"A Christian Looks
At the Religious Right"
Father Coughlin, One of the Movement’s Early Founders
You have seen what “free speech” over the Radio means by observing the experiences of Father Coughlin. He however, was cut off the big stations a week too late, so that the Whole Country was able to see classic proof that there is no free radio for White Men who call Bolshevism by its proper name!” German-American Bund, Feb. 20, 1939, Madison Square Garden.
Father Charles Edward Coughlin was the Catholic priest who became a national figure through his radio broadcasts in the 1930’s. Reading some of his sermons stretches the imagination to call the messages Biblically based. Coughlin had a brilliant mind but appears to have gotten bored with the church work he was so successful with. These types historically take their clergy success and seek to gain a political following. They take advantage of a religious audience and seek to steer the followers into the power bases of national politics. Coughlin’s messages appeared to have had little to do with the Christian faith later on in his ministry. They dealt with appraisals of the New Deal and how to get out of the Depression. The Father linked up with Gerald Smith and Francis Townsend to form a political party. Coughlin was personal friends with Henry Ford during Ford’s days as a rabid anti-Semite. 1
The radio preacher held a residence, and operated a religious school and church in Detroit. This community helped Coughlin to carry on his dialogues with local citizens Gerald Smith and Ford, both rabid conspiracy buffs who held that national problems resulted from Jewish-European connections.
Coughlin, much like contemporary American Right leaders David Duke and E.R. Field, held the belief that Communism was a Jewish organization and battling Communism expansion meant battling against the Jewish community in America. Smith later on tried to take Coughlin’s followers on board his movement. 2
Smith’s social views are best defined by the fact he often taught followers the Fascist salute.
Clandestine writer, Roy Carlson, ran into a great number of Coughlin’s followers during his work as an under cover agent during World War II. Award winning author, Carlson, found Coughlin to be a major influence on the American Nazi movement before the war. Roy said that Coughlin was a large threat to the nation’s security. The Priest’s followers formed an organization know as the Christian Front which often advocated and resorted to violence. Protestant ministers like Gerald Winrod strangely endorsed Coughlin. Winrod, known as the Jay Hawk Nazi, found kinship with Coughlin’s Jew baiting. The Priest’s followers were a threat to Jews in the New England area. Some were even tied into a terrorist plot against the government. 3
Coughlin promised to deliver votes and at one time addressed the national Democratic Party. His popularity is subject to debate. Many credit him with being the first to use the airways to seek to blend the Christian faith with the Right. One source has his listening audience at 3.5 million while The Truth at Last organization credits his audience at 40 million. 4
The Truth at Last is a leftover of the White Citizen’s Council which sells Coughlin’s books and pamphlets for those interested in the “real truth”. How powerful the movement was is subject to scholarly debate. We do know Coughlin had the scorn and attention of President Franklin Roosevelt who suffered through the dilemma of how to deal with a subversive who was a popular radio figure and also a Catholic priest. Politicians dislike attacking the clergy for obvious reasons. Coughlin would often seek to distance himself from extremist followers but the record shows he rubbed shoulders with the Third Reich...even during World War II. Coughlin’s followers handed out pamphlets that said to have peace and prosperity each nation must kill their own Jews. 5
The Priest was more “politically correct” than this. He did, however, publicly blame the war and depression on Jews through his radio broadcasts. All social problems, according to the radio personality, had a Jewish connection. He had so many followers who listened while in the armed forces during the war some wondered out loud what could be done. The Vatican became aware of his activity and sought to censor the Priest, which, eventually came to pass. The fact that such a public figure as Priest Coughlin had formed the political movement known as the Union Party gave suspicion to the idea that Catholics did not like staying out of the government.6
Baptist Fundamentalist leader from the last century, J. Frank Norris, praised Coughlin. Like Winrod and Smith, Norris was attracted to Coughlin’s hatred of FDR. Though there is no evidence Norris was an anti-Semite, he did not denounce the Father and his far right positions. Norris believed the Fundamentalists had more in common with Coughlin than with “modernistic machine Baptists. 7
It is logical and also reported that Coughlin adhered to the peculiar theory known as British Israel. 8
This racist theory, popular in Christian Identity circles, believes Anglo Saxons are the lost tribe of Israel and people who consider themselves modern Jews are actually mixed breeds of India-Jewish offspring stock. This helps to explain the rabid anti-Semitism in the light of one being a Christian minister. Since most Christians hold Jews in high regard, believing they are peoples of the Old Testament, anti-Semitism needs a theology to go along with the racist views.
