Religion

The Vatican II Ecumenical Coucil

  How the 60's Changed Catholicism Forever

          Pope John XXIII took the position as Vicar of Christ after Pius XII died in 1958 ending his 19 year Papacy in the Vatican. The late Pius XII had advocated in his reign researching the Bible which had always been limited and discouraged by the Church. In his article the Divino Afflante Spiritu he reestablished the role of the Bible to Catholicism  He maintained, however, that though studies could be made about the Bible, those researching were only assistants and were to only teach the official doctrines set down by the Church. His successor, John XXIII pushed for new reforms in such things like the removal of the Church's list of Forbidden Books and it's warnings against secular schools. He also created a commission for studies into birth control. In order to make such reforms possible, Pope John called The Second Ecumenical Council or what is more commonly known as the Vatican II. This council had not been called since 1870. Pope John, however, died in 1963 and the council had already begun. Paul VI took his place and the council continued.
           The Vatican II changed quite a lot for the changing times. In France, 81% of the population claimed to be Catholic and only 16% were attending mass since the 1950's. In the United States between 1963 and 1973 those claiming to be both Catholic and attending mass dropped from 71% to 50%. The Vatican II had studied birth control and Pope Paul maintained the prohibition against artificial birth control and abortion. By the end of the 1960's 70% of Catholic women were using artificial birth control. There was a problem. Catholics were no longer afraid of the Vatican. In America, 51 priests openly opposed Pope Paul's decision to continue to prohibit birth control. Cardinal Patrick O'Boyle in Washington DC declared sanctions against the dissenting priests. For fear of excommunication, which for them meant ultimate damnation, 26 priests recanted and 25 left the Church. Some priests followed the other extreme and rejected the Vatican II's liberal changes such as the vernacular in the mass instead of Latin and the abolition of antisemitism that the Church had promoted for centuries. They believed these traditions were essential to the preservation of the faith. Archbishop Lefebvre in France was one such opponent and said he refused to follow “the Rome of neo-modernists and neo-Protestant tendencies. The religion changed dramatically during the 60's due in part to the Vatican II but also due to the world's rising opposition to and diminishing fear of the Catholic Church.
                   
The Death of God Movement

Time Magazine April 8, 1966

          In 1961 Gabriel Vahanian published the book The Death of God. The idea was not original to him but rather taken from Neitzsche who first quoted “God is dead and we have killed him” in his poetry novel Die fröhliche Wissenschaft. The Novel was translated in 1960 into English under the title “The Gay Science” and put forth ideas of eternal recurrence or reincarnation and the pursuit of freedom through knowledge. The original title in English translated meant “The Joyous Wisdom” however Neitzche seemed to be speaking less of wisdom and more about learning within the context of pursuing – or science.

          Thomas Altizer, a theologian from the University of Chicago, incorporated Neitzsche's poetry into his theology and taught that when Christ gave his life to the world, God had poured as much blessing on humanity as possible and gave no further. He taught that the world had used up all of God's grace. In 1966 William Hamilton took the idea one step farther quoting Altizer in a Time magazine article entitled in bold red letters on the cover “IS GOD DEAD?” This article examined the 60's culture in that it studied whether or not God was anymore relevant to society. It went on to explain how Altizer, Hamilton and a small group of like-minded theologians where attempting to reconstruct religion without God to make it more practical for humanity.

          The article admitted that there was no real crisis being touted by the death of God movement. After all, 97% of Americans in 1966 still believed in God and The Vatican II had done much to stir up religious discussion among Americans.

          Still, the need for God in the 60's was dwindling. Perhaps Darwin's theory of evolution helped to remove fear from people as they began to study scientific theory. Darwin's Theory had evolved into “modern evolutionary synthesis” by the 50's and certainly by the 60's. Modern Evolutionary Synthesis is simply a conglomeration of theories based on Darwin's theory. The youth born between the 40's and late 50's were certainly aware of this synthesis and it still stands as the basis for evolutionary thinking.

          From the Time magazine article in which the Death of God is proposed: “Nietzsche's thesis was that a striving, self-centered man had killed God, and that settled that. The current death-of-God group believes that God is indeed absolutely dead, but proposes to carry on and write a theology without theos, without God.”

The Anti-Religion of Free Love

Hair opened on Broadway in 1968

          Most historians trace free love as far back as the abolitionists movement wherein blacks were not allowed to marry whites therefore stifling their sexual freedom. Free love meant freedom from the government's authority over marriage which should be left to the individual. Prior to the industrial revolution marriage was less then love between two people but more of a contract or social and financial bargain. Perhaps a father married or “sold” his daughter to a farmer to gain land or money. Perhaps a Prince married a Princess to make peace with a tenuous alliance. Prior to industrialism, love was not the purpose for marriage. Men could now have a paying job and did not need to sustain their own lives and would therefore have time and money to choose whom he married.

          In the early 20^th century, free love became part of the anarchist society. By then, free love had become outwardly and proudly socialist. Emma Goldman, called the Darling of Free Love, was one such woman who supported claims that socialism meant the end of the family. The rise of Communism left the Free Love Movement aside for some time in the 20's though is still brewed in association with the Harlem resistance. Bohemianism was now becoming an anti-establishment in connection to things like interacialism and jazz and Free Love was becoming the cry of all “deviant” sexual behavior including homosexuality, promiscuity, and interracial marriage.

