A new look at the religious life of Richard Nixon and his search for salvation

“One Lost Soul: Richard Nixon’s Search for Salvation” by Daniel Silliman, from the Library of Religious Biography series from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

“Richard Nixon was a lost soul searching for the love of God. He wanted to be loved by God but couldn’t figure out how. He sought but could not find assurance from the Creator that he was okay, his existence good, or at least worthwhile.  Or at least tolerable.” When he got assurance from thers, he couldn’t believe it. He would be “left alone with his need, this ache, his unshakable feelings that he could never do enough. This is the fundamental drama underneath Nixon’s successes and scandals, his turbulent political career, history-changing victories, and ultimate disgrace. He was trying to be loved by God.”

Nixon had his own personal losses as a young man, losing an older brother and a younger brother to TB. He volunteered for the US Navy in WWII,  determined to get close to the action. He would serve in the South Pacific as a very organized supply & logistics officer.

He began fighting reporters when he championed ex-Communist whistle-blower Whitaker Chambers in 1948. The new member of HUAC realized that the witty and popular political operative in the US State Department, Alger Hiss, was lying. Nixon built the case against Hiss, who was “polished, prestigious, beloved by the best people” but a Communist agent. Hiss would be convicted of perjury and sentenced to prison, yet people were angry at Nixon!!

When Nixon ran for VP in 1952, an election account was set up by friends and supporters for him, perfectly legal. But the reporters accused him of being a corrupt. The smear label a defeated political opponent laid on him became a hated sobriquet his entire life: “Tricky Dick”. Nixon felt his only hope to save his candidacy was to buy time on TV to explain the situation, in what became known as his “Checkers” speech. It worked. Eisenhower kept him on the ticket, and they served together very well for two terms.

Yet Richard Nixon would lose the closest race in US history in 1960 to his old Senate friend, JFK. And two years he lost the race for governor of his native California. He was devastated. Over time, he was determined to prove he wasn’t a loser, so he ran again in 1968 and won. His first term was a huge triumph; after a landslide victory, his second term turned bitter with Watergate.

When he was President, he organized and oversaw an elaborate worship service every Sunday in the White House. In that respect, he was the most religious president ever. The services went away in his second term, when the spectre of Watergate began demolishing Nixon’s carefully-constructed control.

Richard Nixon was a close friend to two of America’s most popular religious leaders of the mid to late 20th century: Norman Vincent Peale and Billy Graham. They constantly urged him to become more involved in religion, to seek God’s grace and forgiveness, but Nixon always ignored their advice. Even in his most broken-hearted state, Nixon would not turn to God. Instead, he re-brandied himself as an elder statesman. But his heart still ached for God.