John T. Elson
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John Truscott Elson (April 29, 1931 – September 7, 2009) was a religion editor and writer who eventually became the assistant managing editor of ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
''. He is most remembered for his provocative April 1966 cover story for which the magazine's cover simply asked, " Is God Dead?"


Biography


Early years

Born in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Elson was the son of Robert T. Elson, a newspaper reporter who became an editor at ''Time'' and ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
''. He attended St. Anselm's Abbey School (then known as the Priory School) in Washington, D.C. and received an undergraduate degree from
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
in 1953. He also received a master's degree in English from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1954. Elson entered the
United States Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...
in August 1954 as a second lieutenant and served for two years. He was initially stationed at Parks Air Force Base in California and later was in Japan. He became a reporter for the Canadian Press news agency. He was hired at ''Time'' and worked initially in the Detroit bureau. In 1967, he became a senior editor in charge of the sections for religion, theatre, cinema and education. He remained at ''Time'' in 1987 and eventually held the position of assistant managing editor.


1966 cover story: "Is God Dead?"

He was the religion editor at ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine who famously asked, "Is God Dead?" Elson posed the questions in a cover story for the April 8, 1966 issue of ''Time''. For the first time in the magazine's 43-year history, the cover featured no photograph or illustration. Instead, the cover showed blood-red letters against a black background posing Elson's question, "Is God Dead?" ''The New York Times'' has called the cover "a signpost of the 1960s, testimony to the wrenching social changes transforming the United States." Though Elson is most remembered for the "Is God Dead?" cover, it was one of many stories he wrote for the publication on the subject of religion. Indeed, he had written nine previous cover stories on religious issues for ''Time''.


Reaction to the story

Elson's cover story provoked extensive discussion. The issue drew ''Times biggest newsstand sales in more than 20 years. The publisher received 3,500 letters—the most in the magazine's history to that point. The ''Chicago Sun Times'' referred to it as "a debate that had shocked and confused millions of devout Americans." One syndicated columnist, Jim Bishop, responded angrily to the article, pointing out that a recent Harris Poll showed that 97% of all American claim to believe in God. Bishop suggested the editors at Time had an incorrect view of God: "I would guess that the editors think that, if God is still out there, He should alter His image a little, become a hipster, stop dragging His sandals and start snapping His fingers in a Go-Go world." In a May 1966 address, the pastor of the
National Presbyterian Church The National Presbyterian Church is a Christian congregation of approximately 1,500 members of all ages from the greater metropolitan Washington, D.C., area. The mission statement of the church is "Leading People to Become Faithful Followers of J ...
of Washington, D.C. disputed the "God is Dead" theory, saying advocating the theory were a small group that had plunged "into the depths of existential despair." The pastor further noted, "One is moved to ask whether the reporters were sufficiently well acquainted with the deceased as to be able to identify the corpse."


Death

On September 7, 2009, Elson died at home in Manhattan. He was survived by his wife, the former Rosemary Knorr, and two daughters.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elson, John T. 1931 births 2009 deaths American religious writers Canadian emigrants to the United States Columbia University alumni Writers from Manhattan University of Notre Dame alumni United States Air Force officers Time (magazine) people Writers from Vancouver