著者

塩崎 弘明

出版者

上智大学

雑誌

アメリカ・カナダ研究 (ISSN:09148035)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.7, pp.23-46, 1991-12-20

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Coughlinism and McCarthyism have been called demagogic-social phenomena in the depressed and hysterical times of confrontation. Two demagogues, Coughlin and McCarthy, have been studied mainly as political or social subjects. This paper aims to throw a new light upon the Catholic aspects of Coghlinism and McCarthyism that have not been referred to very much in studies about them. First, the activities of Coughlinites and McCarithyites have to be considered in the context of an American Catholicism that was innocent at that time of real socio-politics and amalgamated mostly with conservative and patriotic Americanism. Secondly, the popularity of Coughlinism and McCarthyism, especially among Irish and German American-Catholics, should be understood in the light of Marian Piety, which propagated not only Marian Cults, but also anti-Communism. Thirdly, the spread of Coughlinism and McCarthyism could not be explained without the traditional Populism or Progressivism that has been dominant in Midwest Catholic circles. Finally, future studies concerning these topics should aim at re-examining the attitudes of American bishops or Catholic reformists towards Coughlinism and McCarthyism with the help of recent American Theology.