Growing up in an area where you are the minority is always a tough, oftentimes toxic circumstance to be placed in. What is equally problematic is growing up where your religious beliefs are the minority. Religion is a strong topic among people because it determines their internal value system and how they choose to live out their lives. People hold these beliefs close to them, but sometimes their passion leads them towards discriminating and persecuting others who differ from them. Whether this means treating a person as an inferior or tearing apart someone's beliefs because they do not match your own still results in unnecessary tension, as well as leaving a larger gap of people's misconceptions about each other.

Discrimination is a conflict we are surrounded by each day, and we become de-sensitized to it. Those who are being out casted for their religious beliefs oftentimes become one of the many 'Last Acceptable Prejudices' (Jenkins). Among these prejudices is one that rarely comes to mind - Anti-Catholicism. Many may even wonder what exactly Anti-Catholicism means. In a simple definition, Anti-Catholicism is the discrimination, hostility, or opposition of the beliefs of the Catholic Church. However, the issue is not as simple as it may seem, considering this prejudice holds a deep-rooted hatred that has existed for centuries, even in the newly developed country, the United States of America. Anti-Catholicism in America is a continuing form of discrimination because of small, yet clashing differences in the beliefs of the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church, historical corruption, and the misconceptions of the church due to bad press.

Because Protestant and Catholic beliefs slightly differ, it can become easily confusing as to what their differences mean to each denomination. Confusion only leads to misunderstanding, thus creating a bigger rivalry between the two along with more reasons to create untrue beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church runs on a more systematic form of reaching the afterlife, through baptism, communion, confessing your sins to the Priest, etc., while Protestants believe that their love and belief for God is their way to salvation. To the average Catholic, this is how the church should be run. Protestants, however, vastly disagree to the point where it can alter their thoughts on a Catholic person.

Purgatory is also a concept that is considered controversial among Protestants. Catholics believe purgatory is a form for paying for their sins before entering heaven, a temporary form of punishment. Purgatory is also viewed by Catholics not as a "catch-up time" where punishment is enforced for sins, but a "forgiving time" (Lockey). In order to be shown mercy, we as individuals must prove that we have the ability to show mercy to others. Fr. Paul Lockey also states that "when one forgives those who have not been forgiven, one experiences an intense sense of self-forgiveness and creates the condition whereby God forgives." The Catholic belief of purgatory alters than what Protestants expect it to be, as most view it as a thing to be feared therefore concluding a negative connotation.

Another common disagreement between Protestant and Catholic denominations is the belief in having a Pope. Catholics believe the Pope serves as a ceremonial leader who serves as the closest living person to God, who rightfully serves as the head of the Church. Because Protestants do not believe that any other person is more connected to God than anyone else, this is another subject in which the two churches often oppose each other. Untrue and spontaneous rumors are constantly spread around of the Pope figure serving as the anti-Christ, including Pope Francis. Fr. Longenecker elaborates on what stimulates this strong disapproval of Pope Francis, "Some have given up on Pope Francis. Others say he is 'the false prophet' who will accompany the anti Christ in the end times. Others don't like his dress sense, grumble about his media gaffes and some think they are all intentional and that he is a very shrewd Jesuit who wants to undermine the Catholic faith" (Winters). The general public holds such criticism for the Pope because he is the representation of the Catholic Church, and many people have a predisposition that he has the ability to completely reconstruct the Catholic ideals. Too much is expected out of one man to pursue change, when all that he is able to do is develop the church to work towards the changes in our modern day society.

The concept of 'worshipping' Saints is yet another difference in beliefs that creates false controversy between Protestants and Catholics. Since Catholicism is an older religion, Saints are "worshipped", which is actually just a form of giving honor to these Saints. Catholics do not worship a Saint in the same way that they worship God. Sending a prayer to a Saint is simply out of respect, much like a prayer is generally sent to a person in need out of kindness and consideration. Saints, popular to contrary belief, do not hold any form of power, but are viewed at as our equals who now live in the eternal happiness with our God. Their purpose is to not to appear as equals to God, but to serve as reminders of the kind of person one might want to strive to be. For those who are uncomfortable at the idea of praying to a saint, think of them more as a close friend  --  they are meant to be there for us during our time of despair and joy.

Historically, the cultural divide between future Protestants and Catholics began during the reformation. Martin Luther had officially developed the Lutheran Church, and those seeking change in their religion happily joined him. The Church of England, however, had quite a different beginning. Henry VIII became frustrated with the Catholic Church because he was not given approval to divorce his current wife at the time, thus cutting off all ties with the Catholic Church. Completely blocking a dominant religion at the time created a cultural shift and separation between the denominations, leaving each group isolated from each other and despise one another. 

This conflict still is clearly prevalent in England today, as experienced by an Irish journalist, Padraig Reidy. Reidy expresses his experience to write, "As time went on, even an atheist Catholic like me could not help but note this ingrained prejudice, either blatantly expressed or just as often on the edge of a remark." As well as adding, "Modern Britain is a country founded in large part on anti-Catholicism. This is obvious in establishment bedrocks such as the succession, which bars Roman Catholics from becoming head of state or even being married to the head of state," (Reidy).

As a result, this strong distaste between Protestant and Catholics only grew as more people began to leave Europe for a better life in America. Anti-Catholic views hit their peak in the mid-nineteenth century, but the fear that became embedded into the overall population had become too large to overcome. Even for young American children, this concept became something they were being taught. Games such as "Break the Pope's Neck", with the intent to "Abhor that abhorrent Whore of Rome", gained popularity (Jenkins).

