Presidents and Faith: Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight Eisenhower was born into a family with strong pacifist views, something that become a cause of concern between the future president and his mother as his military career progressed.
Eisenhower's parents David and Ida set aside specific times at breakfast and at dinner for daily family Bible reading. His parents had been members of the River Brethren sect of the Mennonites, but his mother joined the International Bible Students Association, (who later became the Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931). The Eisenhower home served as the local meeting hall for the group from 1896 to 1915, though Dwight Eisenhower never joined the church. When he decided to accept an appointment to West Point in 1911, his decision disappointed his mother. She told her son that she felt that warfare was "rather wicked," but she did not overrule his decision.
Eisenhower was unattached to any religion for most of his life. He rejected his mother's religion because he disagreed with its end-of-days teachings and its beliefs regarding medical treatment. As Supreme Allied Commander during the second world war, Eisenhower later said of himself: "I am the most intensely religious man I know. Nobody goes through six years of war without faith. That doesn't mean that I adhere to any sect. A democracy cannot exist without a religious base. I believe in democracy."
It wasn't until 1953, at the age of 62, that he was baptized in the Presbyterian Church, just weeks after his inauguration as president. His wife Mamie had been a long time member. He was the first, and so far the only President to be baptized while in office.
When he was inaugurated as President in 1953 for the first time, Eisenhower said of the speech, "I did not want my Inaugural Address to be a sermon, by any means; I was not a man of the cloth. But there was embedded in me from boyhood, just as it was in my brothers, a deep faith in the beneficence of the Almighty. I wanted, then, to make this faith clear without creating the impression that I intended, as the political leader of the United States, to avoid my own responsibilities in an effort to pass them on to the Deity. I was seeking a way to point out that we were getting too secular."
He opened the address with the following prayer:
"MY friends, before I begin the expression of those thoughts that I deem appropriate to this moment, would you permit me the privilege of uttering a little private prayer of my own. And I ask that you bow your heads:
"Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future associates in the executive branch of government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng, and their fellow citizens everywhere.
"Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race, or calling.
"May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who, under the concepts of our Constitution, hold to differing political faiths; so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and Thy glory. Amen."
In the speech, Eisenhower referred to religious faith in defining the difference between Americans and Communists. He said:
"Rather this change expresses a purpose of strengthening our dedication and devotion to the precepts of our founding documents, a conscious renewal of faith in our country and in the watchfulness of a Divine Providence. The enemies of this faith know no god but force, no devotion but its use. They tutor men in treason. They feed upon the hunger of others. Whatever defies them, they torture, especially the truth. Here, then, is joined no argument between slightly differing philosophies. This conflict strikes directly at the faith of our fathers and the lives of our sons. No principle or treasure that we hold, from the spiritual knowledge of our free schools and churches to the creative magic of free labor and capital, nothing lies safely beyond the reach of this struggle. Freedom is pitted against slavery; lightness against the dark. The faith we hold belongs not to us alone but to the free of all the world."
While in office, Eisenhower would hold Prayer Breakfasts, and he invited members of the media to attend. He spoke about what he considered the decline in American religious values and he signed a law which put the words “Under God” into the Pledge of Allegiance. When doing so, he said:
"In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war."
As the Cold War developed, Eisenhower agreed with Christian leaders who encouraged Americans to turn to God and away from secularism. Eisenhower said, "Our form of government makes no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious belief, and I don't care what it is."
In his second inaugural address in 1957, Eisenhower sought "the blessings of Almighty God" for his nation, and wished that "the prayer of our people" would bring freedom to oppressed nations.
After serving two full terms, Eisenhower retired from the presidency and lived the life of an elder statesman in retirement. On the morning of March 28, 1969, at the age of 78, Eisenhower died in Washington, D.C. of congestive heart failure at Walter Reed Army Hospital. On March 31, he was given an Episcopal Church funeral service. He is laid to rest in the Chapel on the grounds of the Eisenhower Presidential Library.
