Service, Faith, and Race: North Park College During World War II

Abstract

In “Service, Faith, and Race: North Park College During World War II,” John J. Laukaitis puts forward that North Park College placed a significant responsibility on itself to contribute to America’s victory and a sustained postwar peace. Hundreds of men from North Park entered the armed services. Governed by a non-creedal denomination, North Park College entered into a larger discourse on Christian realism and found a balance between just war theory and pacifism. Additionally, in an era of racial segregation and racial injustice, North Park expressed a commitment to racial equality and racial understanding during the war. Using the rhetoric of America’s war involvement and expressing its Christian mission toward others, North Park called attention to the realities of racial prejudices in the United States.