattern among those who '
favored a regional government. Of the seventeen respond
ents who favored such a government, seven of them were
representatives of prosperous suburban parishes. They
i
were somewhat removed from the difficult problems of race
and poverty in the central city and its adjoining munici
palities.^® Furthermore one of the two Negroes in this
^Bollens and Schmandt, op. cit., p. 503.
^®lbid., p. 523. The evidence also supports this
finding: "Voters who support metropolitan reform tend to
be drawn from the better educated and high socioeconomic
categories." This type of person lives in communities not
in direct contact with the poor or underprivileged minority
groups, and he does not feel threatened by the geographical
expansion of the minority group enclaves.
group who favored a regional government was the pastor of
one of the wealthiest and most influential Negro churches
in the central city. He had been accepted by and given
positions of importance in the white community, and he had !
been involved in many community activities. ^ The other
Negro clergyman who was favorable had been here for less
!
than a year. He served a Negro middle class parish in the j
i
j
Negro Watts section of Los Angeles. He had not had time
to build a political base. Two young white clergymen had
been in the area for less than six months and were not
completely familiar with the problems in Los Angeles. One
had come here after serving in New York's East Harlem
Protestant Parish and served a middle class suburban parish
as Minister of Education. The other came from an inner
city parish in Cincinnati and served as pastor of middle
class Negro parish in the Negro community. Another white
clergyman had been here for about a year and served a poor
section of the Mexican-American community. Since the last
two are Anglo-Americans, they are unlikely to establish a
political base in their local communities. Three others
In some interviews respondents made reference to
this individual as a good example of an Uncle Tom.
163 I
!
were church administrators concerned with urban problems, I
and two were liberals striving for an urban training cen- j
I
|
ter in Los Angeles for clergy and laity. j
Consequently, on the basic issue of re-organizing j
i
the metropolitan area into some kind of meaningful whole |
politically, the denominational clergy were not in agree
ment. The acceptance by the clergy of a political ideology
based on existential theology could provide the foundation
for reconciling the differences that existed between these
segments of the denominations. The political ideology of
what Agger and his colleagues call the community conserva
tionists is most appropriate for this purpose:
Community Conservationists are also collectivists.
They view the community as a complex of mutually in
terdependent parts where the individual good and the
common good are naturally compatible, if not identi
cal. They see the values of community life maximized
when political leadership is exercised by men repre
senting the public at large, rather than "special
interests" . . . Elected public officials and ap
pointed professional public administrators must be
guardians, as well as the architects and builders,-
of this public interest.50
If the denominational clergy accepted such an ideology,
they would find it necessary to emphasize different values.
^Agger, et al., op. cit., p. 21.
164 j
i
Instead of achieving redemption and salvation through acts j
of piety or through material aggrandizement, servanthood !
|
in this world would be the key to these ultimate goals of j
i
man. j
I
The clergy seem more inclined to accept an appro- j
priate theology and political role for the church in
modern urban society than is the laity. Consequently an j
important task for the clergy will be to convince the com
municants of the desirability of making the entire denom
inational community a collectivity serving the metropoli-
j
tan area. John Pratt, an attorney and Executive Director
of the Commission on Church and Race of the Southern
California Council of Churches, has summed it up in terms
of the answer Jesus gave to the rich young ruler who in
quired how he might achieve salvation and redemption:
i
!
Rid yourself of dependence upon material things,
which both bind and blind you; use the talents at
your command to aid your fellow human beings who
stand in suffering and in need; and make a commit
ment to something beyond yourself.51
If the denominations achieve a consensus on the political
role of the church in urban areas, they can be more suc-
5-*-"Churches Told to Give Possessions to Poor," Los
Angeles Times, August 15, 1966, Part I, p. 16.
165 •
j
cessful in influencing the authoritative decision-making
process in the fragmented power structure of Los Angeles. j
j
i
Demographic Factors
' i
I
i
i
The social geography of Los Angeles also presents j
relevant features which affect the political role of the
denominations in helping to make the area an integrated j
i
community. Population composition, religious membership
distribution, and various socioeconomic factors are to be
considered in the following section of this chapter.
One of the most important population distribution
: features in Los Angeles is the socioeconomic position of
minority groups and the indigent. Their position in urban
. American is an important obstacle in preventing a meaning
ful integration of the metropolitan community.
As in all metropolitan areas, Los Angeles has a
large proportion of minority groups. The two largest
groups are the Negroes and the Mexican-Americans. Again
52Meeker, op. cit., p. 51. The Census Bureau re
ported that in 1960 there were 576,716 people with Spanish
surnames in Los Angeles, an increase of 101.6 per cent and
accounting for 9.5 per cent of the total County population.
There were 461,546 Negroes representing a gain of 111.8 per
cent and 7.6 per cent of the County population. The McCone
166
the significant difference between Los Angeles and other
metropolitan areas is that more members of the minority
groups are newcomers to this area.^ Between 1950 and 1960
Los Angeles showed a greater gain in non-white immigrants,
both numerically and proportionately, than any other
metropolitan area. Although both New York and Chicago
showed greater total increases during this decade, this
was due largely to natural increase rather than immigra
tion. ^
As a result of this large immigration there are
substantial numbers of people in the area with different
cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds than the European-
white middle class resident. These immigrants are located
Commission reported that by the end of 1965 there were
about 650,000 Negroes here, an additional increase since
1960 of almost 200,000 people.
interviews with Negro clergymen, it was clear j
that there is a cleavage within the Negro religious commu- j
nity itself in relation to the relatively prosperous and j
well-established Negro residents and the poor newcomers whoj
are more or less restricted for economic reasons to certainj
areas of the Negro ghetto. |
^Meeker, op. cit. , p. 51. j
167 I
j
primarily in specific sections of the central city and
closely adjoining areas. However, the Spanish-surname i
population and the other major non-white minority group,
the Orientals,55 are dispersed throughout the County— j
especially the successful ones.^ Nevertheless, certain ;
areas are predominantly Mexican-American or Oriental. The ;
Negroes are more narrowly confined within the central sec- j
i
tions of Los Angeles city and the areas immediately adja- j
cent, such as Compton, Pacoima, and Willowbrook, than are I
the other minorities. The Los Angeles County Commission
on Human Relations in 1961 concluded that "Los Angeles is
j
more segregated than any major southern city in the entire i
i
!
country— compared to northern cities, Los Angeles has fewer
Negroes living in the suburbs than any major cities except
Chicago and Cleveland.1,57
^Ibid. There were 123,359 other non-whites in
Los Angeles in 1960 consisting primarily of Orientals and
a few American Indians. The immigration of Orientals into
the United States has practically ceased because of the
Congressional restrictions.
^6Ibid., p. 59.
^7Ibid., p. 54.
168
i
Because there is considerably evidence available i
to show that the situation in regard to segregation has notj
changed in the intervening years since 1961,^® the denomi
nations still have an opportunity to exercise religious
and political leadership to establish and further communi- ]
cation and interaction among all sections of the area-wide i
community. It is ironical that the McCone Commission had ]
j
nothing to say about the religious leadership exercised in j
|
the area.59
The denominations could enhance their political
role as well as their religious role in the community by '
j
effective communication and interaction with the majority j
|
of the Negroes. Political leaders would be much more
ready to listen and act on denominational proposals if they
could speak for a majority of the Negroes in addition to
their white membership. Unfortunately, the denominations
5^Governor’s Commission on the Los Angeles Riots,
Violence in the City— An End or A Beginning (Los Angeles,
1965), p. 75. The Commission found that, "Of the entire
Negro population in Los Angeles, 88.6 per cent resides in
areas considered segregated, concentrated for the most part
in the 46.5 square miles of south central Los Angeles
placed under curfew last August."
59ibid., pp. 81-86.
169 !
i
have not had an extensive communications network or much
interaction with the working or lower class Negroes. More-f
over, Negro influence within the denominations has been
limited to the middle class Negro. j
Class has been a determinant of the membership and i
the clergy in the denominational churches. William Peter- j
son, Professor of Sociology at the University of California;
i
at Berkeley, has pointed out, "No less than their parish- j
■ t
ioners, Protestant clergymen have come largely from rural !
communities and the middle or lower middle class."^ His
torically, "in the United States as in England, the gap j
j
between the established Protestant denominations and the j
urban masses reflected first the all-class hostility.
In producing a stultifying conformism values associated
with the middle class have limited creative thinking among
the denominations.
The class bias is as true of the Negro denomina
tional churches as it is of the white churches. In eight j
!
. — (
i
°°William Peterson, "The Protestant Ethos and the j
Anti-Urban Animus," The Church and the Exploding Metrop
olis , ed. Robert Lee (Richmond: John Knox Press, 1965),
p. 63.
61Ibid.
170
Negro denominational churches in the inner city, six were
designated by the senior clergyman as serving a middle
6 2
class congregation; in an all-Negro denomination, one
clergyman served a working class membership. The eighth
clergyman served a working and lower middle class constitu
ency. Two integrated churches where at least one third of
the membership was Negro were both designated by their
pastors as serving a middle class congregation. Two small
membership churches in the Mexican-American community
served a lower and working class membership, and neither
I
church was self-supporting. Based on the tabulations of
each clergyman interviewed, the eight almost exclusively I
I
Negro denominational churches had a combined membership of j
' |
I
12,984, the two integrated churches had a combined member- i
!
ship of 415, and the two Mexican-American churches had ;
less than 400.
It should be noted that all of the Negro clergymen
interviewed were educated, articulate men, well aware of
In a recent research survey in one Negro church
in a working class section, it was found that the average
annual family income for Its members was $6,100 and that
31.5 per cent of the members were employed in professional
and technical fields.
the problems of the minorities and the inner city. But
their better education in itself would be an important
factor in setting them apart from the working and lower
class Negroes. These Negro clergymen may understand
more about the problems of the Negro in the inner city
than do the white suburban clergymen with whom they are
associated in denominational and church councils. But
they have accepted white middle class values as the most
desirable ones for the Negroes. These values are not the
basis for a solution to the problems of the residents of
the inner city.
It seems that the primary goal of these clergymen
is to achieve integration for themselves and their middle
class parishioners on an equal basis in the white commu
nity. They want to be disassociated with the ghetto area
and its less fortunate residents.
6 3
One active Negro clergyman remarked that he was
not accepted by the man in overalls as a leader or spokes
man for the Negroes and that he represented only a minority
within a minority. Accordingly, it is noteworthy that at
least two of the Negro clergymen interviewed lived in
rather expensive but integrated sections of the central
city, a considerable distance from their churches. One
clergyman commented in relation to this point that he
lived where he did so that his children would have better
opportunities.
I
172 |
As a result of the middle class bias of the denom- 1
I
inations, many working and lower class Negroes as well as ]
j
whites attend some form of Baptist, Pentecostal, or Holi
ness Church unrelated to the denominations. One might !
also speculate that because of the middle class bias a j
group composed largely of young male adults and newcomers
to the urban scene does not identify with any Christian j
religious organization. j
I
!
Although not as much effort was made to investi- j
gate the other large minority group, the Spanish-surname j
i
i
population, the denominational churches have less of a
following there than in the Negro community. Most impor
tantly, unlike the Negroes these people have a Roman
Catholic heritage. But like the majority of the Negroes,
Mexican-Americans and others with a Spanish surname who
j
are not Roman Catholics find a greater appeal in the funda
mentalist associations that are not so imbued with a middle
class bias. Moreover a fundamentalist approach emphasizing
the collectivity concept inclusive of all who accept
64,1'Crisis of Color '66," Newsweek, LXVIII (August
22, 1966), p. 52. In a study of Harlem in New York City
Newsweek reported that "Old-time religion in a basement
church is mostly for women and children."
173
correct doctrine would also have more of an appeal than
the denominations ' liberal or orthodox conservative
approach with its emphasis on individualism.
On the political scene although both of the minor- I
ity groups have representation on the Los Angeles City j
Council and in the legislatures, the representation is !
i
drawn from the middle class. For the most part the polit
ical representatives of minorities like the denominational
clergy have gone along with the "don't rock the boat"
approach. Until recently the working and lower class
groups have not attempted to form a power bloc capable of
making demands on the governments.
Apart from the two large minority groups— Negro
and Mexican-American— and some sections which have a dis
tinctive Jewish subculture, Los Angeles has no large
s
enclaves of a particular ethnic background, such as the
: Italians in San Francisco or the Swedes in Minneapolis.
: In these cities European ethnic minorities have an impor-
C . C
tant influence on the decision-making process. Los An
Bollens and Schmandt, op. cit., p. 94. "The
: number and importance of ethnic groups vary from city to
! city, with the largest concentrations outside the South.
I In urban cities such as Boston, New York, San Francisco,
geles County's population is relatively heterogeneous,
exclusive of the uninfluential minority groups mentioned. I
i
Distinctions in residential communities as far as the j
whites are concerned are based more on socioeconomic fac- i
\
tors than on ethnic background. j
i
An explanation for the heterogeneous population
lies in the fact that immigrants are at least second and |
third generation Americans. Immigration from Europe and j
especially southern and central Europe had been severely j
curtailed by Congress in the immigration acts of the i
i
twenties, the depression of the thirties, and the two !
\
world wars in this century. Consequently, the immigrants
into Los Angeles of European background have already be
come acculturated.
As a result, the denominations are not confronted
by a cohesive ethnic group or groups exerting influence
over or within the community power structure. In this
respect, they are in a better position to exercise ecumen-
Minneapolis, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Chicago
and Detroit, many different nationalities are represented.
Some one group may predominate— in San Francisco, the
Italians; in Minneapolis, the Swedes; in Los Angeles, the
Mexican-Americans . . . but for the most part the pattern
is one of ethnic diversity."
