Religion And The US - Soviet Diplomacy At The Beginning Of The Cold War (1945-1953)

As "the fantastic reflection in men’s minds of those external forces which control their daily life", religion has unnegligible influence on human social life, especially on politics among nations. Though the Peace of Westphalia banished religion, it did not stay away from wrestling field of international politics. Religion impacted profoundly on leaders’ideas of the U.S.-U.S.S.R., exacerbated the "polarization" of international relations in the early period of the Cold War, while it also became a tool of the U.S.-U.S.S.R. to achieve diplomatic objectives. In turn, the "religionization" of their diplomacy and the "split" of international relations also affected religion to some extent, and offered a new carrier and context for the internal conflict of the religious community.Based on related original archival materials from FRUS(Foreign Relations of the United States), DDRS (Declassified Documents Reference System), DNSA(Digital National Security Archive), NIE(National Intelligence Estimate), PPOTPUS (Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States), DBPO (Documents on British Policy Overseas), Selections of Soviet historical archives, etc. and relevant research findings at home and abroad, this dissertation borrowed several theories from related subjects, such as International Politics, Diplomacy, History, and Religion, tried to reveal the "religious dimension" of the Cold War, display comprehensively the U.S.-U.S.S.R. diplomatic use of religious resources in the early period of the Cold War and their differences and similarities, and as the outcome of the interaction, what impacts do the U.S.-U.S.S.R."religious Game" in diplomatic field have on religion?This dissertation attempts to explain the following questions:(1) Although the United States and the Soviet Union have different ideologies and social systems, they are rich in religious heritages, and the different perceptions of the leaders toward the religious functions would lead to different religious policies.(2) With the influence of the pattern of international relations in the early period of the Cold War, religion became the "road map" from the outset when the U.S.-U.S.S.R. struggled for the moral height of public opinion and formulated their foreign policies, and was the "binder" of achieving diplomatic objectives. This also led to the conflict and split among religious groups, so the Cold War was a "religious Cold War" to some extent.(3) In the Cold War era which put emphasis on "High Politics" such as power, security, etc., though religion became a Cold War weapon of the U.S.-U.S.S.R., it just played a role in fueling the "catalyst" or "booster" in the conflict of the Cold War.(4) Religion as a diplomatic resource is used by the United States and the Soviet Union in the Cold War game, but at the same time, religion also expanded its "faith territory" with the support of state forces.