Ecumenical Attack against Racism

The fundamental social and political changes of the 1960 also set a test for the World Council of Churches (WCC), the foremost organization of the modern ecumenical movement. This study concentrates on the WCC's answer to the worldwide call for social justice, the Programme to Combat Racism (PCR), and the Programme's reception during its initial stages. The PCR marked a turning point in the history of the WCC. It signalled a clear change from the WCC's prior tendency of issuing general statements of agreement to engaging in controversial action. Inter-church cooperation was closely connected with the social discourse of the time, and thus Cold War tensions were also evident in the discussion on the PCR.