175 |
ical political leadership than in the older metropolitan i
areas where such groups do exist. It is even more signif- :
i
icant for the denominations because in some of the older j
central cities, the ethnic groups are predominantly Roman
Catholics, and they are often able to elect the political
authorities from among their own ranks. For example, the
mayors of many of the nation's large cities are Roman
Catholics. i
s
Nevertheless, the religious distribution of the !
|
Los Angeles area is not altogether favorable for the j
denominations. Although membership statistics are diffi- j
j
cult to obtain and are not entirely reliable, the denom
inations represent approximately 15 per cent of the popu- j
lation or about a million people.^6 On the other hand, j
i
i
Cardinal McIntyre is the spiritual leader of more than a
million and a half Roman Catholics. ^ He has been noted j
i
i
for his ultra-conservative approach to religion and poli-
^®A Methodist clergyman extrapolated from the mem
bership statistics of the jurisdiction of Bishop Kennedy
and arrived at a figure of approximately 140,000 Methodists
in Los Angeles County. The Methodists are considered to
have the largest membership of any of the denominations in
the area.
6^Keating, loc. cit.
:tics and his disinclination to cooperate effectively with
the denominations. In addition to Roman Catholics in
Los Angeles, fundamentalists and other religious groups
not included in or cooperating with the denominations
constitute a large proportion of the church membership in
the area, probably a higher percentage than the denomina
tions . i
Furthermore, in a relatively new and technologic
ally advanced community, there is a structural conducive-
69
ness for the viability of bizarre movements. ^ Thus in
addition to the more or less established fundamentalist j
!
organizations, unusual religious cults and independent j
I
1
churches tend to flourish in the area. Many of these
^Cardinal McIntyre has not gone along with the
denominations on Project Equality. In this Project the
denominations and the Jews have listed firms that do not
discriminate against minorities and churches and syna
gogues are expected to buy from these firms. The Catholic
Bishops of San Francisco and San Diego are cooperating.
^Neil J. Smelser, Theory of Collective Behavior
(New York: The Free Press, 1962), p. 15. "We read that
financial booms and panics, fashion cycles and crazes do
not plague simple, traditional societies; we also read
that America as a civilization is prone to such seizures,
and that, within America, places like Los Angeles and
Detroit are especially productive of bizarre movements.
177
organizations have an ultra-conservative orientation in
politics and religion. In the guest for social justice in ;
i
metropolis, the denominations cannot expect much help from :
this quarter.
The Orthodox Church also commands a substantial
following in the Greek and Armenian communities, and there |
is a large Jewish population. But the Jewish population
is not large enough to be a separate power bloc as it is |
i
in New York City for instance. On the whole, however, |
these two religious groups have cooperated with the denom-
j
70 I
inations in community affairs and concerns. u j
|
Finally it should be noted that the largest group j
I
of any is the religiously unaffiliated or unchurched and |
the indifferent. Several ministers commented on the mag
nitude of this group in Los Angeles in comparison with
other urban areas. The extent of this group is due to the
^Banfield and Wilson, op. cit., p. 42. With re
gard to the Jews, the authors state, "It is interesting
that the Jews have not sought ethnic 'recognition1 in city
politics to the extent that other groups have. It may be
that they have never doubted their worth as a group, and
therefore have not felt any need for public reassurance.
More likely, however, their political ethos is such that
a politics of ethnic appeal strikes them, as it does the
Anglo-Saxon Protestant, as uninteresting and even immoral."
recentness of the great immigration as well as the high
degree of residential mobility within the area. In new
neighborhoods, people are less subject to social pressures ;
encouraging church attendance.
j
Socioeconomic Factors ;
Socioeconomic factors are also relevant to the I
i
i
political role of the denominations. According to three
i
!
significant indicators of socioeconomic level— income, j
occupation, and education— the residents of Los Angeles
have a higher standard of living than the average for the
i
United States as well as for all urbanized areas in the j
i
i
71
country. ^ \
|
i
In regard to income, the median family income in j
j
Los Angeles County in 1959 was $7,046, compared with a j
i
national average of $5,857 for the United States and with |
i
!
$6,163 for all urbanized areas.72 Considering the conti
nuing immigration of people into Los Angeles, a differen
tial remains in effect. Moreover, the differential might
7-*-Meeker, op. cit. , p. 47.
72Ibid.
179 j
s
be higher between this and other urban areas if it were '
not for the fact that a large proportion of the low-income ;
families is found among the two principal minority groups
in the County.7 3
On the labor front the data show: !
By 1960 the composition of the total United
States labor force was approaching that of the Los
Angeles labor force of 1950, though even then Los |
Angeles had a larger proportion of professionals j
and clerical workers and a smaller proportion of ;
unskilled laborers than the national labor force j
of ten years later.7^ j
In 1960 professional, technical, and kindred workers j
accounted for 15 per cent of the labor force in Los Ange- !
les, but in the United States as a whole this group totaled
11.8 per cent. Professional and clerical workers combined
totaled slightly more than one-third of the work force in
!
Los Angeles whereas the figure for the United States was ;
26.6 per c e n t . However, the minority groups are in a
less fortunate position than the whites. According to
the report of the McCone Commission, there are about
160,000 unemployed in the County. The Negro unemployment
73Ibid., p. 49.
75Ibid.
7^Ibid., p. 43.
180 j
I
rate is two or three times that in the white community, ■
and "from all indications, there are some 25,000 unem-
i
ployed Negroes in the central section of Los Angeles i
County and probably an equal number of unemployed Mexican- |
Americans."76 !
In 1960 the level of educational attainment was ;
also found to be significantly higher than the national !
i
average. More than half of the population of Los Angeles j
|
twenty-five years of age and over had obtained at least a j
i
high school education and almost 10 per cent had completed I
i
|
college or better. The national average showed that about j
40 per cent had finished four years of high school or more
77
and around 8 per cent had a college education or better.
But here again the minority groups do not have the same !
i
i
i
advantage as the European whites. The Spanrsh-surname j
population had the lowest educational attainment of all
groups in Los Angeles.7® Median years of school completed
76Governor's Commission on the Los Angeles Riots,
op. cit., p. 41.
7 7
Meeker, op. cit., p. 50.
78
Jose Antonio Villarreal, "Mexican Americans in
Upheaval," West (September 18, 1966), p. 21. "The facts
are: that 76 per cent of the Mexican adult population in
181 |
in this group was only 9.0, whereas for non-whites it was
11.1 and for the Anglo-whites it was 12.2.^ The recent
findings of the McCone Commission show, "Essentially, the
reading and writing level of students in the disadvantaged !
areas is far too low for them either to advance in school j
O A
or to function effectively in society." u
Although the non-white urban population of Los j
!
Angeles ranks well above the non-white urban population of j
I
the United States with respect to education, income, and j
occupational characteristics, there is a wide gap between
the middle class Protestant denominational membership and
i
1
the minorities. For example, in the lowest social rank I
California is employed in unskilled occupations, that they
are two years behind the Negro in scholastic achievement,
and that they are four years behind the non-minority citi
zens of the state."
79
Meeker, loc. cat.
O A ,
Governor's Commission on the Los Angeles Rrots,
op. cit., p. 52. Furthermore, "Dropout rates (percentage
of average yearly attendance) show that three of the high
schools that serve students who reside in disadvantaged
areas of south central Los Angeles have the highest per
centage of dropouts of the 45 senior high schools. In
these three schools in predominantly Negro areas, about
two-thirds of the students who enter drop out before grad
uating from high school."
^Meeker, op. cit. , p. 57.
182 |
i
areas— Social Rank VI which was assigned by the Research j
Department of Welfare Planning Council to 19 of 134 Study
|
Areas in the County— minorities comprised 50 per cent or
more of the total population in half of these areas, and j
!
i
there are only two areas in this group where minorities j
account for less than 10 per cent of the total popula- j
OO
tion.°* There are, of course, indigent European Caucasiansj
who live in these areas. If the denominational leadership
is to help in overcoming this gap between the haves and
have nots, it will inevitably bring them into the politi
cal arena.
The higher standard of living for the majority in
Los Angeles affects the efforts of the denominations in
politics in other ways as well. Because the aspirations
of many families rise when they move to Los Angeles, the
home-pool-patio complex has become more a way of life here
than in other parts of the United States.83 This has led
to a greater concern for property values as it is evidenced
by the support given to Proposition Fourteen in this area
compared with other urban areas in California, exclusive
of Orange County.
82Ibid., p. 82. 83Ibid., p. 48.
As a result of these aspirations, the desire for
such things as better housing, pools, and automobiles also i
leads to a greater participation of women in the labor I
force. More women are employed outside the home than is
j
true of the nation as a whole, and 57 per cent of them
were married and living with their husbands.84 In fami
lies where both the husband and wife were working, they j
were not as likely to find time for church attendance and
other religious activities. This factor helps to account
|
for the large number of unchurched people in the area, and
it reduces the effectiveness of the denominations in
achieving the goal of a political community.
In this chapter it was pointed out that local
traditions, the decentralization, and the fragmentation of
governmental authority in the Los Angeles area made it
difficult for the denominations to exert their political
influence in order to achieve the goal of a political com
munity. The denominational clergy themselves were not
always in agreement as to how this end should be accom
plished. Demographic and socioeconomic factors were also
important in determining what the role of the denominations
84Ibid.
should be in regard to a political community. In the next
chapter, the attitudes expressed by the denominational
clergy toward political issues are briefly analyzed.
CHAPTER V
i
POLITICAL ATTITUDES OF THE CLERGY
r
The material in this chapter will deal with polit- I
i
ical attitudes of the denominational clergy in Los Angeles
in relation to liberalism and conservatism, Supreme Court j
l
decisions, political parties, and pertinent controversial
issues in an urbanized community. The political attitudes
of the clergy are important in determining what political
role the denominations can be expected to play in the com-
i
I
munity. Attitudes are significant in determining what
that role is because they reflect the approach which the
religious leaders have toward the secular problems of the
area. Their approach to these problems determines whether
the political role is likely to be an active and prophetic
one or a role that will be passive and supportive of the
;status quo.
Conservativism and Liberalism
For the purposes of this chapter the political
attitudes of the clergy are subsumed under two rubrics.
! 185
186
As is the case with any dichotomization, this classifica- !
tion is too simple since it eliminates all of the degrees j
j
between the two pure categories. But for convenience of j
i
analysis in this chapter, the clergy who believe the denom-j
j
inations should have an active and prophetic function in j
metropolitan secular problems are in one group. Those who |
i
believe the denominations should concern themselves pri- ;
i
marily with the spiritual welfare of individual communi-
i
cants are in the other group. For lack of more appropriate
descriptive terms, the former group will be called liberal
and the latter, conservative. On the basis of respondents'
answers, it was found, not unexpectedly, that liberals I
!
favored such things as the Supreme Court's recent decisions
; delineating more precisely the relationship between the
religious associations and the secular state, the denomina-
I
tions' stand against the passage of Proposition Fourteen
in 1964 in California, and the denominations' active role
I in civil rights issues. Conservatives, on the other hand,
were found to be opposed to these things.
There were not so many conservatives as liberals
interviewed for this study for several reasons. First,
:there were more liberals than conservatives in the denomi
nations, and they were evenly dispersed geographically
v
187 i
i
|
throughout the area.^ Conversely, conservatives can be !
found in large numbers in the fundamentalist religious
|
associations, in some Lutheran bodies, and in the non- j
Biblical charismatically centered groups. Second, lib
erals were more likely than conservatives to be interested j
in and working toward the ideas and goals with which this j
paper is concerned. Consequently, the liberals were of ]
<
greater interest than conservatives for this study because j
|
they provide the basis for the acceptance and success of
the contemporary political role of the denominations in an
urban community. Third, some conservatives declined to be
interviewed, and others did not return the telephone calls.
In the latter circumstance, at least two calls were made
in every instance in an effort to contact the clergyman.
Fourth, conservative denominational clergy were more con
centrated in certain sections of the County, and they were
more likely than liberals to follow a distinctive pattern
■^-This was the consensus of the opinions expressed
by the clergy that were interviewed and my own observa
tions in the area.
^As it has been previously stated, these religious
associations are not usually affiliated with the denomina
tions in ecumenical activities in the community.
188
in relation to the concerns of this paper. As a result
it became evident that fewer conservatives were needed to
determine what that pattern was. The conservatives that
were interviewed pointed out that their conservative
colleagues who were not interviewed were likely to have
a similar attitude to theirs.
The first two reasons for the predominance of
liberals interviewed have been touched on in other parts
of the paper, and the third reason is self-explanatory.
The fourth reason requires some elaboration.
Although conservatives were located in churches
throughout the area, there were areas where they were
found more frequently than others. Conservatives were
:often found in older churches serving a long-established
1 white middle or upper middle class parish in the commer
cial areas of the cities. Adjacent residential areas
were rapidly changing racially or ethnically and declining
socioeconomically.^ For example, in the white churches
■^Robert L. Wilson and James H. Davis, The Church in
the Racially Changing Community (New York: Abingdon Press,
1966), p. 120. Wilson and Davis, who are both clergymen
and hold doctorates in the sociology of religion, describe
this type of church in contrast to the socially responsible
one. "The contrasting viewpoint is a church which consid-
189 !
j
I
!
in the central sections of the Los Angeles city commercial ;
areas, the parishioners were frequently older people who
!
no longer resided in the immediately surrounding area.^ ;
Thus, the membership of these churches in the business
area was predominantly or exclusively Anglo-white even j
though their geographical location indicated an ethnically I
and racially mixed working class congregation. There was !
also a prevalence of conservatives in long-established j
denominational churches in the older and locally oriented
communities such as Long Beach and Glendale.
