Is there Anti-Catholicism in America? Of course there is. There is "Anti" everything in this country, and that isn't always a bad thing. The important questions to ask are:
- how pervasive is the "Anti" sentiment?
- is it growing or shrinking?
- why does it exist?
- and in what form does it exist?
The answers to these questions aren't that easy to answer, but lets try.
How pervasive? I don't know, there seems to be some element of it, and it has existed since the birth of our nation. If you read,
"Render Unto Caesar" by Abp. Chaput, he outlines the early days of American Anti-Catholicism. I think things have definitely improved, but there are still pockets and ideas out there. I think it is far to say that Anti-Christian beliefs are more prevalent. Anti-Religious, even more so.
Is it growing or shrinking? It seems to be growing. Why do I say that? Well, if you read the news at all, especially political news you'll have surely noticed articles recently discussing the faith of the justices of the Supreme Court considering another Catholic was added with Sotomayor. At first the articles seemed informative, but it appears the informational aspect of this news is turning inquisitive, in an Anti-Catholic sort of way.
Justice Alito recently criticized these articles and journalists saying,
"respectable people who have seriously raised the questions in serious publications about whether these [Justices] individuals could be trusted to do their jobs."
If he sees that it is growing, it must be right?
The last questions are harder to answer. The why does it exist and what form does it exist really depend on the person with the view. I think that it is like any other prejudice for the most part, a lack of understanding, mixed with bias, sprinkled with some long standing notions of fear, and BAM! you have yourself some Anti-Catholic sentiment.
I am not going to fear-monger, but if the media questions "another" Catholic being appointed to the bench, especially by a liberal President, what's next? I am not to worried, in fact I am oddly optimistic that this is a good sign.
You see, when I first started this blog a few weeks ago, I had no traffic. (I still don't have a ton, thanks to the fact that backlinking doesn't seem to work, and Haloscan is now something else?) So I read some websites on the best way to strongly build traffic, without the use of gimmicks and the like. As I read, I came across an article that essentially said, "You know you have made it when you get nasty comments, emails, or better yet, an anti-yourwebsite appears!" It makes sense though doesn't it? If you have nothing worth saying, people won't mind or care. But the second you start saying or doing something worthwhile, people will speak up. If you say something too good, or too worthwhile, the dissenters will flock like... well whatever flocks to good comments :)
As Pope Benedict continues to strengthen the faith through tradition and outreach, as younger and younger Catholics embrace that tradition and return to devoted worship, and as more and more Catholics are willing to step out into the public sphere it is no wonder that those that Catholicism fights against will start to shout. As I stated in the first post of this blog, and base its entire premise on, we are in a spiritual battle whether we like to admit it or not. So stand firm and know that as the battle gets tougher, we know we are getting closer to victory!
So rest easy Justice Alito. It is a little disheartening, but you can't make everyone happy all the time. So rather than worrying to much right now, take it as a sign that Catholicism is on the upswing, and people are taking notice!
**UPDATE**:Mr. Peters over at "
American Papist" posted about this and I didn't see it until this afternoon. Of course check out the insightful comments as well.
It is important for states like Alaska to implement these initiatives and get them passed. Alaska is a pretty conservative state, but over 50% of its population is in the surprisingly large Anchorage area. Politics don't follow the spectrum and labels that the lower 48 states do. Therefore it is important for a place like this to show that the more "hands" off states (in terms of government control/regulation) uphold traditional American Christian principles in their laws and policies.
