Guide to the Religious News Service Subject Files

The Religious News Service records, circa 1930s-1983, includes news releases, photographic prints, photographic negatives, press clippings, articles, and other materials produced and/or disseminated by the Religious News Service (RNS). The records document the history of Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Eastern Orthodox religion in the United States and around the world. The bulk of the materials pertain to Protestant and Catholic communities, although attention is also given to Jewish and Eastern Orthodox groups. The records chronicle the "purely religious" activities of religious groups and personalities—gatherings, conferences, public speaking engagements, mergers, programs, institutions, and the like—as well as the intersections of religion and politics, society, and culture, both in the United States and abroad. Additionally, the collection itself stands as a marker of the media's representation of twentieth century American religious beliefs, values, and practices. Thus, researchers interested in American religious history, the relationship between religion and politics/society/culture, and the media's representation of religion in the twentieth century will find this collection useful.

The Religious News Service records are divided into the following record groups:

RNS RG 1: Photographs, 1945-1982
RNS RG 2: News Releases, 1936-1981 
RNS RG 3: Subject Files, circa 1930s-1983
RNS RG 4: Administrative Files, 1940s-1960s

Researchers should note that both RNS RG 2 and RNS RG 3 overlap significantly in content. Despite this overlap, the arrangement has a significant research benefit: researchers can access the information either by date in the "News Releases" record group or subject in the "Subject Files" record group. Please review the record group descriptions for more information.

RNS RG 3, Subject Files, circa 1930s-1983, consists of Religious News Service (RNS) publications, press clippings, letters, and printed matter. These materials document a wide range of topics related to Protestant, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Jewish groups.

The materials in this record group were part of the RNS collection of "dead files." The dead files originally belonged to a collection of active subject files that the organization maintained for reference. Although many RNS publications can be found in these files, they do not include all the publications that were produced between the 1930s and the early 1980s. RNS RG 3 consists of nine series: 94 0531e, RT 1045, RT 1046, RT 1047, RT 1048, RT 1049, RT 1050, RT 1051, and RT 1052. Earlier materials tend to be found within the series with lower numbers (e.g., RT 1045 largely has materials dating from the 1930s to the 1950s). However, the series do not reflect strict chronological divisions within the record group and files often contain materials that span many decades.

Within each series, subject files are arranged alphabetically by the titles originally assigned by RNS staff. Some topics (e.g., education, the Catholic Church, and youth groups) received more substantial coverage and appear in multiple series; other topics were of interest for a shorter period of time and are found in only one or two series. Within each subject file, materials are generally arranged into chronological order. Also, multiple copies of many items are found in several different subject files.

The subject files in series RT 1045, RT 1046, RT 1047, RT 1048, RT 1049, RT 1051, and RT 1052 fall into a number of thematic groupings. These groupings include U.S. domestic politics and social issues (e.g., abortion, anti-Semitism, busing, federal legislation, gambling, labor unions, liquor control, marriage, nuclear proliferation, racial segregation, religious education, religious freedom, secular education, television, taxation, and U.S. presidents), international affairs (e.g., World War II, the Holocaust, the United Nations, refugees, the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, religious persecution, and the Vietnam War), events and developments in various U.S. states, events and developments in particular countries, activities and internal organization of churches and religious congregations (e.g., the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox churches, Jewish congregations, and Protestant denominations), religious trends and movements (e.g., evangelism, ecumenicalism, interfaith dialogue, Pentecostalism, women in the clergy, Jesus People Movement), religious organizations and conferences (e.g., the World Council of Churches, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Second Vatican Council), religious cults and minor sects, religious observances and holidays, and significant religious figures (e.g., Pope John XXIII, Pope Paul VI, Billy Graham, Martin Luther King Jr., Cardinal Francis Spellman, Daniel Berrigan, Philip Berrigan, and Carl McIntire). Series 94 0531e and RT 1050 are more narrowly focused than the other series.

Series 94 0531e primarily consists of subject files related to Israel and the Vatican. Series RT 1050 consists solely of subject files related to significant religious, political, and social figures. These individuals include Dr. John Baille, Archbishop William O. Brady, James Dahig, Dr. Kyle Haselden, Herbert Hoover, Metropolitan Gregory, Albert Schweitzer, and U Thant.