As far as the influence of these churches and I
I
|
their clergy was concerned, they have been able to main- j
j
tain considerable influence in the community power struc
ture and in denominational councils. Their influence has
ers itself a group of people who gather together because
of certain beliefs. A congregation of this type will not
necessarily feel a special responsibility to the neighbor
hood in which the building is located. Unless a church
has a sense of mission toward the inhabitants of the nearby
community, it will continue to serve only white members,
an increasing portion of whom will be commuting back to the
church.1 1
^Two clergymen from different denominations in the
jdowntown area reported that most of their members were
; people 50 years of age or more. A third denominational
church has been characterized by the clergy in that denom-
iination as being Victorian in its membership.
190 !
been maintained because these churches have counted many |
i
community leaders in their memberships, and because the j
!
!
contributions from these churches for denominational
j
activities has been substantial.
Consequently, the conservatives were found to be j
i
a more closely-knit doctrinal grouping within the denomi
nations than the liberals, for several reasons. First, j
!
because of their concentration in certain areas, they had
considerable social interaction among themselves. Second,
because they constituted a minority faction within the
denominations, for defensive reasons they joined together
against the innovations of the liberals. Conservatives
were also defending a well-established theological posi
tion. Liberals were not as cohesive in their doctrinal
approach as the conservatives because they were exploring
new and untried theological positions in relation to an
active political role for the denominations.
Not only were the conservatives a minority among
the denominational clergy, but the respective administra
tive hierarchies of the denominations have recently adopted
a liberal approach to the role of the denominations in
191 |
i
c j
political and secular affairs in Los Angeles. Until the :
present decade the administrative leaders in Los Angeles j
were guided by a conservative orientation in both politics
1
and religion. There was considerable evidence to support !
I
the conclusion about the change in orientation of the !
administrative officials. This evidence will be discussed j
more fully in the next chapter.
All of the denominational clergy interviewed were
aware of the need for Christianity to be meaningful on the
basis of its own religious merit in a secular society.
The disagreement between the liberals and conservatives
was over the means to accomplish this goal in a modern
I
urban community. The political attitudes of the clergy
reflected the differences in means considered appropriate
to achieve this goal.
Supreme Court Decisions
In recent years the Supreme Court has delineated
^This conclusion was based on the opinions of the
respondents and on my observations of the administrative
leaders in various capacities in relation to recent issues
in which they have been involved.
192 |
i
more precisely than in the past what the relationship is 1
between the secular state and the religious associations. ;
The consequences of the decisions of the Court have
affected the means by which the denominations are able to
function effectively in the community. The liberal clergy j
recognized that a new method for achieving the goal of j
making Christianity meaningful in modern society was j
necessary. Consequently, they agreed with the decisions j
!
j
of the Court on school prayers; Bible reading in school;
constitutional rights of everyone including atheists and
i
members of the Communist Party; legislative reapportion- j
i
ment which would ultimately lessen the rural Protestant j
hold on state and local government; and integration of
the races and ethnic minorities into the community on an
equal basis. Conservatives disapproved of the Court's
decisions on these issues.
The only decision of the Court with which both
.liberal and conservative clergy were in substantial dis
agreement was the one allowing for the expenditure of
public funds for general welfare purposes which could
I also benefit private or parochial agencies. The majority
|(20 clergymen) approved of the decision but a large minor-
|ity (11 clergymen) disapproved. The most frequent reason
193
given by the clergy for disapproval was that the financial
support of private and parochial schools by the govern- j
!
I
ments would inhibit the growth and development of the
j
public schools. Five of the eleven clergymen who dis
approved represented small congregations in the Negro and
Mexican-American communities.^ One represented a very |
large working class congregation in the Watts area. The j
j
conservatives, except for the two Roman Catholic priests,
|
also disagreed with the decision. The liberal clergy
that represented financially stable middle class churches
approved of this type of expenditure of public funds.
It is reasonable to speculate that the reason the
clergy representing small congregations in the ghetto
areas disapproved of the decision is that they assumed
that in the future it will add to the precariousness of
their position and influence in these areas. Successful
C .
One of these clergymen who disapproved had gradu
ated from Boston University. He was very much concerned
about the unequal position of the public schools vis-a-vis
Roman Catholic parochial schools in Boston. He felt the
parochial schools had "gutted" the public schools there,
and he did not want to see that happen here. In the Los
Angeles Negro ghetto area, at least two Roman Catholic
parishes have built elementary schools across the street
from already existing public elementary schools.
194 |
middle class people within the minority groupings have !
often sent their children to parochial schools in order i
S
for them to have the benefit of a better education than is j
obtainable in the overcrowded public schools in the ghetto j
areas.^ As a result of the improvements in parochial
i
schools which will be afforded by government aid, more j
i
people will be attracted to Roman Catholic and other i
parochial schools and thence to the churches sponsoring
I
them. The denominations except for the Episcopal Church
do not maintain parochial schools.
The conservatives disagreed with the decision
primarily because they were opposed to the extension of
federal and state governments1 jurisdiction into local
matters. They expressed the opinion that this decision
is only another entering wedge by which the higher and j
i
more distant governments will be able to have control of
the local school systems. Related to the conservatives'
^Governor's Commission on the Los Angeles Riots,
Violence in the City— An End or A Beginning (Los Angeles,
1965), p. 54. "Although double sessions exist in all sub-
;divisions of the entire school system, the disadvantaged
i areas have more double sessions than any other part of the
;city. During the current school year, more than three
-quarters of the 26,200 students on double sessions attend
:schools where the enrollment is predominantly Negro or
1Mexican-American."
195 !
fear of centralization of power is their doctrinal posi- I
tion on individualism in relation to achieving redemption |
and salvation. Consequently, in their view, extensive j
welfare programs of any kind inhibit an individual's ini- i
j
tiative, and thus his ability to attain religious self- i
fulfillment through divinely ordained materially productive;
i
work within the secular community. The correlation of j
individual salvation with materially productive work is a
carry-over from the work ethic peculiar to nineteenth
century American Protestantism.®
A few liberals joined with the conservatives in
expressing disapproval of the Court's recent decision up
holding the constitutional rights of members of the Com
munist Party in regard to registering with the Attorney
General's office as members of the Party. Some other
j
liberals were hesitant in expressing approval of this
decision, but apparently in ultimately agreeing they
O
Both liberal and conservative clergy in religious
associations such as the Presbyterian Church with a con
tinuing strongly Calvinistic orientation believed that the
Protestant work ethic was still applicable to modern urban
society.
196
adhered to the idea that constitutional rights must apply
to all citizens if such rights are to be meaningful.
On the Court's general approach to constitutional
questions since 1940, all of the liberals indicated they
approved more than they disapproved. Many of the liberals
when asked to single out a particular decision with which
they especially agreed mentioned the desegregation deci
sions. On the other hand, conservatives indicated they
disapproved more than they approved of the Court's broad
approach to constitutional questions. They especially
disapproved of the Court's decisions concerning criminal
activities and the Communist Party.
Political Parties
The political attitudes of the liberal clergy were
not correlated with their party affiliation or preference.
Although more liberals preferred the Democratic Party,
there was a sizeable minority that preferred the Republican
9
Party. There were Republican liberals among both the
Q
^Most of the liberal Republicans stated that they
voted for President Johnson rather than Senator Goldwater
in the 1964 presidential election. However, in the presi
dential election of 1960, four liberals, two Republicans
197
Negro and white clergy. But because the Republican Party
has a greater appeal for conservatives than the Democratic ,
|
Party in many areas outside of the South including Los
Angeles, it was not surprising that all of the conserva-
t
tive clergy interviewed had a preference for the Repub- I
lican P a r t y . !
Among all of the clergy who indicated a political
party preference, there was a 58-42 per cent division
favoring the Democratic Party. The percentage of the
clergy who favored the Democratic Party was similar to
that of the general public.-^ But the percentage of the
and two Democrats, indicated that they had voted for Vice
President Nixon because of Senator Kennedy's Roman Catho
lic religious affiliation. Both of the liberal Republicans
made statements in their sermons about Kennedy1s religion
and their opposition to having a Roman Catholic as Presi
dent. But ten denominational clergymen reported that they
had voted for Kennedy.
^It appears likely from the statements made by
the clergy that were interviewed and from the public
statements of conservative clergymen that there were very
few conservatives in Los Angeles who did not prefer the
Republican Party.
11V. 0. Key, Jr., Politics, Parties, and Pressure
Groups (5th edition, rev.; New York: Thomas Y. Crowell
Co., 1964), p. 213. The data for the general public are
based on the distribution of five national samples cover
ing the period from 1952-1961.
; clergy who preferred the Republican Party was greater
than that of the general public whose preference has j
ranged between 30 and 35 per cent. Since there was only
one independent among the interviewees, it can be suggested!
i
: that the clergy were more likely than the general public
■ to have a political party preference. From 8 to 10 per
; cent of the general public claimed to be independent in
: reference to parties.
When questioned about their parishioners' party
preferences, in most cases Republican clergymen believed
that the majority were Republican, and the Democratic
! clergymen that the majority were Democrats. Perhaps
there is congruence on party preference between the minis-
; ters and the majority of their parishioners for the sake
of harmony within the parish. The effect of the social
interaction between the ministers and their congregations
is to encourage a similar partisan attachment.^ This
12
Robert D. Putnam, "Political Attitudes and the
Local Community," American Political Science Review (Sep
tember , 1966), pp. 646-654. In this article Putnam demon-
;strates empirically the effectiveness of friendship groups
]on partisan conformity among the members of the group. In
j regard to the clergy in Los Angeles, they indicated they
j had considerable contact with their parishioners on polit
ical issues. Only one clergyman reported that he had not
congruence of party preference of the minister with the
majority of his congregation without alienation of those
who prefer the other party is possible because in American
politics the intensity of partisan preference is w e a k .
Controversial Issues I
, ■ .............................. ■ I ...L M . |
|
|
I
On such controversial issues as birth control, tax
exemption for churches, civil disobedience to an unjust
law, and the American commitment in Viet Nam, the denomi
national clergy expressed opinions which were favorable
toward changes in the existing mores of society. Other
i
religious associations in Los Angeles have opposed or been
indifferent to any changes in the established customs
associated with these issues.
On the first controversial issue, birth control,
the denominational clergy were almost unanimous in their
discussed political issues or candidates with individual
; members of the parish or at church social gatherings.
: Most of the clergymen reported that they had such discus
sions frequently.
V. 0. Key, Jr., loc. cit. Using the same data
I as before, there were only from 34 to 37 per cent of the
| sample who described themselves as either strong Repub-
! licans or Democrats.
200 j
agreement as to the applicability of birth control meas- j
ures in the contemporary world. Only two clergymen did i
!
not favor the dispensing of birth control information in
tax-supported health and welfare agencies. One of the two j
i
clergymen who disapproved of this type of government j
sponsored birth control program did so because he believed j
that decisions regarding procreation should not be the
subject of legislation. The other clergyman was ambiva
lent about this type of program because he believed it had
racial overtones directed primarily against the Negro.
Both of these clergymen were liberals. Ironically, the
conservatives were among the most unequivocal in approving
this type of government program even though its ultimate
; effect is an invasion by government into one of the most
: private and personal aspects of life.
There has been a great deal of debate among church-
| men on the measures to take in relation to the population
explosion. That the problem is very serious is evidenced
by the facts. The world's population is expanding at the
rate of 1,800 persons per day, and by the year 2000 it is
! estimated that there will be over six billion people in-
|
i
201
habiting the world. ^ Because of the anticipated rapid
expansion of the world's population under present circum
stances and because the world's resources are limited, it
is apparent that men must be careful in the future ex
ploitation of the available resources. In this situation
the concept, traditional in Christian theology, of an
omnipotent deity who provides for his people under any
and all circumstances is brought under considerable
strain and doubt. Therefore, denominational approval of
birth control measures shows that they recognize that men
through this type of voluntary action do have and should
have control over how the available resources will be
utilized. Thus, citizens through authoritative collective
action are able to protect the community from its possi
ble self-destruction through overtaxing the available
resources.
Among American religious associations, the denomi
nations are the exception in accepting the dispensation of
birth control information as a legitimate concern of gov
ernment. None of the other major Christian religious
■^Louis B. Fleming, "Population Explosion Worries
U. N. Delegates," Los Angeles Times, October 25, 1966,
Part I, p. 17.
202
associations have publicly advocated the dispensing of !
birth control information of any sort and some have vigor- j
ously opposed it. I
On the second controversial issue, tax exemption
for churches, the denominational clergy were far from
unanimous, but a majority of them did favor eliminating j
15 ‘
the exemption gradually. The majority expressed the
opinion, in theory at least, that for tax purposes church
owned property should be assessed on the same basis as
any other private property. The majority seemed to feel
that if churches were voluntary associations in a secular
community, they should be able to exist on the basis of
their own effort without an indirect subsidy from the
state in the form of a tax exemption.^
15
The Supreme Court has, in the 1966 term, de-
i clined to consider a case in which the tax exemption for
i churches was an issue. This has the effect of leaving the
;question of the constitutionality of the exemption un
decided.
16
Relations Between Church and State, a Report of
the Special Committee on Relations Between Church and
State in the United States of the United Presbyterian
; Church (Philadelphia, 1963), p. 15. "The church has no
theological ground for laying any claim upon the state for
special favors. The church must regard special status or
; favored position as a hindrance to the fulfilling of its
|mission."
203
Although many of the clergymen interviewed agreed
that the principle of tax exemption for churches was wrong,
they felt that if it were eliminated now it would work too !
