Criminal
11-20-2001, 06:37 AM
I recently saw this interview with the guy who made the movie Dogma and he hit on a point that I had always wondered about. He talked about how his movie drew some heat from a Catholic group. He went on to say that this group concidered Catholics to be an opressed minority and he said that Catholics have not been opressed since the time of Constantine. I for one would take issue to that statement.
As a child growing up Catholic I had heard many stories from my mother who was also Catholic. She said that in the past being Catholic was a problem for many people. This was particularly true in the south, where she spent a great deal of time (she married my father in Georgia where they spent the first few years of their marriage). Catholics could not live in certain communities or were denied employment at certain jobs. In the south, Catholic churches were often defaced by the KKK. Priests were often harassed or threatened with violence.
Today there is little of this type of prejudice directed towards Catholics. In fact I see many Catholics in the mainstream of society. All the same I think we should examine the past.
One possible reason why Catholicism in the United States was disregarded by the Protestant majority was because of the opression remembered by early protestants in the early years of this country. Another was the stigma carried by this faith as an "immigrant" religion.
In the era of the 13 colonies, it was illegal in many regions for Catholics to practice their faith. This was a carry over from England where laws prohibited practice of the Catholic faith out of fear resulting from the reformation and counter reformation. Beginning with King William (William of Orange), Catholics could only practice their faith in their own homes. Catholics could not serve in government or the Army. In Ireland the laws were even more strict, forbidding Catholics from owning land. Because the majority of Irish were Catholic, this meant that the majority of people were landless and all land was owned by Protestant Landwoners, often absentee landowners from England.
The first Catholics to come to British North America were British settlers of Maryland. They were largely wealthy landowners. Other communities existed in colonies with liberal religious laws, such as Pensylvania. A catholic signed the declaration of Independence and some had minor roles in the early US government but mainly they were a small insignificant group.
In 1840s much of this changed with the arrival of Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Germany. The Irish in particular were poor and dispised by the native population. They settled in cities along the eastern seaboard and settled their own enclaves. Native groups started political organizations, most notibly the know nothin party to combat catholic immigration. Sighns reading "No Irish allowed" were a common sight in many stores.
The Civil War did put an end to much of the predjudice for the time being. Immigrants from Ireland and elsewhere served in the Union as well as the Confederate armies. Their service did gain them some recognition among their fellow americans.
In the post civil war era, other immigrant groups appeared on the US shores, Italian, Polish and other Catholic groups, as well as non catholics such as Greeks and Russian Jews. This led to more predjudice as well.
It was really not until the end of WW2 that the Catholic immigrant groups made it into the middle class in large numbers. The election of John F Kennedy, a Catholic, signified the new respectability of the Catholic people.
Today, Catholics are in the main stream of society but the church continues to face many challenges. THe church takes on a great many social causes, which are often unpopular. THey oppose the death penalty and war which angers many conservatives. At the same time the Catholic stance on abortion has drawn a lot of fire from more liberal groups.
Sometimes the Chruch has shown great courage, as was the case of many churchmen who hid political refugees from El Salvadore and Nicuragua.
I think that though Catholics are a minority, they have a new sense of respect among other groups. Today Jews Catholica and Moslems are in the process of being treated as equals with the Protestants.
As a child growing up Catholic I had heard many stories from my mother who was also Catholic. She said that in the past being Catholic was a problem for many people. This was particularly true in the south, where she spent a great deal of time (she married my father in Georgia where they spent the first few years of their marriage). Catholics could not live in certain communities or were denied employment at certain jobs. In the south, Catholic churches were often defaced by the KKK. Priests were often harassed or threatened with violence.
Today there is little of this type of prejudice directed towards Catholics. In fact I see many Catholics in the mainstream of society. All the same I think we should examine the past.
One possible reason why Catholicism in the United States was disregarded by the Protestant majority was because of the opression remembered by early protestants in the early years of this country. Another was the stigma carried by this faith as an "immigrant" religion.
In the era of the 13 colonies, it was illegal in many regions for Catholics to practice their faith. This was a carry over from England where laws prohibited practice of the Catholic faith out of fear resulting from the reformation and counter reformation. Beginning with King William (William of Orange), Catholics could only practice their faith in their own homes. Catholics could not serve in government or the Army. In Ireland the laws were even more strict, forbidding Catholics from owning land. Because the majority of Irish were Catholic, this meant that the majority of people were landless and all land was owned by Protestant Landwoners, often absentee landowners from England.
The first Catholics to come to British North America were British settlers of Maryland. They were largely wealthy landowners. Other communities existed in colonies with liberal religious laws, such as Pensylvania. A catholic signed the declaration of Independence and some had minor roles in the early US government but mainly they were a small insignificant group.
In 1840s much of this changed with the arrival of Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Germany. The Irish in particular were poor and dispised by the native population. They settled in cities along the eastern seaboard and settled their own enclaves. Native groups started political organizations, most notibly the know nothin party to combat catholic immigration. Sighns reading "No Irish allowed" were a common sight in many stores.
The Civil War did put an end to much of the predjudice for the time being. Immigrants from Ireland and elsewhere served in the Union as well as the Confederate armies. Their service did gain them some recognition among their fellow americans.
In the post civil war era, other immigrant groups appeared on the US shores, Italian, Polish and other Catholic groups, as well as non catholics such as Greeks and Russian Jews. This led to more predjudice as well.
It was really not until the end of WW2 that the Catholic immigrant groups made it into the middle class in large numbers. The election of John F Kennedy, a Catholic, signified the new respectability of the Catholic people.
Today, Catholics are in the main stream of society but the church continues to face many challenges. THe church takes on a great many social causes, which are often unpopular. THey oppose the death penalty and war which angers many conservatives. At the same time the Catholic stance on abortion has drawn a lot of fire from more liberal groups.
Sometimes the Chruch has shown great courage, as was the case of many churchmen who hid political refugees from El Salvadore and Nicuragua.
I think that though Catholics are a minority, they have a new sense of respect among other groups. Today Jews Catholica and Moslems are in the process of being treated as equals with the Protestants.