While John F. Kennedy probably did have more effect on religion in America than any other modern president, this is in a sense deeply ironic. Kennedy was not, by all accounts, a deeply religious man. He has been variously described by contemporaries and historians as “a rather irregular Christian,” “spiritually rootless and almost disturbingly secular,” and one who “wore his religion lightly.” Kennedy certainly did not influence the nation’s religious landscape through his own personal piety or public theology. (Matthew Wilson). …show more content…
In September, a group of 150 Protestant ministers partial to Richard Nixon put out a statement declaring that Kennedy’s religion was fair game. Calling them the National Conference of Citizens for Religious Freedom, the signatories included the prominent best-selling pastor Norman Vincent Peale, whose imprimatur gave the group authority and publicity. These provocations persuaded Kennedy to tackle the slander that as a Catholic he would put private faith above public duty. (Jefferson,NC;