1
i
much of a hardship on small churches with low budgets. ;
This opinion was expressed most often by the clergy with
congregations in predominantly working and lower class
areas. A substantial minority composed largely of Negroes !
i
I
. and conservatives had no doubt about the validity of the i
i
|
tax exemption and believed it should be continued. They
did not think that such a tax exemption violated the prin-
j
ciple of separation of church and state nor that this
form of special privilege in any way obligated the clergy
or the churches to the state. A few of the clergy were
not sure at the time of the interview how they really
felt on this issue.
i
Because the political role of the denominations
is affected by the tax exemption, the arguments against
it are worthy of being included in the study. One argu
ment against the exemption is that the clergy are inhibited
to some extent in their political leadership in the commu-
;nity as a result of the privileged position accorded to
;the churches by the state. The majority of the clergy in
|relatively financially stable churches reported that they
204 |
i
believed that the exemption violated the principle of
separation of church and state. Thus, it is likely that
i
this potential leadership group is prevented to some
degree from fulfilling their prophetic and judgmental role j
by a sense of obligation to the state. Also in their
opposition to an active political leadership role by the ;
clergy, some secular groups may point out that the j
^ . |
churches1 privileged position in regard to tax exemption
places them in a subordinate position to the state. Con- |
sequently, potential allies may be lost.
Another argument is that churches and religious i
i
• i
associations involved in defending or attacking particular j
i
political issues are often protecting a vested interest
. in preserving the status quo. In this regard, apart from
the church locations, wealthy churches and governing
agencies of religious associations owned extensive property
holdings in Los Angeles. Much of this property was used
in commercial profit-making ventures. Most of the denomi
national clergy agreed that property employed in this way
should be fully taxable like any other business property.
'Furthermore, because churches and religious associations
jhave used the income from these enterprises in propagandiz
ing on political issues, such enterprises should be subject
205
to the same conditions including taxation as any other
business interest group seeking to protect its interests
through influencing political decisions.
On this second controversial issue the denomina
tions are again the only major religious associations
advocating a change in the legal and traditional position
; of the churches. Their position on the tax exemption
issue also gives additional support to the belief that
the denominations are the religious associations most
likely to accept and act upon a theological approach con
sistent with an understanding of modern urban problems.
On the third issue, civil disobedience to a law
considered to be contrary to Christian ethics, a large
majority of the clergy stated that they approved of civil
disobedience to such a law. Some of the clergy approved
in theory; however, they stated that they were not likely
to take part in a demonstration or participate in acts of
civil disobedience. But many of those who approved of
civil disobedience indicated they would go to jail if
necessary in active positive opposition to this type of
^ law. Some had already experienced an arrest as well as
j some time in jail. There were also a few who might accept
! martyrdom if this type of sacrifice were necessary. A
206
small minority of four clergymen disapproved of civil
i
disobedience, and one was probably more against it than ;
i
for it although he agreed that civil disobedience may j
i
work out satisfactorily in some areas. ^ Two of the four j
j
who disapproved were conservatives, and one was a semi- I
j
retired church administrator at the time of interview.
I
L
The clergy who approved of civil disobedience indi
cated that much serious thought should be given to the
consequences of a law which may be in question before
taking positive action. They also believed that once
such action was taken, the clergy could not expect to have j
a privileged immunity from the results of their action.
While they would approve of civil disobedience to a law
:against Christian ethics, they would expect to suffer the
penalties provided by the law for disobedience to its
requirements or provisions.
Prior to the civil rights movement the denomina
tional clergy were not among the leaders or active partici
pants in this type of political action. Since the civil
rights movement has gained momentum, however, the denomi-
17
This clergyman's church had suffered some damage
ias the result of the Watts riot in Los Angeles.
207 !
I
|
national clergy have been one of the most active groups in '
supporting the movement and in participating in demonstra- |
i
i
tions, sit-ins, and marches. They have joined with liberalj
I
Roman Catholics and Jews in these activities.
Although the clergy of these major religious j
associations have cooperated in this effort, among Protes- j
tant and related groups not affiliated with the denomina- j
tions, the denominational clergy have been alone in this
action. Most of these other religious associations have
disapproved of this type of action in relation to the
civil rights movement, and they have often voiced their
disapproval of the denominational clergy for their active
participation in the movement. Therefore, on this issue
too, at least among the Protestant and related associa
tions , the denominations are the most likely religious
i
associations to adhere to a modern theological approach
in regard to the solution of modern urban problems.
The fourth controversial issue dealt with an in
ternational problem, the Vietnam War. There was a less
clear-cut distinction among the clergy on this issue than
on any of the other three. There were slightly more who
approved than disapproved of the American commitment in
the Vietnamese confrontation. But there was a larger
208
group that was not sure of their position or approved, j
with reservations. The clergy who approved with reserva- j
!
tions stated that they had reservations because America
should not have been involved in the war in the first
place. Now that it was, however, it was necessary to |
i
support the war effort. 1
In regard to a question about President Johnson's j
I
i
handling of the Vietnamese conflict, those who disapproved
of the commitment also disapproved of the President's
handling of the war. Those who approved, except for one j
staunch conservative Republican, also approved of Mr. John-i
, i
son's program in relation to Vietnam. The clergy in the !
"approve but with reservations category" for the most part
approved of the President's handling of the war effort.
On the issue of the war the clergy apparently
held a similar view to that of much of the general public
in regard to their qualified approval but underlying un
certainty about the purpose of the war.-*-® But the fact
-*-®The conclusion that many of the American people
:were uncertain about the purpose of the Vietnam War and the
|reasons for American involvement in it was based on the
various public opinion polls published in the Los Angeles
Times over the last few years concerning the war.
209 !
I
that the majority of the denominational clergy were hesi
tant in their approval or did actually disapprove of the
war distinguishes them from the more militantly anti
communist clergy in other religious associations. Appar- j
]
ently the theological conservativism of most of the clergy
in other religious associations enforces and encourages j
a very strong stand in opposition to a powerful and !
j
admittedly atheistic movement like Communism. ^ On the ;
i
issue of the war in Vietnam and indirectly in its effect
on the alleged containment of communism within its present
territorial boundaries, the denominational clergy seem to
;
have accepted the realities of existence with secular and
atheistic movements in this world to a greater extent than I
their more theologically conservative colleagues in other
religious associations.
One final observation regarding the political
19
In an interview with a Four Square Gospel clergy
man, he stated that he would favor any individual or group
such as the John Birch Society which was actively engaged
in allegedly anti-communist activities. He also commented
that the members of the church felt the same way. For him
: communism was the anti-Christ. Furthermore, some of the
i '
: denominational clergy that were interviewed reported that
theologically conservative Baptist groups were the most
likely ones to have members actively supporting the Birch
Society as an anti-communist organization.
210
attitudes of the clergy on controversial issues will con
clude this chapter. The denominational clergy's involve
ment in political issues and their concern with secular
problems in the community is demonstrated by their atti- j
tude toward preaching from the pulpit about such things.
All but two of the clergy reported that they had talked
directly at least occasionally, and by inference, fre
quently, about political issues in their sermons. The two
who had not were conservatives.
The more involved the clergy were with community-
wide activities, the more likely they were frequently to
have spoken directly or by inference in their sermons
about political issues. The clergy in the less privileged
white and Negro areas were not so likely to have spoken
about such issues as were those from the more prosperous
i
white and Negro areas. The younger clergy and the new- i
i
comers to the Los Angeles area were also hesitant about j
|
j
speaking freely from the pulpit on such issues except by j
inference only or occasionally directly. Apparently, the j
clergy in other religious associations, particularly Pro
testant and other related associations, do not mention
political issues except very rarely, if ever, in their
20
sermons. u
The denominational clergy's greater emphasis on
i
j
political issues and secular problems than is true of the
i
clergy in other religious associations is partly attribut- j
I
able to the moderate communal and associational bond in !
!
the denominational membership. Because of the moderate |
associational and communal bond in denominational Protes- I
|
tantism, there is less social interaction than in other
religious associations among the clergy and their congre
gations. Most of the other Protestant and related asso-
21
ciations have a strong communal and associational bond. i
I
|
These strong bonds are consistent with very extensive j
I
social interaction in these groups, and the result is a
^This conclusion was based on interviews with an
active Seventh Day Adventist layman, a former president
’ and secretary of an elders' quorum in the Mormon Church,
; and a Four Square Gospel clergymen. All of these men
; reported that political issues were not talked about in
! church services.
21
The same men listed in Footnote 14 stated that
it was not unusual for them to spend as much as forty
hours a week in church activities of one kind or another.
! They also indicated that they tithed or gave as high as
25 per cent of their income to the church. They said
; that these activities and offerings were common among mem-
: bers of their churches.
i
i
; 212
more unified approach to political issues, if not to
political candidates, where party affiliation plays an
important part.
The problem for the denominations is to develop a
stronger associational and communal bond than they now
have without losing their flexibility in their concern
for the problems of the world. Nevertheless, the conclu
sion that the denominational clergy are the religious
leaders most able to accept a theology appropriate to
effectively working with modern urban secular problems in
Los Angeles is supported by their emphasis in the ongoing
life of the church on political issues.
Although the denominational clergy have indicated
their awareness and understanding of some of the modern
urban problems, it remains to be seen what the denomina
tions will do to help to solve these problems. In the
:next chapter, some of the activities of the denominations
in the secular community of Los Angeles and how effective
they have been in these activities will be covered.
CHAPTER VI
POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF THE DENOMINATIONS
IN LOS ANGELES
The fulfillment of an active political role in the
urban complex by the denominations depends upon their
ability to influence the several stages of the authorita
tive decision-making process in the community. Through
their pastoral functions, religious associations and their
clergy influence decision-making on the personal level,
the initial stage of the decision-making process. In a
secular and religiously pluralistic society, this type of
indirect influence on the community's decision-making
process is still necessary, but it is not sufficient for
achieving the goal of an integrated community. To assist
in accomplishing this goal the denominations have accepted
a political role beyond that of the indirect influence of
the pastoral functions performed by the clergy in the local
213
214 i
parishes.'*- The denominations have acted to satisfy the '
requirements for an effective and influential political
i
role in the community. Many of their activities pertinent ;
to such a political role for the denominations in the Los :
i
Angeles area are included in this chapter. !
Proposition Fourteen— 1964
i
!
j
i
The turning point in the denominations1 role in the j
j
political life of the Los Angeles community came in the i
!
period preceding the general election of 1964^ with their j
-^-Sebastian de Grazia, The Political Community
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948}, p. 133. In
his study of the separation-anxiety syndrome found among
the residents of a community, de Grazia found that collec-
tive action was more politically efficacious than individ-
: ual action when this syndrome was prevalent. "From the
political standpoint, the collective reactions to anomie
are the more important. Therefore, although in a system-
atic discussion of possible consequences the individual
;solutions cannot be ignored, more attention will be paid
the former category, that is, the collective attempts to
ireduce anomic tension."
2
Roger Lee Ragan, "Attitudes of White Methodist
Church Members in Selected Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
Churches," (unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, School of
Theology, University of Southern California, 1963), pp. 90-
91. Mr. Ragan was a human relations consultant with the
;Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission and a former
Methodist clergyman. Writing in 1963 Ragan concluded that
|the denominations had been ineffectual in the work of in
tegration of the races. "Though they were slow in getting
decisions to take an active part among the other opposi
tion forces arrayed against the acceptance of Proposition j
Fourteen as an amendment to the State Constitution.-^ All j
i
of the denominations affiliated with the Southern Califor- j
nia Council of Churches took an official and public posi- |
■ ■ 4 i
tion in opposition to the passage of this Proposition. J
With the Jewish federations, the denominations were the
only major religious associations in Los Angeles that
worked with groups opposing Proposition Fourteen.
underway with such pronouncements, the major Protestant
denominations are now on record in favor of integration
in all aspects of national life, including housing. (Only
the Congregationalists and the American Baptists had taken
. a stand against all segregation by the 1930's, and it was
not until 1946 that the Federal Council of Churches spoke
out against segregation in race relations. . . .)
"In spite of the above mentioned efforts, and
others similar to them that doubtless exist, the total im
pact of Protestantism in the United States on the problem
of racial residential segregation must be set down as
negligible.1 1
^Proposition Fourteen provided for the abolition
of the Rumford Act and the prohibition of legislation that
would inhibit the right of people to sell their property
except under conditions which they determined to be appro
priate.
^All of the clergymen interviewed were cognizant
of the official position of their denomination.
A minority of the denominational clergy were not
in agreement with the decisions of the Council of Churches j
and the denominational governing bodies to oppose the j
I
Proposition. The minority were composed primarily of the j
i
j
i
conservative clergy within the denominations. The minor
ity clergy expressed their disagreement through expressing
varying degrees of approval for the Proposition. Some
clergymen were openly and actively in favor of the passage
of the Proposition. Others declined to take any stand
at all, preferring to ignore the issue as a political
controversy with no moral implications for the churches. j
In some cases the lay governing boards of individ
ual churches were a factor in determining a church's posi
tion on this issue. In some parishes the governing
board's decision as to the church's official position was
^ C h u r c h government in the denominations ranged from
i that of the considerable executive authority exercised by
the Bishop and his Council in the Episcopal Church to the
I congregational democracy of the United Church of Christ,
with the republican form of legislative government in the
United Presbyterian Church somewhere in the middle.
C .
Most of these clergymen apparently believed that
individual freedom was being needlessly curtailed by the
government as a result of this kind of legislation.
217 !
in conflict with the stand of the denominations and the |
j
f
clergy. In other parishes active opposition among some of j
f
the members of the governing boards prevented or inhibited |
the clergy from taking a public stand on the issue.^ j
i
The clergy who opposed the Proposition also varied j
Q
in the manner in which they carried out their role. A
i
few, such as Dr. Ganse Little of Pasadena's First Presby
terian Church and Mr. Ray Riebes of St. Michaels and All
Angels Episcopal Church in Sherman Oaks, were vigorously
outspoken against the Proposition and took an active
leadership role among the opposition forces. Among the
active administrative officials. Dr. Julian Reiser, urban
work director for the Southern California Conference of
7
A Methodist clergyman reported that an unusually
large number of Methodist clergy, more than half of those
iin the conference, were transferred in the period follow-
iing the 1964 general election. It was also reported that
I in one denominational church, members of the John Birch
:Society attempted unsuccessfully to take over the govern-
!ing board in order to assure official church approval for
the Proposition.
