- Time Period
- 11/8/1960
- Description
- In 1960, John F. Kennedy became the first Catholic elected President. His religion played a prominent role during the campaign. Unlike Al Smith, an earlier Catholic candidate, Kennedy was able to overcome suspicions that his faith would impede his ability to successfully govern. Some were concerned that Kennedy would answer to the Pope rather than to the American public and that he would serve as a Catholic first and an American second. Kennedy worked to allay these fears by arguing that while he was a faithful Catholic, his religious identity would not affect his policy positions, that a politician’s faith should not bar him or her from office, and that the religious question was of far less importance than other pressing concerns, namely the threat of Communism and growing poverty. He gave voice to these views most prominently during a September 12, 1960, speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association.
- Interactive Timeline(s)
- Prominent Religious Events and People in American History Catholic Religious Events and People in American History
- Browse Related Timeline Entries
- Prominent Religious Events and People in American History Catholic Religious Events and People in American History
- Religious Groups
- Catholicism (Western Liturgical Family): Other ARDA Links
- Movements
- The Fourth Great Awakening
- Photographs
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Kennedy inaugural address- US Army photo -
John F Kennedy campaigning in Florida- Wikimedia Commons -
John F Kennedy portrait- National Archives and Records Administration -
Kennedy-Nixon Debate- Wikimedia Commons -
Kennedy signing Cuba Quarantine Proclamation- National Archives and Records Administration - Web Source(s)
- http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/ALL6YEBJMEKYGMCntnSCvg.aspx Video and transcript of John F. Kennedy's September 12, 1960, address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association.
- Web Page Contributor
- William S. Cossen Affliated with: Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. in History
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Election of John F. Kennedy
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