We do not believe that a member of the Roman Catholic Church can be loyal to his church and faithfully carry out the demands of the Constitution. – 1960 United Pentecostal Church resolution
Each year at the annual General Conference of the United Pentecostal Church, their ministers are afforded the opportunity to present resolutions that are voted upon by the licensed ministers who are present. Members of UPC churches never vote on these and most are unaware of what is presented and passed or denied. There are resolutions that are submitted yearly, though not all make it through the resolution committee and to the floor of the General Conference. Some are passed, others are tabled and some are voted down. It appears that back in 1960, resolutions didn’t first need to be submitted to a committee for review.
There has been a sustained drive on the part of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy to weaken and eventually destroy the bulwark of American Liberty- separation of church and state- by demanding special favors from the government and financial aide for church-controlled schools. – 1960 United Pentecostal Church resolution
In the September 1960 edition of the Pentecostal Herald, the official magazine of the United Pentecostal Church (now called Pentecostal Life), there was an editorial viewpoint titled A Catholic President. (page 1, page 2) It took up just over 1.5 pages. It started by stating, “It would be completely inharmonious with every avowed purpose of the Pentecostal Herald to use its pages for ‘playing politics.’ But when danger threatens from any source, it is the inescapable duty of all who sense that danger to sound the warning. When this peril presents itself through political maneuvers, and when those imperiled have no recourse other than the ballot, it is not ‘playing politics’ to lay truth before them, so that they may be fully informed when they vote.” It then went on to republish an article by Evangelist C. William Fisher. That article shared how when Roman Catholic members were elected to various political positions, the Catholic church pressed for certain things from the government. It mentioned that our Constitution could be changed or reinterpreted by the Supreme Court. It ended with, “Who among us would have more influence toward instituting a change in the constitution than the president of the United States? In view of this threat to our religious liberty, would it not be the height of folly to lend our aid in electing a Catholic president?” The UPC was, without a doubt, telling people to not vote for John F. Kennedy, the democratic candidate who was running against Richard Nixon.
In another article in the the same issue, it was briefly mentioned how there was some persecution against their followers in Columbia by the Catholic church. You will later see why I mention this. Then in the October 1960 issue, there was an article written by Charles H. Karr. Are We Anti-Catholic? (page 1, page 2) was full of fear mongering regarding what could happen if a Catholic became president, worried about clericalism of the Catholic Church and amending or re-interpreting the Constitution.
Membership in the Catholic church, “disqualifies any man from holding any office in a Democratic country.” – Murray E. Burr, United Pentecostal Minister
The 36th General Conference of the United Pentecostal Church was held in Dallas, Texas from September 30 to October 5, 1960. (As they were not formed until 1945, their counting of these conferences could be misleading to some unfamiliar with the organization.) At the time, Arthur T. Morgan was the General Superintendent, who was elected to that position in 1951 and died while presiding over a General Board meeting in Oklahoma in 1967.
A.L. Clanton, the editor of the Herald, was quoted as saying that the 250,000 membership of the United Pentecostal Church were “very much opposed to a Catholic president.” (Longview News Journal, September 30, 1960) It was pretty presumptuous of him to speak for the entire membership of the UPCI as it is doubtful that every member was opposed. I am certain that the UPCI did not poll all of their members. Even before the conference convened, Clanton was quoted as saying it was “almost certain” that a resolution opposing a Catholic for president would be brought up and passed. (Lubbock-Avalanche Journal, September 30, 1960) This news was reported in several states including Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.
My only objection would be — my only limit to that would be that if somebody said regardless of Senator Kennedy’s position, regardless of how much evidence he’s given that what he says he means, I still wouldn’t vote for him because he is a member of that church. I would consider that unreasonable. – Senator John F. Kennedy, September 12, 1960
Clanton was correct in that a resolution was submitted and overwhelmingly passed by the ministers. Interestingly, I found no mention of the resolution in the Pentecostal Herald, though it may have been included in their minister’s only publication. Perhaps they held off on potentially writing about it until the November election. UPC minister Murray E. Burr was one of the authors. Interestingly, when he later ran for the highest office of the General Superintendent in the Tulsa, Oklahoma General Conference and lost, he started a new stricter Oneness Pentecostal organization called the Apostolic Ministers Fellowship. It had problematic beginnings as described here by one of the ministers.
On October 5, 1960, the Abilene Reporter-News stated that after the anti-Catholic resolution passed, those in attendance “roared approval.” There were about 1000 ministers in attendance at the closing session, almost all of which supported it. There were some who did not, who felt the organization should not be involved in politics. Needless to say, John F. Kennedy was elected and all those predictions of doom regarding the Catholic Church and the Constitution did not come to pass.
It was reported that in discussing the proposed resolution, some at the conference shared how the Catholic Church had been persecuting Pentecostal missionaries in South America and Columbia was mentioned. On April 19, 1952, The Boston Globe ran a short story stating that the Evangelical Confederation of Columbia, which consisted of 17 different Protestant groups, had claimed there had been 23 different attacks of persecution in eight Columbia provinces since February 15, 1952. Prior to this 30 months of persecution were claimed. Many Protestant homes had been burned or confiscated. Bibles were destroyed and other material taken and some radio programs were banned. UPC minister William Drost claimed he had been threatened during a sermon by three well-dressed individuals. Police were said to have been involved in much of this.
We cannot stand on the graves of our martyrs in countries where the Roman Catholic church dominates and not be concerned. – 1960 United Pentecostal General Conference
Prior to the passing of the resolution, on September 12, 1960, John F. Kennedy delivered a speech at the Rice Hotel before the Greater Houston Ministerial association, a group of Protestant ministers, where he addressed the issue of his religion. He started by emphasizing that there were much greater issues involved in the election than the religious one. After his speech there was a question and answer period. The entire event may be watched in the video shared below.
That is the kind of America in which I believe. And it represents the kind of presidency in which I believe — a great office that must neither be humbled by making it the instrument of any one religious group, nor tarnished by arbitrarily withholding its occupancy from the members of any one religious group. I believe in a president whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation, or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.
I would not look with favor upon a president working to subvert the First Amendment’s guarantees of religious liberty. Nor would our system of checks and balances permit him to do so. And neither do I look with favor upon those who would work to subvert Article VI of the Constitution by requiring a religious test — even by indirection — for it. – Senator John F. Kennedy, September 12, 1960