Q
Most of the respondents reported that they were
satisfied with their efforts on behalf of the opposition,
j Some felt that a more educational and persuasive technique
should have been used. Many reported that some members
|of the church left as a result of the pastor's opposition
I activities.
i
218
the United Church of Christ, was coordinator for denomina
tional opposition activities. Other clergymen worked
i
mostly through study groups and open meetings within their ;
own congregations and through their sermons. Some were
willing to have their names placed on literature that was j
distributed in the area by the opposition forces, but they j
3
were not willing to take a very strong stand within their j
own congregations against the Proposition. Most of the
top administrative officials of the denominations were
strongly in favor of the opposition, and they publicly
denounced the purpose of the Proposition as being contrary
to Christian ethics.
The denominations1 and the clergy's stand in oppo
sition to the Proposition resulted in a serious split
among the laity. Individual church members were more
evenly divided in their support for or against the Proposi
tion than were the clergy. Many clergymen with churches
that were in predominantly white middle class areas per
ceived that their congregations were approximately evenly
, g
divided m their attitudes concerning the Proposition.
' 9
Ragan, op. cit., p. 114. In a related type of
• problem, there was also an even distribution of white
219 I
i Some of the clergy with white congregations indicated |
that even if a majority of their parishioners disapproved j
of the purpose of the Proposition, it frequently was only
a small majority. Those clergy who represented churches j
in the ghetto areas and churches that were meaningfully j
integrated in other areas of the County had little diffi-
i
culty in securing the active support and verbal approval I
of their congregations for the denominations1 and the
churches' activities in opposition to the Proposition.
However, it is significant for the political role of the
: denominations that some parishioners were so disgruntled j
over the churches' position that they withdrew their
Protestants' attitudes. In regard to their attitudes
'toward living on the same block with Negroes, Ragan's
;findings show about an even split, and this agrees with
the findings in other areas. "In the two studies of white
church members known to the writer, the respondents appear
• to have attitudes similar to those found in the present
:study. Lensky, in his 1958 Detroit study, reports 53 per
! cent of the white Protestants indicated they would be dis
turbed or unhappy if a Negro family with the same educa
tion or income moved into their block. This compares with
the 51.9 per cent in the present study who register dis
approval of a similar Negro family moving into their
neighborhood. Friedrichs, in his 1959 study of a suburban
:New Jersey residential community, found 45 per cent of the
white church members did not register an objection to a
'Negro family moving into their neighborhood. This com-
|pares with 48.2 per cent of those respondents in the pres
ent study who do not register actual disapproval."
membership or support.^ But as Religious associations, !
I
the denominations' administrative leaders, the clergy, and j
many laymen seem to have been determined to continue polit-l
ical activities of this type which exert a direct influ- j
ence on the decision-making process in the community !
j
despite the opposition of some of the clergy and laity.
In Los Angeles, each denomination's action in
regard to Proposition Fourteen was its first major direct,
organized, and ecumenical activity on a political issue
since the denominations took an active leadership role in
the prohibition movement. However, important variations
between these two types of political as well as moral
-*-^Ibid., p. 174. Ragan found that members who werej
• highly involved in church activities were less prejudiced
than the marginal members. In a study of a Los Angeles
suburb, Rosenblum also found an inverse relationship be-
;tween religiosity and prejudice. Religiosity in his study
,was measured by church attendance and attitudes toward the
iinstitution of the church. However, it is important to
note that the relationship between religiosity and preju
dice was reversed among Roman Catholic and Lutheran groups.
'See Abraham L. Rosenblum, "Social Class Membership and
Ethnic Prejudice in Cedar City" (unpublished Ph.D. Disser
tation, Department of Sociology, University of Southern
California, 1959), pp. 105-123. In the study, some clergy
men reported that as a result of the clergy's and the
|denominations' stand on the Proposition a few active lay
leaders did quit their churches.
221
■ movements reflect the denominations' new existential
theology in their approach to political issues.
A significant difference between the prohibition
movement and the civil rights movement, of which the
opposition to Proposition Fourteen was a part, is the
general nature of each movement. Prohibition was a nega
tive goal of making abstention from alcoholic beverages
a legal requirement. Religious leaders apparently con
sidered this type of abstention important as a means to
the salvation of the individual's soul. The civil rights
movement is a positive program which seeks to achieve an
integrated and humane community in which each person may
seek his salvation through his own unique service to the
: community.
Another important difference between the two
movements is an understanding on the part of religious
leaders of the complexity of the solutions to the problems
!involved in the civil rights movement compared to the
I simplicity of the expected solution of abstention in the
:prohibition movement. Working within the civil rights
:movement entails dealing with secular problems in the
urban community, whereas working within the prohibition
|movement required only a belief in a system of legalized
222
ethics.
Another variation between the two movements lies j
|
|
in the unity among the religious associations in support- j
S
m g each movement. There was consensus among religious |
|
leaders on the evils for man and society in the consump- |
|
tion of alcoholic beverages and on the importance of doing
1 1
something to control it. In the Los Angeles area
especially, the denominations among the Christian reli
gious associations are the only ones taking an active part
in making the civil rights movement a success. Conse-
; quently, because of opposition within their own ranks as
well as lack of cooperation, if not opposition, from other
religious associations, their leadership role on political
:issues related to the civil rights movement is more diffi-
:cult than it was in the prohibition movement.
■ The clergy themselves are uncertain as to how they
i
are able to fulfill a leadership role and take an active
11Anson Stokes and Leo Pfeffer, Church and State
in the Unibed States (New York: Harper and Row, 1964),
p. 313. Only two Christian associations were not in favor
of the prohibition amendment. "On the whole it is clear
I that most of the Christian churches, except the Episcopal
ian and the Roman Catholic, favored the prohibition amend
ment and its enforcement."
223 j
1
part in the civil rights movement. ^ Most of the clergy j
seemed to be willing to have the denominations continue I
|
to accept a leadership and judgmental role in seeking !
i
solutions to the secular problems of the community. The j
denominations' and the clergy's involvement in the opposi
tion to the acceptance of Proposition Fourteen served to
give them an increased awareness and understanding of how j
the denominations can be an effective force for attaining
as well as serving an integrated community. Their involve
ment in this type of political issue has also served to
enhance the denominations' position as a political influ
ence in the community. What the denominations have
achieved in the quest for an integrated and whole commu
nity in the Los Angeles area since Proposition Fourteen
will be covered in the last part of the chapter.
12
Because of the complexity of the problems, the
ingrained parochial position of the churches, and a well-
established liberal and conservative theology both em
phasizing the importance of individualism in politics
and religion, many of the clergy interviewed manifested
considerable uncertainty as to how they and the denomina
tions as an organized interest group could assist in the
process of working with urban secular problems.
224
Denominational Activities — 1965-1966
The denominations' activities since 1964 related
to the political arena fall into two categories, ecumeni-
13
calXJ and individual denominational and church programs.
Each type of program will be covered in this section of
the chapter.
The ecumenical program is included largely in the
activities of the following organizations: The Commission
on the Church and Race of the Southern California Council
of Churches; The Migrant Ministry and the Office for State
Affairs of the California Council of Churches; The Inter-
Religious Committee of the Los Angeles Region Goals Proj
ect, and the Center of Metro Mission Inservice Training.
•^Roman Catholic, Jewish, and other Protestant
l and related religious associations are participants in
some of these ecumenical activities. Nevertheless, the
;denominations have provided the largest portion of the
support and staff for these activities.
l^The first two organizations have their head
quarters in the offices of the Southern California Council
of Churches in Los Angeles, and the other two have their
headquarters in the University Methodist Church near the
University of Southern California.
With the exception of the Migrant Ministryr-^ these organ
izations have been established since the Watts riot in
Los Angeles in August, 1965. Other ecumenical activities
relating to the political arena have taken place on an
ad hoc basis.
The programs of the individual denominations and
churches in relation to urban problems included a wide
range of activities. Individual denominational churches
were active participants in such organizations as the
Valley Interfaith Commission, which worked closely with
the Valley Fair Housing Council in placing and welcoming
Negro families in the San Fernando Valley.^ Other reli
gious organizations of this type were active throughout
the area. Some churches, partially supported by denomina
tional funds, such as the East Los Angeles Parish of the
Episcopal Church, the Pacoima Congregational Church of the
15
The Migrant Ministry was transferred in 1964
from the National Council of Churches with its headquarters
in New York City to the California Council of Churches.
At the time of the interview with Mrs. Florence
Adler at the Valley Fair Housing Council, 112 Negro fami
lies had been assisted in finding homes in various loca
tions throughout the San Fernando Valley.
United Church of Christ, and the Temple Methodist Church 1
located in the central section of Los Angeles, were exam
ples of integrated churches in the less privileged areas
of the County actively engaged in assisting minority
groups become integrated into the community. One of the ^ j
important functions of such churches was to help people
j
to think of themselves as a part of the larger community. i
The clergy also gave the people guidance in exercising j
j
influence on the decision-making process. Other churches, j
; such as the Woodland Hills Methodist Church and the First |
Presbyterian Church in Pasadena, were seeking to establish I
lines of communication and meaningful interaction between
|
the white middle class suburban parishes and the Negro
ghetto area parishes. The clergy and the laity sought to
establish contact with Negro religious leaders and their
congregations and to work with them in whatever way they i
!
could.
Churches within the Negro ghetto areas, such as
the Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Bel-
i
Vue Community Presbyterian Church, were examples of
j denominational churches that had developed active self-
; help programs for the poor. Among other things these
| programs were aimed at helping individuals attain appro-
! priate skills related to current employment opportunities. !
This type of program was designed to enhance the individ- ;
ual's self-respect as a valued contributor to the general j
j
j
; good of the community. Specificallyr the Grant A. M. E. j
Church had conducted voting schools, a placement clinic j
! j
and employment office, and an active teen training pro- j
I
gram. In addition to their activities in these programs, j
: the pastors of the two churches were also active in pre
venting violence during the riots in Watts.^ They were
; both personally commended by Governor Brown for their
efforts toward that end.
Like the programs of the three other churches
previously described in this section, the programs of
; these two churches were designed to assist all of the
! people in the neighborhood, regardless of their religious
: affiliation, to achieve a sense of purpose for their pres
ent existence in the community. These programs were based
‘ on the idea inherent in the Protestant work ethic of the
17
The pastor's office of the Grant A. M.. E. Church
iwas damaged by a fire bomb thrown through the window
! during the riots. The pastor attributed this act of van-
i dalism to his efforts to prevent the violence of the
i rioters.
importance of constructive, meaningful involvement for
the individual, but they emphasized this type of involve- j
j
ment as a means of attaining self-respect and not as a j
[
;
divinely ordained mechanism for the material evolution of
i
; man. Significantly, in no way were the activities of all j
of these churches a continuation of the social club con
cept prevalent in many middle class denominational
churches.
In the two-year period following the disturbances
in the Negro areas of Los Angeles, the involvement of each
of the denominations in urban problems had increased
considerably. This involvement of the denominations was
;
; in addition to the ecumenical activities in which they
I also participated.
The major denominations included on their adminis-
: trative staffs clergymen who were designated as coordi
nators for urban affairs. These men were given responsi-
j bility and authority to act promptly on urban problems by
TO
the governing bodies of the denominations. The clergy-
^-®Part of their task was to secure denominational
support for an active and effective program in regard to
!urban problems.
229
! men filling these leadership roles had much experience in
dealing with inner city problems, and they were familiar
with the attitudes and behavior of the people in these
areas. Furthermore, the interaction and coordination of
denominational activities were enhanced by the fact that
these men were always members of the various boards and
; commissions which set the policies for and gave guidance
to the ecumenical denominational organizations dealing
; i
' !
with the various urban programs.
Each of the major denominations also supported
with money and staff assistance various projects concerned
with urban problems in the inner city and poverty areas.
: The Westminster Neighborhood Association, Incorporated in
Watts received financial and staff assistance from the Los
t
;Angeles Presbytery of the United Presbyterian Church; the
; i
i Willowbrook Job Corporation was aided financially by The
Methodist Church? and Operation Bootstrap was aided finan-
Icially and with staff assistance by the Episcopal Diocese
of Los Angeles. Projects of this sort have served to
increase the denominations' influence and communication
!with the minority groups and the poor. Apparently, the
i denominations as organizations as well as some pastors are
j
;no longer solely concerned with the salvation of the souls
230
of men.
Ecumenical Organizational Activities
Except on election issues such as Proposition
19
Fourteen in 1964 and Proposition Sixteen in 1966 and
issues pertaining to local problems such as housing and
parks, the ecumenical organizational activities of the
;denominations were more directly related to the political
:arena than were the activities of individual churches and
denominations. Some of these ecumenical activities are
briefly discussed in the following pages.
j
The Southern California Council of Churches was
the central organization for the area. Through their
I membership in this organization, the denominations sought
:ways to become actively engaged in urban problems and
particularly those problems related to minority groups and
I the poor. Thus the Commission on the Church and Race
j
;was created as a division of the Council of Churches. The
19
I Proposition Sixteen in 1966 was a proposed
j amendment to the State Constitution which would have pro-
! vided for shifting control over the question of what is
; obscene from the state government to local governmental
i units.
