– NBC Radio – New World – Easter: 1956 – April 4, 1956 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
In 1956,the Cold War Public Relations campaign was in full blossom. Differences between “The Free World” and the Communist Dominated East was particularly acute around Holiday time. With Easter probably the biggest display of East-versus-West ideologies.
Easter, it seemed in 1956 just wasn’t being treated with the reverence it once did. Americans were looking at Easter as just another opportunity to celebrate and forget about the world which was getting crazier by the second.
And so the concern over just how religiously observant most people in America actually were was the big question. The prevailing opinion was that most people went to the Church of their choice only during the holidays; and even at that, attendance was flagging. The fear among clergy was that the Church was rapidly becoming a thing of the past, particularly among Youth. And that something needed to be done to get attendance back up because, as we all knew, the Commies were godless and, as many were convinced, Rock n’ Roll and Civil Rights were Communist plots.
So, to address the issues of Easter, religion, America and sinking numbers of The Faithful, many radio talk shows at the time were devoting hours to the subject and making the case for regular attendance. Some, like Billy Graham used the Hellfire and Brimstone approach while others stuck with the tried and true – and of course there was the matter of Easter eggs, the resulting hunt and the tsunami of chocolate candy. It got very commercial – just like Christmas. True meanings took a back seat to marketing – East was big business.
This episode of NBC Radio‘s New World was originally broadcast on Easter Day, April 4, 1956 and features a discussion between Rev. Jerald C. Brauwer and Rev. Barnett W. Blakemore of the University of Chicago.
Interesting discussion – and 69 years ago it was a considerably different world. Or maybe not so much. Just different in other ways.