Eisenhower's parents David and Ida set aside specific times at breakfast and at dinner for daily family Bible reading. His parents had been members of the River Brethren sect of the Mennonites, but his mother joined the International Bible Students Association, (who later became the Jehovah's Witnesses in 1931). The Eisenhower home served as the local meeting hall for the group from 1896 to 1915, though Dwight Eisenhower never joined the church. When he decided to accept an appointment to West Point in 1911, his decision disappointed his mother. She told her son that she felt that warfare was "rather wicked," but she did not overrule his decision.
Eisenhower was unattached to any religion for most of his life. He rejected his mother's religion because he disagreed with its end-of-days teachings and its beliefs regarding medical treatment. As Supreme Allied Commander during the second world war, Eisenhower later said of himself: "I am the most intensely religious man I know. Nobody goes through six years of war without faith. That doesn't mean that I adhere to any sect. A democracy cannot exist without a religious base. I believe in democracy."
It wasn't until 1953, at the age of 62, that he was baptized in the Presbyterian Church, just weeks after his inauguration as president. His wife Mamie had been a long time member. He was the first, and so far the only President to be baptized while in office.
When he was inaugurated as President in 1953 for the first time, Eisenhower said of the speech, "I did not want my Inaugural Address to be a sermon, by any means; I was not a man of the cloth. But there was embedded in me from boyhood, just as it was in my brothers, a deep faith in the beneficence of the Almighty. I wanted, then, to make this faith clear without creating the impression that I intended, as the political leader of the United States, to avoid my own responsibilities in an effort to pass them on to the Deity. I was seeking a way to point out that we were getting too secular."
He opened the address with the following prayer:
"MY friends, before I begin the expression of those thoughts that I deem appropriate to this moment, would you permit me the privilege of uttering a little private prayer of my own. And I ask that you bow your heads:
"Almighty God, as we stand here at this moment my future associates in the executive branch of government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the service of the people in this throng, and their fellow citizens everywhere.
"Give us, we pray, the power to discern clearly right from wrong, and allow all our words and actions to be governed thereby, and by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race, or calling.
"May cooperation be permitted and be the mutual aim of those who, under the concepts of our Constitution, hold to differing political faiths; so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and Thy glory. Amen."
In the speech, Eisenhower referred to religious faith in defining the difference between Americans and Communists. He said:
"Rather this change expresses a purpose of strengthening our dedication and devotion to the precepts of our founding documents, a conscious renewal of faith in our country and in the watchfulness of a Divine Providence. The enemies of this faith know no god but force, no devotion but its use. They tutor men in treason. They feed upon the hunger of others. Whatever defies them, they torture, especially the truth. Here, then, is joined no argument between slightly differing philosophies. This conflict strikes directly at the faith of our fathers and the lives of our sons. No principle or treasure that we hold, from the spiritual knowledge of our free schools and churches to the creative magic of free labor and capital, nothing lies safely beyond the reach of this struggle. Freedom is pitted against slavery; lightness against the dark. The faith we hold belongs not to us alone but to the free of all the world."
While in office, Eisenhower would hold Prayer Breakfasts, and he invited members of the media to attend. He spoke about what he considered the decline in American religious values and he signed a law which put the words “Under God” into the Pledge of Allegiance. When doing so, he said:
"In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war."
As the Cold War developed, Eisenhower agreed with Christian leaders who encouraged Americans to turn to God and away from secularism. Eisenhower said, "Our form of government makes no sense unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious belief, and I don't care what it is."
In his second inaugural address in 1957, Eisenhower sought "the blessings of Almighty God" for his nation, and wished that "the prayer of our people" would bring freedom to oppressed nations.
After serving two full terms, Eisenhower retired from the presidency and lived the life of an elder statesman in retirement. On the morning of March 28, 1969, at the age of 78, Eisenhower died in Washington, D.C. of congestive heart failure at Walter Reed Army Hospital. On March 31, he was given an Episcopal Church funeral service. He is laid to rest in the Chapel on the grounds of the Eisenhower Presidential Library.