Recent works by alumni and faculty

A complicated mix of religion and politics

Although the issues in U.S. presidential elections have recently focused on a complicated mix of religion and politics — including abortion rights, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research and family values — it is not the first time religion and politics have been raised in national elections.

In 1928, N.Y. Gov. Alfred E. Smith faced anti-Catholic propaganda in the election won by Herbert Hoover, and in 1960 John F. Kennedy became the nation’s first Catholic president, despite being questioned during the campaign about whether he would take political direction from the Vatican.

“Kennedy was able to prove he was secularist enough in a way that didn’t alienate traditionalists, and he had help from non-Catholics who resented the anti-Catholic rhetoric,” says Thomas J. Carty ’93 (CLAS), ’99 M.A., Ph.D., author of the book A Catholic in the White House? Religion, Politics and John F. Kennedy’s Presidential Campaign (Palgrave/ Macmillan). “The question now is how does a Catholic candidate deal with each specific policy issue, such as the death penalty, poverty or embryonic stem cell research?”

Carty, who is an assistant professor of history at Springfield College, says opposition to questions about Kennedy’s religion from Protestant evangelical leaders was negated when the young candidate’s supporters raised the constitutional requirement of the separation of church and state. Most other religious leaders were reluctant to voice political views publicly in 1960, he adds.

“The Rev. Billy Graham opposed Kennedy but not publicly,” Carty says. “When Graham’s friend Norman Vincent Peale, a conservative Protestant minister, did publicly oppose Kennedy, people shouted him down and Peale’s syndicated column was taken out of the papers.”

He says that “sentimental support” helped to break the barrier about a candidate’s religion as an obstacle to being elected. In the 2004 election, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry became the third Catholic nominated to run for president.

“Most people didn’t know Kerry was Catholic,” Carty says. “In Kerry’s case, he lost the Catholic vote because of his views on abortion and same-sex marriage issues.”

Carty says a presidential candidate’s ability to demonstrate independence from clerical pressures without alienating his or her religious base, as Kennedy did, will remain the model for future elections. — Kenneth Best

The Skilled Negotiator: Mastering
the Language of Engagement
Kathleen Kelley Reardon ’72 (CLAS)
(Jossey-Bass)

The ability to successfully manage a persuasion situation is a valuable skill in both professional and personal life. People attempt negotiation daily and often do not succeed. Reardon’s fifth book focuses on the language of negotiation and takes the reader through a series of steps to improve and expand negotiation skills. The Skilled Negotiator provides a menu of persuasion techniques to help turn everyone into a versatile and sensitive communicator. Topics discussed include how to frame topics, handle conflict, develop communication strategies and cross cultural persuasion.

Sue Bird: Be Yourself
Sue Bird ’02 (CLAS)
(Positively For Kids)

Sue Bird’s autobiographical children’s book encourages young readers to aspire to greatness. Using examples from her life, the WNBA star and 2004 U.S. Olympian demonstrates the importance of remaining true to yourself. Sue Bird: Be Yourselftakes the reader on a journey from her early childhood memories playing soccer to winning the NCAA basketball tournament at UConn and going on to be a two-time all-star in the WNBA. Throughout, Bird emphasizes important life skills such as determination and hard work from childhood to adulthood.

The Bully Pulpit and the Melting Pot
Hans P. Vought ’92 M.A.
(Mercer University Press)

Hans P. Vought examines the efforts of seven U.S. presidents from 1897 to 1933 to defend assimilation into American life for millions of immigrants against the fear of the melting pot society. The Bully Pulpit and the Melting Pot demonstrates how each president welcomed new Americans who accepted American ideals by embracing the immigrants’ cultures and proclaiming that the melting pot of new citizens would create a stronger nation. Vought uses the letters, speeches and administrative records of presidents from William McKinley to Franklin D. Roosevelt to explore the efforts by the White House to strengthen the changing nation.

— Erin Wenzler ’06 (CLAS)