231
Executive Director of the Commission, Mr. John Pratt, used j
his office to bring the denominations' influence to bear i
j
on political and administrative leaders in the area's j
j
i
several governments. He sought to influence the decision- j
: |
making process on both political and administrative levels,j
; |
|such as the County Board of Supervisors, the Police Com- j
I mission of Los Angeles City, and the boards and directors
;responsible for administering the federal poverty programs
in the area. Mr. Pratt used different techniques for
exerting the Commission's influence on the decisions of
these political and administrative leaders. He made numer
ous telephone calls, wrote many letters, sent telegrams,
attended public meetings, assembled groups to represent
S the churches at legal proceedings, and participated along
20
with other religious leaders in protest marches. The
j
major drawback to his effectiveness in accomplishing the
2^In regard to the last two activities, Mr. Pratt
recently arranged to have 35 to 40 clergymen including top
administrative leaders present at the inquest into the
killing of a Negro citizen, Mr. Deadwyler, by a police
officer. Also, Mr. Pratt and the Executive Director of
the Los Angeles Council of Churches represented the Protes
tant Churches of Southern California on the final day of
the Meredith Mississippi March in Jackson.
232 |
: r
i 1
1 goals of the Commission was the limitation of the staff !
to one man.
I
In addition to those activities which sought to
influence the decision-making process, Mr. Pratt and the
j
Commission sought to establish better lines of communica- j
’ tion and interaction between suburban white churches and j
the inner city areas than had previously existed. In
accomplishing this goal, the Commission and the California
Center for Community Development together designed and
sponsored a new training program. The plan was to train
j
young potential leaders within the inner city areas to j
understand the important social issues of their community
and to establish a responsible relationship with the
| larger community. A Social Action Training Center was set
up in the Negro area for this purpose. Individual
churches sponsoring trainees learned firsthand about con
ditions in the inner city, and what they could do to help
improve the situation. The trainees learned that people
in the white community were concerned and interested in
i them and their lot in society. It was of considerable
1
| importance that the clergy and laity of suburban white
I churches were able to acquire an insight into the social
i
and political attitudes of young people not imbued with
233
white middle class values. j
Moreover, under Mr. Pratt's leadership, the Com- j
I
mission on the Church and Race laid the foundation for the
denominations' social use of economic power. This was j
i
done through the Commission's adaptation to the Los An- j
|
geles area of a program, Project Equality, already in use !
in other major urban centers in the United States.2^ Mr.
Pratt has described the Project as an "inter-faith pro
gram providing the methods, tools, techniques and adminis
trative procedures to Churches so they may lend their
moral suasion and economic power to achievement of equal
22
opportunity for all citizens."
21
"Project Equality of Greater Los Angeles," Sum-
! mary Paper prepared by John M. Pratt, Executive Director,
:Commission on the Church and Race (Council of Churches in
Southern California, October 12, 1966), Introduction,
!(mimeographed). As a part of his justification for the
:utilization of this type of program in Los Angeles, Mr.
;Pratt pointed out that many of the governments in the
jcountry through legislation and executive action have been
jcommitted for several years to a policy of fair employment
practices in the business aspects of their activities.
Accordingly, he urged that the religious community, the
second largest purchaser of goods and services in the
United States, could hardly be expected to act in a less
moral manner than the political community in the vital area
iof job discrimination.
22Ibid.
234 I
i
i
According to the plan, Project Equality had four j
phases which were to be implemented by the churches in j
their business dealings. In the first phase, the churches
survey their own hiring practices to determine if, unknow
ingly, discrimination of any sort has existed. In the
second phase, the churches make a regular practice of
|
purchasing goods and services from firms listed in a book- i
let supplied to them by the staff of the Project. The
firms listed are the ones that have implemented the prin
ciples of Project Equality in regard to fair employment
practices.23 In the third phase, in their building pro
grams, the churches contract with construction firms that
have complied with these principles; and in the fourth
phase, insurance, banking, and real estate firms are also
included under the provisions of the Project.24
In addition to helping minority groups in their
efforts to overcome discriminatory employment practices, a
23A mutual exchange of cooperating firms will be
made with Project Equality staff in other urban centers in
; order to increase the nationwide effectiveness of the pro-
gram.
i
' 24
'Project Equality of Greater Los Angeles," op.
|cit., pp. 1-2.
2 35
I |
significant aspect of this program was that it further |
i
emphasized and made manifest the need for effective co- I
i
I
operation among the religious associations. Such coopera- :
. tion is essential for the accomplishment of the goal of an
; integrated community. Recently in Detroit, effective
cooperation among the religious associations demonstrated |
i what could be accomplished. The Methodists and Presby- j
■ terians had official requirements that every church con
tract include a clause of non-discrimination. Both
denominations by themselves found the task too large to
handle meaningfully. However, denominational cooperation
■ j
through Project Equality provided the means and the staff
necessary to implement effectively the good policy state-
2 5
: ment of the denominations. J
At the time of the study, the denominations in
'Los Angeles and the participating members in the Jewish
iFederation Council of Greater Los Angeles were the only
i
i
; major religious associations engaged in carrying out this
type of socioeconomic activity. But in order for this
: type of activity to be fully effective, the cooperation
| ^James Bristah, "The Social Use of Economic
!Power," Concern (May 15, 1966), p. 5.
236 !
i
and participation of all of the religious associations in j
Los Angeles was needed. Nevertheless, denominational
leadership in this program was evidence of the denomina
tional clergy's awareness of the importance of economic I
f
factors as a significant cause of the dissatisfaction and j
f
alienation from the community found among minority groups
and the poor. They were also aware of how economic fac
tors affect the achievement of an integrated community.
Another ecumenical organizational activity was the
Migrant Ministry of the California Council of Churches.
Although the major activities of the Migrant Ministry were
outside Los Angeles County, these activities were sup
ported in several ways by churches and denominations
within the County. But in supporting the Migrant Minis
try's activities outside the County, the denominations and
their congregations developed a greater awareness and
understanding of the diverse roles the Christian Church
is called upon to play in the political and economic
arenas of modern society.
One of the recent significant political and socio
economic activities of the Migrant Ministry was the leader-
237
2 . 6
ship role it played in the Delano grape strike. Under
the direction of the Reverend Mr. Wayne C. Hartmire, the
Migrant Ministry helped in waging a successful battle to
have the migrant farm workers in the Delano area repre
sented by a union of their choosing. It was Mr. Hart
mire 's policy to cooperate with Mr. Cesar Chavez and the
National Farm Workers Association for that purpose in
preference to another union, the Teamsters. In the 1966
fall issue of The California Harvester, a seasonal publica
tion of the Migrant Ministry, in justification for his
support of Chavez and the NFWA, Mr. Hartmire wrote:
What about the Teamsters? Should we support one
labor organization at the expense of another? In
some situations the answer would be no. But from
the beginning the churches have been in this Delano
fight on behalf of dignity for farm workers and their
kids. Cesar Chavez has demonstrated that he takes
the workers seriously as men of worth. He built the
NFWA from the ground up so that workers would pay
for and run their own organization. . . .
On the other hand the Teamsters have shown con
tempt for the workers. With the help of the Company
they have tried to intimidate and browbeat workers
into their union. . . . Workers have not participated
in or even known about negotiations the Teamsters
have had with the growers.27
^The Migrant Ministry staff was also active in the
Borrego Springs area of San Diego County.
^Wayne C. Hartmire, "From the Director's Desk,"
238
: Apparently, Mr. Hartmire and the Migrant Ministry had a
deep commitment to Mr. Chavez and the NFWA, and the commit-1
|
ment was based on a thorough analysis of the farm workers1 <
position. i
The actions of the Migrant Ministry were not j
limited to economic, verbal, and moral support for the
farm workers. Mr. Hartmire successfully sought the inter- |
■ j
vention of political leaders in order to give official j
i
: recognition to the cause of the workers. Along with Mr. I
Chavez and others, he met with Governor Brown in an effort
to secure an impartial investigation into the strike situa-
; i
9 0 !
tion and to settle the matter in a lawful manner. 0
Letters and telegrams were dispatched to Senators Harrison
i Williams of New Jersey and Robert Kennedy of New York, both
Democrats, urging the Senate Subcommittee on Migratory
Labor to hold public hearings in California on the farm
workers' problems. In addition to their efforts in seeking
;governmental investigations and hearings, Mr. Hartmire and
I The California Harvester (Los Angeles: California Migrant
■ Ministry), Fall, 1966, p. 2.
^Governor Brown appointed Dr. Ronald Haughton of
!Wayne University to be the State's investigator.
; other clergymen have been arrested on more than one occa
sion during the strike.^ Although their actions were
violations of the law, they considered these actions to be
!within the realm of their obligations to the community
i according to Christian ethics. These incidents involving
;the arrest of clergymen and others furthered the cause of
ithe farm workers and their strike by giving more publicity
; to the situation.
The Migrant Ministry did not receive unanimous
isupport from the denominational churches in the strike
area or in Los Angeles. As a matter of fact there was
considerable opposition to Mr. Hartmire's and the Migrant
Ministry's activities from the denominational status
i churches in the Delano area. Many growers were members of
these churches, and the churches' financial position de
pended on their contributions.^® As a result of the oppo-
2 ^ O n e 0£ indictments was thrown out by the
District Attorney's office in Kern County. However, in
another case in Borrego Springs, charges against Father
Victor Salandini, Cesar Chavez, and Mr. Hartmire resulted
iin a conviction for trespassing. The case was on appeal to
:a higher court at the time of the study.
Of)
There was opposition to direct intervention in
|the strike from religious associations in Los Angeles. For
iexample, in a close vote, the Los Angeles Presbytery of the
i sition from these churches, there were several requests
for Mr. Hartmire's resignation as Executive Director. But
the ecclesiastical authorities to whom these requests were
addressed, and who participated in the meetings of the
; California Council of Churches dealing with the strike
: situation, continued their support of Mr. Hartmire and his
I program for the farm workers and the NFWA.
Nevertheless, the denominational leaders were also
concerned about the spiritual and socioeconomic welfare of
the growers as well as the farm workers.Consequently,
; to assist in seeking long range solutions to agricultural
! problems in California, the Special Committee on Justice
for the Agricultural Community was created by the Califor-
I nia Church Council.The Committee membership included
growers, labor leaders, and churchmen. The presence of
: the clergy in this type of cooperative effort between labor
!
I United Presbyterian Church decided not to support the farm
I workers or Mr. Chavez.
Denominational leaders were especially concerned
| about the welfare of the small independent farmers who had
| difficulty in competing with the large commercial producers
j such as the Di Giorgio and Schenley Corporations.
i 32The Chairman of the Special Committee was Mr.
! Douglas Chalmers of Los Angeles.
241 i
i i
: I
|
and management makes possible for those involved a better |
understanding of how the brotherhood of man based on I
i
I
Judeo-Christian ethic can be effectuated in the economic j
i
arena in modern society. \
The two ecumenically based organizations just dis- [
: j
I
; cussed, the Migrant Ministry and the Commission on the j
Church and Race, were actively engaged in directly influ
encing political and administrative decisions to a much
greater extent than were other ecumenical organizations.
It appears that they were moderately successful in exert
ing the denominations1 influence in the political and
economic arenas. Two reasons were important for their
accomplishments in these arenas. The first reason is that
I at the time of study these organizations had been supported
in their activities by the denominational leaders acting
together as a unit. The second reason is that the organi-
: zations were each headed by aggressive and articulate men.
I These men were aware of and understood the political reali
ties in the area, and they appreciated the need for a
! strong united denominational stand which could be articu-
| lated to community leaders by a single spokesman.
'The extent to which the organizations and their
242
; executive directors will be able to continue their active I
political roles depends upon several factors. First,
their active and successful political role depends on the
ability of the ecclesiastical leaders to forego their own
- denominational advantage as they interpret it and to con-
; tinue to support and present a united front through their
official spokesmen, Mr. Hartmire and Mr. Pratt or their
successors.^ Second, the opposition by conservative
clergy and laity within the denominations to the continua
tion of such organizational activities could result in the
■ available funds for these activities being curtailed.
Third, a leveling off or declining membership in the "main
line" churches could result in the denominational leaders'
curtailing or even eliminating these organizations. In
|
other words, the denominational leaders might come to the
; conclusion that these types of activities are too detri
mental to the numerical growth of the denominations.
3^For example, denominational leaders were likely
;to be aware that in the normally Democratic counties of
jthe San Joaquin Valley, the repudiation of Governor Brown
| by a substantial margin in each of these counties was
■ partly due to the success of the strike by the NFWA. Gov-
j ernor Brown had evidenced a cooperative attitude toward
j the cause of the farm workers and their strike.
243
especially in comparison with other religious associa
tions. !
I
I
A third denominational ecumenical organizational j
activity was being organized at the time the study was j
j
completed. This was the Office for State Affairs. The |
California Church Council had made provision in its meet- j
!
ings for a lobbyist to represent the interests of the j
I
denominations and their allies in the various church
councils during the 1967 session of the California legis-
i lature. The Reverend Mr. Glen Holman of Sacramento will
represent the State Council and its constituency in that
: capacity. Apparently his task will be to represent denom
inational Protestantism as a -unit rather than to represent
I the separate denominations, which is the situation in
regard to the national legislature where each of the denom-
: inations has its representative. As a result of the
;establishment of this office, denominational Protestantism
|in California will be able to exert influence directly on
the legislative process as it develops in the state govern
ment. If it is coordinated with the positive approach of
I the denominations to the civil rights movement, this type
!of activity should have a positive effect on legislation,
j A different kind of ecumenical organizational
activity than the three activities already covered was the
Inter-Religious Committee of the Los Angeles Region Goals
Project. This activity was different from the others in
that the Committee included representatives from most of
the other religious associations in Los Angeles that were j
not affiliated with the denominations in the Council of !
C h u r c h e s . ^4 Another difference was that the Committee's
work dealt with long range problems of urban life. It
was not oriented primarily toward current civil rights
;issues although they were a part of the total picture.
A very significant difference from the other
activities was that this one was instigated by and in
cluded the participation of governmental authorities in
;its development and planning. Representatives of govern-
i
ment had sought the religious leaders' assistance in
'making long-range plans for the future growth and develop-
i
j ...........
