Ronald Reagan Influence On Religion

Serving as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 until 1989, Ronald Reagan’s religiously toned rhetoric and foreign policy initiatives can be seen as a key example of how religion can impact global affairs. Reagan’s religiously centered upbringing, which included membership to the Disciples of Christ and serving as the vice-president of the Hi-Y Club, a part of the Young Men’s Christian Association, which focused on the evangelical and physical fitness of young men, helped to lay the foundation of a presidency that would be highly influenced by religion. In the 1949/50 edition of Modern Screen magazine, Reagan wrote an article entitled “My Faith” where he argued that “if we each lived according to the rules of the Bible, if we

With Reagan’s, occasionally extreme, religious beliefs it would be difficult to make decisions that were not consciously or sub-consciously effected by those beliefs that many regard as central to their character. At a prayer breakfast in Dallas, Texas in 1984, Reagan stated “I believe that faith and religion play a critical role in the political life of our nation.” With Reagan’s belief of the importance of faith and religion in the political foundation of the United States, this same belief would translate to the foreign politics of his administration. Domestic politics and beliefs often helps guide foreign politics, meaning that with the religiously charged beliefs of the Reagan Administration there would also be, at least to some degree, a religious aspect to his foreign affairs policies. Reagan’s religious beliefs can also be seen as a driving force behind his view towards the Soviet Union. During the time of Reagan’s presidency, the Soviet Union was the main priority for American foreign affairs. Therefore, Reagan’s religious beliefs led to a foreign policy that was surrounded by an anti-Soviet and anti-Communist