Toward peacemaking
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Overview
The Southern Presbyterian Church, U.S., is a denomination born in the Civil War and once called the most “hawkish” church in the nation. Yet, by 1973 the PCUS often openly criticized the U.S. military ventures and foreign policy objectives. This change in the church’s attitude toward the nation was the occasion of frequent and fervent debate among its members. What accounts for that transformation? In this examination of one mainline church during the postwar period, Nutt provides a case study that may help us understand not only Presbyterianism in the South but also changing Protestantism in 20th-century America.
Editorials
From the Publisher
“Nutt explores the complex relationship of theological currents, Cold War mentality, and the Civil Rights movement to the evolving ethical thought of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. he makes a strong case that pacifism acquired influence beyond its numbers in the Vietnam War, and that subsequently peace became understood broadly as justice. This significant case study bridges the currents of religion and peace movements in recent American culture.”
— Charles Chatfield Wittenberg University
“Rick Nutt’s Toward Peacemaking chronicles how Presbyterians struggled toward a greater emphasis on peace in the midst of the Cold War. This perceptive study, well written and researched, reveals some of the inner debates of American religious bodies and the interaction between Protestant denominations and national politics.”
— Mitchell Hall Central Michigan University