As recounted in my new book Methodism and Politics in the 20th Century, during the Ku Klux Klan’s 1920s national resurgence the Klan routinely disrupted church services of many denominations to present cash gifts to the pastor. Robed and hooded, often with torches, the procession was meant to both win friends and intimidate. Some church members were supportive, while others physically chased them out. Most were probably stunned.
Methodist bishops in both north and south denounced the Klan. Some worried about Klan infiltration of the clergy. During an ordination service in New Jersey, the bishop asked ordinands to remove their jackets so he could check for any Klan insignia. In the 1920s the Klan advertised its supposed Americanism while emphasizing hostility to Catholics, Jews and immigrants. The Klan, like Methodism and most Protestant churches, supported Prohibition.
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