Red scare and revelation: the Minute Women of the USA guarding Christianity during the Cold War

ABSTRACT The Cold War gave rise to a number of anticommunist women’s organizations in the United States. In an era when women were seen as guardians of the moral character of their children and families, midcentury American women looked for ways they could protect their families and resist communism and its attendant atheism. One of these groups – the Minute Women of the USA – lobbied against communism and for conservative values in the state and federal government and in public school systems. Scholars often refer to the religious characteristics of the organization, but they rarely explore in depth how the group was influenced by religion. This article explores the political and social religious activism of the Minute Women, situating them within the anticommunism of the period while also leveraging Jonathan Herzog’s “spiritual-industrial complex” as a framework for interpretation. The result is a more complex depiction of the role of religion in the Minute Women organization and its pursuits, and a more thorough understanding of how religion shaped politics and culture during the Cold War. Finally, it addresses the role of groups like the Minute Women in ushering in a more religiously, politically, and socially conservative grassroots movement in US politics, particularly among women.