^ R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s Q f Roman Catholic Diocese of
|Los Angeles, Jewish associations, The National Association
:of Evangelicals and other religious associations were in-
:eluded among the participants in the Inter-Religious Com-
;mittee.
245
ment of the Los Angeles region.35 jn this sense it was
an innovation in cooperative arrangements between church
and government to solve modern urban problems. This type
of arrangement between government and religious associa
tions seems to embody the kind of cooperative neutralism
toward each other called for by recent decisions of the
Supreme Court.
Moreover, this type of activity established a new
kind of leadership in the Los Angeles community for the
religious leaders. In working with the area's urban prob
lems, this activity brought representatives of the reli
gious associations into direct contact in a secular as
well as a religious capacity with concerned people in
36
other professional fields. According to respondents who
were members of the Committee, the interaction among these
■^The invitation to participate in the Goals Proj-
: ect was extended on behalf of the city government by the
; Los Angeles City Planner, Mr. Calvin Hamilton. Mr. Hamil-
, ton is an active member of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in
Los Angeles.
^^Altogether there were four committees involved
| in the Goals Project: The Technological Goals Committee,
| The Environmental Goals Committee, The Economic Goals Com-
i mittee, and the Social and Human Goals Committee. The
| Inter-Religious Committee was a part of the latter group.
246
I
! groups broadened the clergymen's understanding of the com- j
plex nature of the problems. j
I
Through the sponsorship of study groups in individ-j
ual churches, the members of the Inter-Religious Committee ]
were planning to involve the laity in the secular work of
the Project in regard to its long-range plans for the j
|
area. The involvement of the laity in the Project was |
' designed to enable the Planning Department officials and
the religious leaders to have the benefit of the ideas,
desires, and support of the people at the neighborhood
level for the goals of the program. An additional advan-
: tage to the study groups approach is that in this way the
|local congregations will become aware of the problems of
i
jthe whole metropolitan area and of the need for planning
jon a metropolitan area level rather than on the local
community level.
As previously stated, when this study was made,
j the Goals Project was in the first stage of its develop
ment. Its ultimate success will depend on such factors
;as the continued participation of all of the religious
;associations and other groups;37 the sincerity and ability
^7The Methodist Church recently withdrew its sup-
of government officials to make the master plan work? and
the creation of a regional organization with sufficient
authority to implement the plan in Los Angeles and adja
cent Counties.
In another, but related, type of ecumenical organ
izational activity, four of the denominations joined to
gether to establish and support a Center of Metro Mission
op
Inservice Training (COMMIT). This ecumenical activity
had been in operation only for approximately two months
at the time of this study, and its program was not ex
plicitly defined.
A brief delineation of some of the proposed pro
grams of the officials of. COMMIT will serve to indicate
its function in the community. One of the programs was
designed to assist in improving lines of communication
between middle class congregations and congregations com
posed of people in the less privileged segments of the
port, and it was reported by some clergymen that the con
tinued participation of the Roman Catholic Church was
doubtful.
38
The four denominations were: The Methodist
Church, The United Presbyterian Church, The United Church
of Christ, and The Episcopal Church.
248
! population. This improvement in communication would be
i
; j
! accomplished by bringing people from each type of congre- !
i
j
gation together to determine what can be done to solve j
' problems which prevent Los Angeles from becoming an inte- j
i
; grated community. This type of confrontation would be an
example of mutual interaction without the paternalistic
attitude that frequently accompanies white middle class
dealings with the less fortunate minority groups. The
Executive Director of COMMIT, the Reverend Mr. Robert
39
Ryland, believed that this type of cooperative confron-
: tation between people from different socioeconomic back-
' grounds would help to increase the effective interaction
between the various segments of the population.
; Another proposed activity of COMMIT was designed
: to provide an orientation program dealing with specific
I
| problems of the Los Angeles metropolitan culture. This
■ program would give new clergymen and volunteer workers an
; understanding of the problems unique to Los Angeles.
A third proposed activity would involve the staff
■^Mr. Ryland was formerly the pastor of the West
Adams Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. Most of his
years in the ministry had been spent in inner city parishes
in the less privileged areas.
of COMMIT with experimental ministries and task forces.
The detached clergy assigned to the Las Vegas strip and
the Night Ministry in San Francisco are examples of this
type of approach.
; |
A fourth proposed activity dealt with the recruit- |
i
ment, placement, and coordination of committed young j
I people in the summer youth inservice training program. !
This program involved two separate groups of young people:
summer vocational interns who would be available for work
during most of the summer and senior high and college
; students who would meet in two-week conferences to learn
.about urban problems in Los Angeles. This type of activ-
; ity is very important because it can provide a basis for
i
| utilizing leisure time in a constructive manner and with
1 a sacred orientation. Thus, the program was designed to
:bring young people into active participation in one of
the roles of the Church, namely, service to the whole
|community.
Through these various ecumenical organizational
| activities the religious leaders have become involved in
| an ambitious program to make the denominations a force in
| integrating the Los Angeles area into a meaningful commu-
| nity for all the people. In some of the activities, the
; denominations have exerted their influence directly on
the authoritative decision-making process; and in others
they have sought to bring committed Christians into an
, organized program of service to the community. Because
of its educational nature, the latter effort can help to
further the acceptance of an existential theological sys
tem pertinent to modern urban problems. Such an organized
program of servanthood can also have long range effects
among the denominations and the people with which they are
involved in eliminating the alienation and apathy of many
individuals toward the political arena.^ No one who is
: aware of and concerned about the difficulties inherent in
40
de Grazia, op. cit., pp. x-xi. Professor de
1 Grazia has emphasized the importance of a fundamental uni
versal belief system for the establishment of community in
contradistinction to society which he believes is the pre-
i vailing situation in western civilization. "Today the
! great nations of the West neither bask in the sunlight of
j community nor shiver in the darkness of anarchy. They
| wander somewhere in the dusk of a 'society.1 The fabric
i of their political and religious beliefs is pierced and
, rent by the intrusion of ideologies which are not funda
mental, which are not universal, which need not stay to
wreak confusion and play hob with men's souls. . . . In-
| stead, men stand today in this twilight zone of a 'so-
| ciety,' uneasy, distressed, feeling joined to their fel-
i lows only in war or crisis; and behind the inner door of
j their mind they welcome war or crisis for the feeling of
| community it gives them. They stand as 'individuals,'
| which is all they can ever be in a society."
I i
251
i
I achieving an integrated human community can be negative
j
toward or aloof from the political issues and the politi- j
i
cal and administrative leaders responsible for authorita- j
; tive decisions. j
| ]
In addition to these institutional activities, the j
; , i
denominations, through their administrative clergy con- |
: !
I
! cerned with urban affairs, worked closely together on
! urban problems arising on an ad hoc basis in the commu-
41
nity. The recent difficult situation regarding the en
forcement of the curfew law in the Sunset Strip section of
the Los Angeles area among the police, the businessmen,
the political and administrative leaders, and the youth
was an example of this type of problem. As evidence of
: their concern for this type of secular problem in the com-
i
munity, denominational clergy were present on the Sunset
;Strip during the disturbances. They were there to help
:restrain both the police and the young people in their
I sometimes violent confrontation. The clergy also were
there to seek to understand what the underlying attitudes
^ ^-Through their mutual membership on numerous com-
|mittees and boards, it appears that these administrative
I religious leaders had developed a common position toward
i urban problems.
; and motivations were that created such a confrontation.
i
As a result of their observations and presence in j
j
the thick of the disturbances, the urban coordinators on !
: the denominational staffs and the clergy with parishes in
■ the area presented a proposal to the political and adminis-
' trative officials. The proposal suggested a truce on j
weekend enforcement of the curfew law affecting teen-agers
during the approaching Christmas vacation period. The
religious leaders believed that such a truce would prevent
further violence in the area at a time when it was most
likely to occur,
i The problems of the denominations in exercising
influence on a fragmented power structure were exemplified
I
jby the difficult situation that developed in the Hollywood
area of Los Angeles. The political jurisdiction over the
:section in which the confrontation occurred is divided
between the county and city political leaders, and the
|administrative jurisdiction is divided between the County
Sheriff's office and the Los Angeles City Police Depart
ment. The clergymen had to contact and secure the coopera-
;tion of four or five autonomous officials in charge of
|each jurisdiction, any one of which was able to refuse to
i
icooperate in the plan for a truce.42 Under such circum
stances it is easier to ignore one's responsibility than
if power were centered in one political office. The city
officials and Supervisor Ernest Debs were sympathetic to
the proposal, but the County Sheriff, Peter Pitchess,
rejected the idea.
Nevertheless, regardless of their failure to have
:the proposal accepted and put into operation, the denomi
nations' action seems to have had some influence on the
authoritative decision-making process. At the least, the
violent aspects of the confrontation were diminished. But
more importantly, it showed the young people involved in
the confrontation as well as the community as a whole that
I
the denominations were deeply concerned about this type
of problem and about the appropriate adjustments necessary
on both sides in order to have a peaceful and integrated
‘ community.
42The officials involved were: Councilman Paul
: Lamport and Mayor Samuel Yorty of Los Angeles City; Thad
: Brown, Acting Police Chief of the Los Angeles City Police
I Department; Supervisor Ernest Debs of the County Board of
! Supervisors; and Sheriff Peter" Pitchess of the County
| Sheriff's Office.
254
Individual Church Activities
i
The activities of a few of the denominational j
>
churches in Los Angeles will be covered in this section of
the chapter. These activities are related to the political!
: I
life of the community. Three clergymen, highly recommended
; for their leadership role in local community affairs by
religious administrative officials and community leaders,
were interviewed in relation to their programs.^3 All
three clergymen served parishes located in or near Negro
and Mexican-American areas. Their programs were designed
| I
by the ministers and the denominational staff to give the
i churches a greater part than they previously had in help
ing the residents develop an increasing feeling of identi
fication with the whole community. Part of their program
was to give the residents a means by which to actively
participate in community affairs.
In helping the residents to achieve a feeling of
community pride and identification, the churches' activi-
j A 2
; The three clergymen were Mr. James Cooper of
; Temple Methodist Church, Mr. Paul Kittlaus of Pacoima Con-
|gregational Church, and Mr. John Luce of the East Los An-
j geles Episcopal Parish.
i
i________________________________________________________________________
255
i ties were many and varied. They engaged in tutorial pro
grams of their own separate from Head Start classes which
were organized under governmental auspices. The tutorial
; programs of the churches were designed to give people of
all age levels an opportunity to improve their knowledge
1 and their language skills. In other words, it was being
' carried on to help the residents become better citizens by
being able to understand and articulate their interests in
relation to the interests of the whole community.
; The churches were active in local self-help com-
; munity organizations such as the Greater Pico-Union Neigh-
; borhood Council, the Committee for Recreation in Pacoima,
: and the Valley Fair Housing Council. In regard to their
i
j effect on the political arena, these local self-help com-
| munity organizations sought to influence the authoritative
: decision-making process in the following ways: obtaining
j
1 signatures on petitions to be sent to political and admin-
; istrative authorities; arranging for public meetings to
! which political and administrative leaders were invited in
j order to inform them about the peoples1 wishes and needs
j and also to increase the residents1 own information about
I
I
i relevant issues; and securing groups of people to attend
public hearings held by government officials. The Greater
256
Pico-Union Neighborhood Council of which Mr. Cooper is a
leading member was very active in these kinds of activi
ties.^ It had organized an opposition program to the Los
Angeles City Council's proposal to take away free city
hospitals and ambulance service. In organizing this oppo
sition, the Neighborhood Council collected 10,000 signa
tures on a petition presented to the City Council, dis
tributed 13,000 flyers opposing the City Council's proposal
and sent a delegation to the first public hearing held by
the City Council on the matter. In another activity, the
Neighborhood Council had some success recently in influenc
ing administrative officials in order to secure the help
■ of city housing authorities to get absentee landlords to
j improve their property in the area.
In a different section of the city, the Pacoima
; Congregational Church was highly involved in local communi-
: ty affairs too. The Committee for Recreation in Pacoima,
i with the significant assistance and leadership of Mr. Kitt-
44
The Neighborhood Council held its meetings every
| Thursday evening in Temple Methodist Church.
257
laus,^ was organized to try to prevent the County Board
of Supervisors from disposing of Roger Jessup Park located
in Pacoima. Apparently the central city was. anxious to
acquire the land as a possible site for a new city airport.
The Committee for Recreation employed the same techniques
; as the Greater Pico-Union Neighborhood did in order to
prevent the park from being lost to Pacoima.
Some of the members of this church were engaged
also in a completely different type of political activity.
With the support of Mr. Kittlaus, some of his parishioners
organized an anti-Vietnam war program. They wanted to
:have a dialogue with members of other churches in order to
,create a united front in opposition to American participa-
'tion in the war. Incidentally as a result of the refusal
iof some churches to join in the dialogue, part of their
:activities included picketing during their Sunday morning
45
Mr. Kittlaus also actively assisted Mr. John
Buchanan, a member of the church, in seeking the Democratic
nomination for Assemblyman from that district. One of
their main campaign issues concerned the distribution of
students in the schools in the Pacoima area. Most of the
jwhite students went to an overcrowded school which the
iBoard of Education at that time continued to classify as an
open school in order to avoid forcing white students to
|attend the integrated school in the area. In this instance
: the integrated school was not being used to its optimum
j capacity. _________________________________________________________
258
services the churches that had declined.
j
These two churches were also performing activities
in which middle class suburban congregations participated, j
j
i
The Woodland Hills United Church of Christ was in the |
process of constructing additional rooms for the Pacoima |
i
; Church in order to accommodate the Head Start classes
sponsored by the latter church. The La Crescenta, Garden
Grove, Pacific Palisades, and Fullerton (Orange County)
Methodist Churches were involved in the N-One Program,^ of
the Temple'Methodist Church. In the N-One Program, indi-
ividual members of the first four white middle class
churches assisted the staff at Temple Methodist in their
, tutorial, child care, adult education, and Teen Canteen
I activities. These people from the other churches took part
i
: in the Sunday worship services at Temple Methodist. ^
^Neighborhood-One year program.
