Though he was rarely outspoken about it, Ronald Reagan’s faith was true and enduring. God was his guide in both his personal and public life, giving him direction as he made decisions that impacted our nation and our world.
Reagan was born in 1911 in the small village of Tampico, Illinois. His father, Clyde, was from an Irish Catholic background and struggled with alcoholism but worked diligently to care for his family. His mother, Nelle, was Presbyterian and a woman of sincere faith. In addition to leading prayer meetings, she visited and cared for prisoners long before organizations such as Prison Fellowship existed. She advocated an active faith that addressed the social problems people faced. Nelle modeled, for Reagan, what loving God and loving others looked like in every day life.
Reagan professed his faith as a young man and was baptized when he was 11 years old. By the time he was 15, he was teaching Sunday School. He was so committed to his class, he even drove back home from Eureka College for four weeks to finish the class he had started.
Though he was a mediocre student, he was very involved in sports, drama and campus politics, serving as student body president. While playing on the football team, Reagan recalled a time when two black players were denied service at a hotel. He invited them to his parent’s home, where they were welcomed with open arms – quite progressive in their thinking for their day.
After graduation, Reagan took a position as a sports broadcaster in Iowa. He traveled to California with the Cubs in 1936 and, while there, took a screen test which led to a contract with Warner Brothers. Just like that, a successful acting career was launched. He made over 30 B-rated films and was widely admired.
However, when the United States got involved in World War II, Reagan’s Army Reserve unit was called to duty. He continued using his acting skills to produce over 400 training films for the military but his acting career never fully recovered. He began, instead, to serve behind the scenes as president of the Screen Actors Guild.
Reagan had democratic leanings during his early years of political involvement. But over time, his views became increasingly conservative. His stance on everything from abortion to the Cold War was guided by his belief in God and His Word. He served first as California’s governor and later as the United States president.
There wasn’t much public talk about his faith during his political career. He was not ashamed of it, nor was it a shallow faith. He simply didn’t want to use Christianity as a political tool to influence voters. But his deep-rooted conviction that the USSR was evil was based not just on the millions of people who were killed under Lenin and Stalin’s leadership. It was based on their atheistic beliefs – the fact that they had rejected God and ejected Him from Soviet life. When visiting the nation, he took every opportunity to speak of God and His blessings.
Ronald Reagan was a strong political leader, a man of conviction with his feet firmly grounded in God’s Word. He led this country with the understanding that the rule of law under God makes a nation strong and secures freedom for all its citizens. Perhaps that’s why he ended every public address with “God bless you and God bless America.”
“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” – Ronald Reagan
