Date of Award
1-1-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in History
First Advisor
Ted Ownby
Second Advisor
Charles R. Wilson
Third Advisor
Darren Grem
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
When the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union erupted in 1957 with the launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite by the Soviets, Americans were forced to face a disturbing new reality: the world had changed, humanity had reached into space, and the United States had not been the first nation to accomplish such a feat. In a Cold War climate dominated by religious concepts of good versus evil, American evangelicals approached the birth of space exploration with some reluctance, unsure whether such magnificent feats were truly blessed by God and struggling to come to terms with how the nation’s exploits in space affected their faith. The impact of religious anticommunism on their worldview and the faithful, all-American character of the astronauts helped evangelicals warm up to the idea of America as a spacefaring country, especially when faced with the possibility that the atheist enemy might conquer this new frontier before them. As American astronauts went on to read the Bible, pray, and even take communion in space, evangelicals began to see these men as Christian heroes, destined to bring the nation victory and to proclaim the glory of God at the same time. The Space Race ultimately called into question the relationship between American evangelicals and science and technology, changing how they perceived both and shaping their worldview throughout the Cold War and beyond.
Recommended Citation
Edwards, Kari, "Godspeed: American Evangelicals and the Space Race" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2805.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2805