Coughlin, Charles - Timeline Biography
Time Period
10-25-1891 - 10-27-1979
Description
Charles Coughlin was a Roman Catholic priest who started a notorious radio career in 1926. After the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross in his churchyard, he went on the radio station WJR to explain Catholicism, which led to a series of talks on religious topics. However, his programs did not attract a large audience until he began to discuss social and political issues in 1930. His early talks denounced communism, but he began expressing more of his anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi views. He also strongly opposed Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs and the entry of the United States in World War II based on his perception of a British-Jewish-Roosevelt conspiracy. His controversial views reached an estimated 40 million listeners.
Church authorities eventually pushed Coughlin off the air and the government stopped mailing his magazine Social Justice in 1942. He spent his last years in isolation, denouncing communism and Vatican II.
Church authorities eventually pushed Coughlin off the air and the government stopped mailing his magazine Social Justice in 1942. He spent his last years in isolation, denouncing communism and Vatican II.
Interactive Timeline(s)
Browse Related Timeline Entries
Religious Groups
Catholicism (Western Liturgical Family): Other ARDA LinksCatholicism (Western Liturgical Family): Religious Family Tree
Related Dictionary Terms
Coughlin, Charles (1891-1979)Photographs
Charles Coughlin portrait- Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-38494
Charles Coughlin speaking- Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-05648
Social Justice by Charles Coughlin, cover- Internet Archive
Book/Journal Source(s)
Reid, Daniel, Robert Linder, Bruce Shelley, and Harry Stout, 1990. Dictionary of Christianity in America Downers Grove, IL.Melton, J. Gordon, 1991. Religious Leaders of America Detroit, MI: Gale.
Web Source(s)
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-E-CoughlinCharles Coughlin's Encyclopedia Britannica Entry.
Web Page Contributor
Benjamin T. GurrentzAffliated with: Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. in Sociology
