Rhetoric Race and Religion
One of the most memorable moments of those fateful days following President John F. Kennedy’s assassination was the haunting beauty of his funeral at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, D.C. Kennedy’s Catholic faith played a prominent role during his lifetime and in the official ceremonies in Washington following his death. It’s important for us to remember that for Kennedy, his faith tradition not only informed and influenced his personal identity, but also played a central role in his and all Americans’ public engagement.
President Kennedy shattered the stained-glass ceiling that kept non-Protestants from the highest political office in the land. Arguably one of the most important steps he took in that ascent was his famous presidential campaign speech before a group of Protestant ministers, in which he promised that as a Catholic president he would be a servant of the nation, not an agent of the pope.
Some critics reacted against this framing because they heard Kennedy as strictly separating the spheres of church and state, thereby undermining the role of any and all faith in American public life. But we can move past such tired interpretations of Kennedy’s legacy if we reflect on previous public statements he made. His was truly a textured philosophy, one that gave more than a little room for religion to exercise its graces and inform our politics and public deliberations.
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