Decrying Father Coughlin’s attempts to “tie the church to politics,” Dr. Everett R. Clinchy, director of National Conference of Jews and Christians, leading a seminar on racial relations tonight at the fourteenth triennial convention of the National Council of Jewish Women, stated that the church has a more permanent function.
“Social equilibrium,” he said, “has been disturbed by changing economic conditions which in turn have resulted in tension between economic classes and between cultural groups. The church has an opportunity to generate in people, particularly privileged ones, a generous and magnanimous spirit, which will permit social changes necessitated by new conditions to be brought about without violence.
“The job of the church and the synagogue,” said Dr. Clinchy, “is to develop the religious spirit of unselfish devotion and willingness for self-sacrifice. These qualities are as truly necessary now as they were during the World War and if democracy is to survive, organized religions must produce in its members these noble qualities.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.