Ebook: What they wished for : American Catholics and American presidents, 1960-2004

As a religious bloc, Roman Catholics constitute the most populous religious denomination in the United States, comprising one in four Americans. With the election of John F. Kennedy as president in 1960, they attained a political prominence to match their rapidly ascending socioeconomic and cultural profile. From Vietnam to Iraq, the civil rights movement to federal funding for faith-based initiatives, and from birth control to abortion, American Catholics have won at least as often as they have lost. What They Wished For traces the role of American Catholics in presidential politics and politics from 1960 until 2004.