Positive-thinking and post-war prosperity : an analysis of the life and writing of Norman Vincent Peale

2012·2.8 MB·English

by  Walsh, Daniel James

Abstract
The following thesis examines the life and writing of Norman Vincent Peale in order
to understand his popular appeal in 1950s America.
Norman Vincent Peale was an important leader in the revival that swept American
Protestantism in the 1950s. Given the popularity of his best-known book, The Power
ofP ositive Thinking, his magazine Guideposts, and his consistent presence on radio
and in magazines and newspapers, he was arguably the best-known religious figure
of the decade. Interestingly, his popularity faded dramatically after the decade and
his speaking engagements became more centered on the business community.
The following thesis examines who Peale was and what enabled him to be such a
successful religious leader during the 1950s. It examines his life and traces how his
early experiences played out in his forty plus books. It examines his contemporary
critics and offers the author's critique from an evangelical point of view. It then
examines the origins of his thought, tracing his thinking to mind cure, American
exceptionalism, and Methodism. Finally, it argues that Peale's success capitalized on
the cultural climate of post-war America to enable his success in that decade.
Vita
Daniel Walsh grew up in North Dakota and completed a B.A. in International Affairs
at the University of Maine, sum ma cum laude. His areas of concentration were
modern East Asian and European History and French. He entered the Master of
Divinity program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 2006 before moving
to Washington, DC and Brazil for four years. In 2010 he began the M.A. program in
Church History. He will finish both degrees in May 2013.
Daniel currently serves as Youth Minister at First Parish Congregational Church in
Wakefield, Massachusetts. He is also the Semlink Teaching Fellow for Church
History at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
3