Catholicism and the Cold War: Fulton J. Sheen\u27s Integration of Catholicism as an American Religion

The early years of the Cold War set in motion events that would bring Catholicism forth as a nationally recognized American religion. The enormously popular Bishop Fulton J. Sheen led this movement with his strict anti-communist message. Bishop Sheen was one of the most prominent and important Catholics during this period of the Cold War. However, in recent decades, Sheen\u27s name has been replaced with names such as John. F. Kennedy, Mother Teresa, and Pope John Paul II as the most influential Catholics in the 20th century, though Sheen laid the foundation for the acceptance of Catholicism that allowed John F. Kennedy to be elected to the Presidency. Through an analysis of documents written by Sheen and others, Fulton J. Sheen\u27s anti-communist rhetoric and his presentation of Catholicism as an American-friendly religion will be examined. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen\u27s extensive contributions to integrating Catholicism into American culture can be chiefly attributed to his religious conversions of key members of the Communist party in America, his extensive publications and sermons on the Catholic view of communism, and his ability to work cooperatively with the members of various other denominations to create a united religious stand against communism