          The Vietnam war brought Free Love back to the forefront as youth across America rose up against the country in opposition to war. The youth in the 60's rejected their patriarchal roots especially when related to women s rights and sought to remove all ties to traditional marriage no matter when it occurred. Largely the work of Christianity, the traditional values of Americans were being overtaken but there was no slowing of the new sexual revolution. The medias of radio, television, and print fueled the anti-capitalist and anti-America movements through people like Yoko Ono and John Lennon.

          Though the Free Love movement had been largely in rebellion against oppression to women, towards the end of the 60's and into the 70's feminists began to revolt against it. They believed that the movement had been predominantly male-dominated and that it was just a way for men to have more sex. The fact that to reject a man's sexual impulses was then considered against free love was a huge problem for them.

One Finger Instead of Two

                                                       

          The hippie movement of the 70's carried on the tradition of Free Love and sealed the fate of traditional marriage making it obsolete.
     
"Jesus Freak!"

           In response to the counter culture, a movement that was first meant disparagingly arose called the Jesus Freak Movement. The word “freak” was coined in the 60's to mean any specific interest – specifically derived from “acid freak.” Christians later adopted the term in a positive light and used it to begin a counter-counter culture. The message of the Jesus Freaks was similar to the hippie movement in that they both focused on the basics – for the hippies, the land and for the Christians, fundamentalism. Jesus Freaks were often found distributing copies of the New Testament Bible reworded in the vernacular in 1966 under the title of “Good News For the Modern Man.”

          Some believe that the Jesus Freak movement was derived specifically from ex-rock musicians, ex-drug addicts, and pagan religions. Non-Christian hippies used the term to demean the new converts; but much like the term coined in decades following Jesus' crucifixion “Christian” or “Little Christ” became a positive emblem for the Christians and the modern Jesus Freaks.

          It is probably not fair to all-encompassingly relate the Jesus Freak Movement directly to the hippie movement. No, as mentioned before, the Jesus Freaks were ex-hippies most of whom were associated with the New Left – a movement promoting anarchy, communism, free love, communal living, etc. The Jesus Freak movement was more likely a revolt against such ideals from those inside of the New Left and not a purely religious enlightenment.

          The Jesus Freak Movement is synonymous to the Jesus Movement which was highlighted in a Times magazine article that praised the movement: “There is an uncommon morning freshness to this movement, a buoyant atmosphere of hope and love along with the usual rebel zeal. Some converts seem to enjoy translating their new faith into everyday life, like those who answer the phone with "Jesus loves you" instead of "hello." But their love seems more sincere than a slogan, deeper than the fast-fading sentiments of the flower children; what startles the outsider is the extraordinary sense of joy that they are able to communicate.” It seems that The Jesus Movement remained “hippie” in the sense that it was not fundamentalism; yet it did well to propel the continuing evolution of Christianity.

          The Jesus Freak Movement died in the 80's with a short resurgence in the 90's which failed miserably along with the infamous slogan “W.W.J.D.”

Ground Braking Ceremony for the Prove Temple, 1969

The Final Effects

          By the end of the 60's change had already begun – good, bad and very possibly inevitable. Catholics were now allowed to study the Bible for themselves. Though the protestant revolution had already begun nearly half a millennium before with Martin Luther's 95 Thesis, good Catholics were now allowed themselves to be enlightened. Once a ban was now a taboo. Most Americans prior to the 60's held their beliefs unwaveringly but the 60's opened up the possibility to say “no” but most importantly “maybe.” Out of the 60's grew the possibility of other denominations and contrary beliefs, yes, but also synonymous alternative beliefs.

          The Catholics were not the only ones attempting to regain their control over their religion but also the Protestants. On May 13, 1962 Time magazine highlighted the Consultation on Church Union which sought to create one church out 25 million protestant people and their varying denominations. They wanted to create a mega church that could rival the influence of the Vatican. The first meeting took place in Washington D.C. in 1961 in which four Churches attended. By the second meeting in 1963, sixteen church had joined the COCU. By the 1970's the COCU had drawn up a constitution of sorts called the Plan of Union. All the churches overwhelming disagreed and they later decided upon keeping the autonomy of the different denominations while recognizing their unity and accepting each other as valid denominations. The COCU seems to have failed.

          The Vatican also seems to have failed in its efforts to “regroup” the church. With the Latin now in the vernacular and the Catholic Church attempting to bring its members back, the church weakened its authority and nuns and priests left their orders and took on a more willing attitude to reject the super-power church.

The Mormons during the 60's grew its member from 1.5 million to nearly 2 million making it the fastest growing church in America and in 1969 broke ground for the Provo Temple symbolizing their belief that the Latter Day Saints were now at the center of American culture which was, of course, fallacious. In addition to Mormonism growing, Islam was now taking a hold in America due to the United States' new relaxed immigration policies; and by 1970 plans were being discussed to build a mosque in New York to service both American religions and Muslims.

          By 1968, the 60's official religious transformation was complete with Troy Perry's Metropolitan Community Church which above all else serviced the Gay community – a concept unthinkable before the 1960's.