Anti-Catholicism was still going strong in the 1950's, Catholic teachings were banned from all forms of television (Jenkins). People had become so engulfed in their own fears and hatred, those who were strong Catholic supporters were completely disregarded. When such instances occur, it is only natural for more misunderstanding to arise from the circumstances. Today, not only does strong Protestant views opposite the Catholic Church, but the individualistic ideals in America also take a toll on how the public interprets Catholicism (Martin).

Negative media is forming a direction correlation between a growing Anti-Catholic mindset and the effect bad press has on our politics. According to Fr. Robert Barron, the journalist Amy Stein has made public claims to "The Supreme Court being dangerously packed with Catholics" (Barron). People already hold an assumption that Catholics have difficulty in separating church from state, so when something so simple is brought to the public's eye, it creates unnecessary conflict. 

Now, we are seeing where some extremists want the Catholic Church to be excluded from American politics altogether, which completely disregards the point of American government. Andrew Cuomo, the current governor of New York, takes this issue to another level, stating that "Anyone who is pro-life or is not supportive of gay marriage should leave New York." Barron points out, "This automatically means that about 48% of Americans are not welcomed in the state of New York," (Barron).

"The Catholic part of you has disabled the thinking part of you," said Helen Alvare, when being interviewed on Pro-Life Representatives in our government (Martin). Ideas such as Alvare's stimulate the idea that all Catholics believe the same thing, and cannot hold their own opinions on politics. When in fact, American individualism gives us the freedom to think and believe what we please, while still maintaining our religious beliefs separately. Yes, there are some people who take their religious views close to heart and internalize them into personal views, but it would be incorrect to assume that all Catholics do not have the ability to separate church and state.

Political and cultural discrimination of Catholicism are both directly influenced by the media, because it is the number one method for the general public to receive information quickly, and generally, whatever information is published first becomes the 'most credible'. Oftentimes, people forget about the positive traits of the Catholic Church because it is ignored by the media. "In 1993, U.S. Bishops issued a thoughtful letter calling for universal coverage, strongly criticizing a "two-tiered" system that favored care for the rich over the poor, and opposing abortion," Martin claims. However, the only part that the public got to gain knowledge of is the fact that the Bishops were against abortion, creating a one-sided argument without representation of the Catholic Church's full fledged views on what they were trying to debate (Martin).

Misconceptions of the Catholic Church is yet another factor that contributes to Anti-Catholic views. Bad press has hit the Church pretty hard over the past couple of decades, thus creating a lack of trust in the Catholic Church. When such horrific instances occur, such as the Priest sex scandals in Altoona-Johnstown, it is hard for the general public to regain their faith in the Church. "This has been a terrible issue for the church for many years," Edward Malesic notes, who has recently become a bishop in Greensburg, "It's extremely important that the church be vigilant and make sure children are safe" (Dioceses more responsive to Catholic Church sex abuse scandals).

Of course, how much can a person who's not fully informed on a case trust an inside opinion? A shocking story getting so much media and press coverage that is reflecting negatively on the Catholic Church is going to result in its biggest supporters coming out to defend it. Someone who is highly ranked in the Church, such as the Priest or Deacon, even a Bishop, has a responsibility of addressing negative press by reassuring the public that they are able to handle this situation and stop it from ever occurring again. What also contributes to peoples' distrust in the Church as a whole is the fact that a man who sexually assaulted young children only received 17 years of prison time. A large majority feel that such a crime should be more strictly punished, and there is a question of doubt if Joseph Maurizio, the man accused of molestation, has gotten off easy simply because of the fact that he is a Priest.

Gay rights is also a recently controversial topic among those who are against the Catholic Church  --  specifically, how the Church does not support it. Our country is slowly progressing towards being more open-minded about having equality between LGBT+ and heterosexual citizens. As more people gain a better understanding of LGBT+ rights, the more begin to disagree with the teachings of Christianity, and the Catholic Church has taken a bit of the heat. Although the Church is generally welcoming to the LGBT+ population, they are not supportive of their life choices, much like a majority of other Christian denominations. Is this the way all Catholic and Christians feel towards the LGBT+ group? Of course not, but because Christianity is a major influence in American culture, a common misconception that has accumulated is that all Christians discriminate against LGBT+ persons, when in reality there in only a small minority who are hateful towards the LGBT+ (but they are usually not well informed of gay rights and are a bit more vocal about their views).

A silly, yet common rumor that spreads about Catholicism is the questioning whether the Catholic Church is satanic. This may seem like a far-fetched idea, but in reality, people will occasionally ask a Catholic, "Does your religion, like, promote Satan worshipping or something?" In short, no, the Catholic Church is not satanic nor do they encourage the worshipping of Satan. Catholicism is more than just the exorcism movies that are common in our culture. It's pretty safe to say that the majority of Christian denominations believe in a form of evil, yet somehow all of the blame falls on the Catholic Church for this, and somehow become speculated for worshipping Satan. 

Despite our cultural differences, and the beliefs that are embedded in ourselves, it is critically important that we learn to accept one another for who we are and what we feel in our hearts is the truth. Our society needs to start viewing religious culture as a rewarding reason as to why our country is so strong. America was founded off of religious and personal freedoms, and oftentimes, we forget this and take it for granted. We are united for a reason, and should stand by each other until the end. Because we all know deep down, despite our vast adversities in traditions and cultures, we as individuals are all striving to become the kind, selfless person we know we are.

