That probably was part of it. I’m not sure how much that really played into things, as I was only 12 at the time, but as I understand it, most folks my age don’t realize how big a deal Catholicism was as it grew in our nation.
Of course dad was a monster. His treatment of his wife was abominable. He used to bring his movie actress girl-friend(s) home to have dinner with his wife and the kids. Now there’s some real class for ya.
Bill Clinton modeled his life on J. F. K., and we can see what that led to.
Dallas still had a sizable Catholic population:
http://www.csodallas.org/schools/interactive-map/
Map of Catholic Schools in Dallas. Seem quite a bit. One could say maybe they have more Catholic Schools now. That’s a possibility but let’s also remember, Catholic Schools in many instances have struggled to say open. Anyway, I know many of those schools have existed there before 1963. So, it may be Bible Belt but clearly, other faiths were there as well.