Donald Warren has done extensive research in his book, "Radio Priest". Warren dug into the life of the political figure and his book brings out incredible information many readers might find hard to believe. Warren, like others, credits Coughlin with founding modern talk radio. Coughlin ran for President at one time and Warren believes his Union Party really wanted to unseat FDR. Coughlin thought FDR was linked to an international Jewish plot. Modern Right Wing extremists believe FDR was secretly Jewish. Coughlin praised Fascists in Europe. He embraced the Fascists in Italy and sided with Spanish Fascists who thought the Masonic Lodge was behind a plot to destroy the Catholic Church. The FBI, during the war, was concerned about some of Coughlin’s followers who wanted to overthrow the government. The Priest endorsed the anti-Semitic PROTOCOLS OF THE LEARNED ELDERS OF ZION. This was a book claiming to uncover secret Jewish enterprises who were behind world government failures. Coughlin, at one time, sent a message to Hitler wanting to get the German leader to claim he supported the Christian faith. Evidence suggests the Priest received Nazi funding from Germany to carry on his activities. Coughlin dies a millionaire. Depending on sources, the Priest was accused of being a womanizer on top of his “lunatic fringe” politics. Coughlin printed his own version of the Protocols to be distributed. He even justified Jewish persecution in Germany! 9
It is no surprise that the Anti-Defamation League monitored Coughlin’s programs and kept a file on the extremist. Today their website gives credit to the ADL for bringing down Coughlin by tying him to Nazi leadership through their research. 10
Other Jewish groups took Charles to task on his historical conclusions. Few Religious Right leaders would identify their movement with Coughlin today.
However, historical leaders in the Religious Right pack were best friends with or chummy with the volatile leader. World War II tended to put an end to Coughlin. Some surmise Roosevelt struck a deal with the Vatican to give them an ambassador if the Pope would shut up Coughlin and his publications. The Vatican did intercede to some extent. Some questioned the Vatican’s silence during so many volumes of anti-Semitic transmissions. The Vatican had it’s own anti-Semitism charges to deal with after the war. It is noted the FDR pressured the Vatican to respond and they did not relish the idea of jumping into the censorship of their own. Donald Warren was interviewed on CSPAN and claims that even in the 1990’s some Catholic priests agreed with Coughlin and his anti-Semitism. 11
Father Coughlin claimed that ancient Popes forbade public appointments of Jews because Jews, it was believed, were bitterly hostile to Christians. The Catholic Priest published "Social Justice Magazine" which had a circulation of 9,000 with 220 employees. His justification of his views towards Jews was established by his belief that Jews founded Communism. 12
He denied that he was an anti-Semite and claimed to denounce Fascism by his own word. He simply believed he spoke the truth and behind the Depression, war and social problems in the Western world was a secret group of Jews. To Coughlin, exposing their great evil supplanted his calling to expand the church. Some coin him the founder of the modern Religious Right movement. His tactics of seeking to blend the Christian faith with modern Right Wing ideologies is akin to what takes place in our own time. It is a sad reminder that future generations will see much of what passes off as Christian ethics through the movement to be as unfashionable as Coughlin’s beliefs.
Endnotes
1. Gerald Smith, “An Open Letter”, CROSS AND FLAG, Dec.1952, pg. 3.
2. Glen Jeansonne, GERALD SMITH MINISTER OF HATE, Yale Univ. Press, New Haven 1988, pg. 62.
3. Roy Carlson, UNDER COVER, p.p Ditton, N.Y., N.Y., 1943, pgs. 27, 58,172.
4. Gustavus Myers, A HISTORY OF BIGOTRY IN THE UNITED STATES, Random House, N.Y., N.Y., 1993, pg. 444.
5. Ibid. pg. 462
6. Michael Barkun, RELIGION AND THE RACIST RIGHT, Univ. of N.C. Press, Chapel Hill, N.C. 1994, pg. 96.
7. Barry Hankins, GOD’S RASCAL, Univ. Press of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1996. Pg.163
8. YOUR INHERITANCE, Sacred Truth Ministries, Mountain City, Tenn. 1993, Pg. 163.
9. Donald Warren, RADIO PRIEST, The Free Press, N.Y., N.Y., 1996. Pgs. 28, 77, 83, 84, 102, 120, 125, 150, 156, 181, 233, 292.
10. http://www.adlorg/2001.
11. CSPAN, Booknotes, Sept. 8, 1996.
12. FATHER COUGHLIN ANSWERS HIS CRITICS, The Truth at Last, Marietta, Ga. Pgs. 1, 84.