4 7
'All of these clergymen were experimenting with
new kinds of worship services which they believed would be
more meaningful to their constituents than the traditional
denominational service. In this regard, the East Los An-
igeles Parish maintained three store-front type meeting
! places in local neighborhoods in addition to its tradi
tional church. At Temple Methodist, folk music was being
used in place of the more traditional hymns.
|
i
259
Because of the personal preference of the Episcopal
Bishop of Los Angeles, that denomination's activities were
more centralized in and through the diocesan offices than
4 f t
was the case with the other denominations. Nevertheless,
the East Los Angeles Parish had a program similar to the J
; other churches in assisting minority groups in organizing j
i
I self-help community organizations. The Parish was
! strongly supported and encouraged by the diocesan offi-
cials in its program. But in at least one Episcopal
i Church located in the Negro area, volunteers from other
Episcopal churches outside the Negro section were sought
| and obtained for its summer program.
The activities of these three churches were exam-
; pies of the means by which the denominations were seeking
i
: to make the clergy and the churches a force for integra-
;tion of the urban complex. The political role that the
iclergy were fulfilling was primarily as the initiator,
I organizer, and adviser to groups that through their organi
zational activities could influence the decision-making
jprocess. However, the clergy were also willing to take an
|----------------------------
| ^^Bishop Bloy was present at the Deadwyler inquest
|and at the departure of the Selma marchers.
260 !
|
active part in making known to public officials the j
Christian ethical position on political issues and adminis
trative problems. j
I
|
i
!
Epilogue |
" " I
I
This study of the denominations' secular activi
ties relating to the political process in a modern urban
complex has resulted in some interesting conclusions
about the importance of their political roles in the commu
nity. Their most important role is in serving as an inter
mediary in bringing people from all the geographical and
cultural segments of the area into an integrated community.
In such a community all individuals should be able to find
a constructive meaning and purpose for their existence.
In serving in this capacity as an intermediary the denomi
nations will inevitably be involved in the political issues
of the community.
Considerable evidence was accumulated to show that
the denominations were in the process of altering their
theological approach in order to give themselves a philo
sophical basis for this type of active role in the commu
nity. It appears that for many years the denominational
' clergy acted on the conservatives' theological approach |
concerning man's purpose in the world. According to the j
i
I
conservatives' view of man, his purpose was to seek his j
i
salvation as an unredeemed or unredeemable sinner through j
: 1
the institution of the church so that he might achieve the j
j
ultimate reward of a future heavenly life. Thus, the pur- j
I pose of the religious association was to serve as a medi- j
ator of a system of rewards for the good who participated
in the ritual and life of the church, and of punishment
for the evil who did not seek salvation in this manner.
Although the concept of the brotherhood of man was given
some attention by conservative theologians, the concept of
the fatherhood of God--a God who would take care of the
; faithful, if not always here on earth, at least in the
future life— was given the most emphasis.
The liberal theological approach prevalent in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries gave the denominations
| a different philosophical basis for their activities from
that basis derived from the conservative approach. Accord
ing to the liberals' approach to theology, everyone,
| whether a church member or not, could find God; but to
i some extent the assistance of the church and a Christian
i
| background were still needed in the search for personal
262
! !
redemption and salvation. Apparently, from the disastrous !
results of the long silence of the denominations on politi
cal issues, the liberal approach relied too much on an j
unfounded hope in man's ability as a rational being to f
search for and to find the truth about God's plan for the i
world. Although the Calvinistically oriented denomina- j
tions with which this liberal theological approach is
associated had an activist approach to life in this world,
the emphasis was on the individual's attainment of salva
tion, by whatever means, to the neglect of the spiritual
; and personal welfare of his fellow citizens in the commu
nity.
Now, the denominations are experimenting with an
! existential theological approach which will give them a
new philosophical basis for exercising a significant in-
: fluence both independently as religious associations and
; ecumenically on the development of modern society. Accord
ing to this theological approach, the two traditional
goals of the believer, redemption and salvation, are
; achieved through serving the community and actively judg-
i ing in line with Judeo-Christian ethics the process of
i growth and development of the community. The churches and
263
the clergy have two functions which pertain to the goals
of redemption and salvation: first, in their pastoral j
I
duties to assist the individual in attaining these goals |
I
through their teaching, ritual, and liturgy as these I
j
aspects of religious institutions relate to fulfilling |
j
the concept of brotherhood in the community; and second,
;to serve as an organized interest group capable of signifi-
i cantly influencing the authoritative decision-making
■ process toward the goal of an integrated community.
No longer possessing the assurance and complacency
: that is frequently associated with the attitude and
approach of dominant religious associations in a nation
or community, the denominations have found it necessary to
;work together in the search for ways to make the Los An-
;geles community a more viable and humane one than it is or
has been. Unfortunately for the success of their activi-
;ties, the denominations did not have many allies among the
!other major religious associations in Los Angeles. Appar
ently, the liberal and conservative emphasis on individual-
i ism and the institution of the church as the means of
r
! salvation remained the dominant themes within the other
! religious bodies. Even in the denominations, particularly
264
! i
1 i
; among the laity, these two themes continued to have an I
: i
: influence on their approach to modern urban problems.
The fragmental!zed and decentralized power struc
ture in the Los Angeles area also hindered the effective
ness of the denominations' political activities. Reli
gious leaders and their representatives found it difficult j
! i
I
: to know where and on whom to exercise their influence in {
f
: order to achieve the goal of an integrated community.
Nevertheless, the denominations, as a group as
well as separate religious associations, and some of the
; denominational churches were actively engaged in various
, efforts directed toward the achievement of an integrated
;community. They were meeting with some success despite
I the obstacles in their way. They were establishing
;meaningful lines of communication between the various
;geographical and cultural segments of the area. They were
!creating means by which interaction between the different
;groups in the area could be increased, and through various
organizational activities they were exercising influence
:on the authoritative decision-making process both in the
Los Angeles community and in other parts of the state.
Many aspects of the political role of the denomina-
j tions and the denominational clergy have been covered in
j 265
i this study. Intensive studies of the ecumenical organiza
tional activities of the denominations, such as the Com- j
mission on the Church and Race and the Center of Metro !
i
|
Mission Inservice Training would be useful in discerning j
: i
i
how these activities have affected the establishment of j
|
a political community in the Los Angeles area. Studies
of this kind would be valuable in determining the politi
cal efficacy of the denominations in regard to their influ
ence on the authoritative decision-making process. Fur
thermore, studies regarding the replacement of other
: theological approaches with existential theology in the
denominations and other religious associations would also
be informative.
In metropolitan areas where numerous kinds of
religious associations exist, studies of this kind in
regard to other religious associations or groups of asso-
jciations would be useful in ascertaining what their politi
cal influence and role are in the community. Studies of
the relationships between the various religious associa-
;tions and the denominations in regard to political issues
i and the effectuation of a political community would shed
|further light on the significance of the political influ-
ence of the religious associations. Whereas this study
included only one metropolitan area, comparative studies
of several areas in regard to the political role of the
religious associations would result in a broader under
standing of that role in the modern urban complex.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX A
Religion and Politics Survey
Church __________________ ASA__________________
Minister_________________ Age____________________________ _
Location of Church_______ Total_________________
I. Supreme Court decisions
A. Since 1940 the Supreme Court has dealt with some
important issues relating to Church and State.
In general would you approve or disapprove of
the following decisions?
1. The decision against non-sectarian prayers in
public schools. Approve Disapprove___
2.
3.
4.
5.
The decision against Bible reading for reli
gious purposes in the public schools.
Approve Disapprove___
The decision in favor of released time for
religious instruction away from the public
schools. Approve Disapprove___
The decision against religious instruction by
members of the clergy on public school property,
Approve Disapprove___
The decision allowing for the expenditure of
public funds for general welfare purposes even
though it indirectly benefits private or
parochial agencies. Approve Disapprove _
268
269
6. The decision favoring the Sunday laws of
the various States. Approve Disapprove___
7. The decision against requiring any religious
test for public office.
Approve Disapprove___
8. The decisions protecting the constitutional
rights of members of the Communist Party.
Approve____Di s approve__
9. The decisions declaring separate but equal
public facilities unconstitutional.
Approve Disapprove___
10. The decision guaranteeing the principle of
one man one vote. Approve Disapprove___
B. In general would you approve more than you dis
approve of the Supreme Court's approach to con
stitutional questions since 1940?
Approve Disapprove___
1. Are there any decisions of the Supreme Court
which you would especially endorse?
2. Are there any decisions of the Supreme Court
with which you would especially disagree?
II. Proposition Fourteen and the Watts riot.
Now I would like to ask you some questions pertaining
to two local political incidents which have attracted
nation-wide interest: the passage of Proposition 14
and the Watts riot.
A. Proposition 14
1. Did your denominational board or judicatory
take an official position on Proposition 14?
Yes No___
What was that position? For Against___
2. Did you as an individual clergyman take a
270
public stand on Proposition 14? Yes No__
a. If yes, what was your position?
If no, why not?
b. Do you believe that your position as a
clergyman was influential with the mem
bers of this church? Yes No___
Why or why not?
c. Did you perceive that the majority of
the members of this church approved or
disapproved of Proposition 14?
Approve Disapprove___
d. What do you believe was the most impor
tant reason for the passage of Proposi
tion 14?
3. If a similar situation arose in the future
would you follow a similar procedure to
that you took in relation to Proposition 14?
Yes No How
a. If no, what would you do?
b. If yes, do you believe you would be more
influential?
B. Watts riot
1. What do you believe was the single most im
portant cause of the Watts riot?
2. If anything, what do you think the clergy
can do to meet the challenge of urbanism in
the present day?
271
3. Do you believe that cooperation on such
political issues as Proposition 14 and the
poverty programs could lead to greater
religious unity among Protestants? Yes No__
a. Would greater cooperation be desirable
to achieve political ends?
4. In general do you approve or disapprove of
the various efforts of the government to
alleviate the economic plight of the under
privileged in the cities?
Approve Disapprove___
a. Any one or ones in particular?
III. General questions about clergy and politics
Now, I would like to ask you some general questions
about the clergy and politics.
1. In your sermons do you ever take a stand on
political issues?
Yes frequently , occasionally , rarely .
No__
a. If any, on what specific issues have you
taken a position?
2. In your sermons do you ever favor individual
national, state, or local political leaders?
Yes frequently , occasionally , rarely .
No__
a. If yes, which political leaders?
3. In your personal contacts do you ever favor
individual, state, or local political
leaders?
Yes frequently , occasionally , rarely .
No
272
a. If yes, which political leaders?
4. In discussions with individual members or
at church social gatherings do you ever
discuss political issues or leaders/
Yes frequently , occasionally , rarely .
No___
a. If yes, what political issues?
5. Have you ever contacted a political official
about a political question? Yes No___
a. If yes, what did you do?
6. Have you ever worked in a political campaign
or actively supported a political party or
candidate? Yes No___
a. If yes, what did you do?
7. Do you consider yourself a Democrat ,
Republican , Independent ?
8. In your opinion are a majority of the mem
bers of this church Republicans , Demo
crats_, Independents ?
9. Do you believe that this church serves pri
marily a lower class , working class____,
lower middle class___, middle class____,
upper middle class___, upper class____
community?
10. Some Protestant churches have taken a stand
in favor of governmental dispensing of birth
control information in tax-supported health
and welfare agencies. Do you agree with
this position? Yes , No .
a. If no, why do you disagree?
273
11. Do you believe that the tax exemption for
religious organizations violates the princi- I
pie of separation of Church and State?
Yes No _
i
i
a. If no, do you believe that this exemp- |
tion obligates the Church in any way to !
the State? j
|
12. Do you believe that it is the function of the i
clergy to publicly criticize the ends or
goals of the state? Yes No !
|
a. If yes, what is the best method available
to the clergy for accomplishing this
goal?
13. Do you believe that it is function of the
clergy to criticize the means (legislation)
by which the state carries out its ends?
Yes No
14. In general do you believe that the Protestant
work ethic is applicable to modern society?
Yes No___
a. If yes, in what way would you say that
it is applicable?
15. Would you approve or disapprove of civil
disobedience to a law you considered against
Christian ethics? Approve Disapprove___
a. If approve, how far would you carry
civil disobedience?
16. Do you believe that the multiplicity of local
governments in the Los Angeles area has any
effect on the ability of the Church to act
effectively in regard to the underprivileged
groups? Yes No___
If yes, would you favor a regional type gov
ernment? Yes No
274
17. Do you approve or disapprove of a union of
Protestant Churches in order to have more ;
influence on political and social decisions? j
Approve Disapprove j
j
If disapprove, why would you approve? j
18. Do you have contacts with the clergy of other j
denominations toward the goal of union?
Yes No i
|
a. If yes, the clergy of which denomina- I
tion?
i
19. Do you approve or disapprove of the American
commitment in Viet Nam?
Approve Disapprove___
20. Do you approve or disapprove of President
Johnson's handling of the Viet Nam situa
tion? Approve Disapprove___
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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{
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F. Other Sources
Hansen, Harry (ed.). The World Almanac and Book of Facts,
1965. New York: New York World Telegram and The
Sun, 1965.
McPherson, Aimee Semple. This We Believe: Declaration of
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Morgan, John. The Plan of Salvation. Salt Lake City,
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Creator Chapman, Ernest Eugene (author)

Core Title Contemporary Theological Approaches And The Political Role Of The Anglo-American Protestant Denominations In An Urban Complex

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Political Science

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,political science, general

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Rigby, Gerald (committee chair), Krinsky, Fred (committee member), McDonagh, Edward C. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-139650

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