Religion, the mass media and higher education

USA has “bucked the trend” of most developed countries by seeing an increase in religious attendance and devotion in the past 50 years.

Officially church and state are completely separated in the US

Unofficially religion plays a huge part in political life

Source of unity - “one nation under God” - and division

The religious beliefs of prospective Presidents are often major talking points

Which states have the highest church attendance?

Which have the lowest?

Red Scare – a fear of Godless Communism (the USSR and China were officially Non-Religious)

Stability in the face of change

Evangelical Preachers

Name given to a very conservative movement led by ________ ______________

Demanded abortion, homosexuality, contraception be banned – felt America was “drowning in sin”

Had a large influence on the Republican Party and played a large part in the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan.

Many members have objected to the teaching of evolution in schools

Often accused of bigotry and intolerance

Sarah Palin (former candidate in US Pres election) would be an example of a “moral majority” politician.

“If Chief Justice Warren and his associates had known God's word and had desired to do the Lord's will, I am quite confident that the 1954 decision (that said separate facilities for black people was unconstitutional) would never had been made. The facilities should be separate. When God has drawn a line of distinction, we should not attempt to cross that line”

"Gay folks would just as soon kill you as look at you”

“AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals, it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals”.

“He is purple – the gay pride colour; and his antenna is shaped like a triangle – the gay-pride symbol."

Newspaper readership and circulation began to decline in the US after the war, being overtaken as a news source by Television and the Internet

However Newspapers still had the ability to do in depth reporting – example: the Washington Post’s uncovering of the Watergate Scandal

This led to a reduction in the powers of Presidents

What did Nixon’s Campaign call the Watergate incident?What organisation did two of the burglars belong to?What did Nixon do on April 30th 1973?What did the Senate do after this?What was installed by Nixon in the Oval Office in 1971?

What was Ford’s “dubious honour”?

Cinema attendance declined after WW2 as TV gained popularity

However, Movies remained important – often rerun on TV

Some famous examples of movies commented on themes facing American Society – e.g. Invasion of the body snatchers highlighted anti-communist fears

How many of these films have you seen?

What aspects of American society do they reflect?

Influenced Politics by shaping Public Opinion

Made politics more expensive – needed to pay for TV ads

Tended to simplify complex issues

Altered the nature of political debate – mannerisms, posture etc of candidate were widely reported

Had big influence on public reaction to Vietnam War and Civil Rights Campaign

What mistake did Nixon make?

Why was Kennedy more Photogenic?

Should this matter?

Educational uptake boomed after WW2, despite huge cost of US College education

More technological society meant greater demand for highly skilled graduates

GI Bill – Army veterans got college paid for by US Government = big increase in both army and college recruitment

College and University Numbers in 1945 = 1.5 Million

College and University Numbers in 1975 = 9.7 Million