Strangers in Mayberry

Abstract

This chapter provides a closer look at how mainline Protestants interpreted increasing pluralism following World War II as the Cold War unfolded. As America set itself apart from foreign powers whose ideology was considered “godless” (i.e., Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union), home missions and evangelization of immigrants remained imperative. This chapter considers the continuity of earlier home mission impulses, while also examining white Protestant support for postwar refugee resettlement, largely under the auspices of Church World Service. Following the Refugee Relief Act of 1953, many denominations sponsored resettlement programs that provided living accommodations and employment for thousands of refugees fleeing political instability in other parts of the world. In their attention to refugee relief, Protestants were quick to note the international role of the United States and its obligation to defend freedom. All the while, these refugee sponsorship programs resulted in displaced people being relocated among white Americans not familiar with foreign ways.