Growing up in an area where you feel discriminated against is always a tough, toxic circumstance to be placed in. What is equally problematic is growing up where your religious beliefs are in the minority. Religion is a significant 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 from their beliefs. Whether this means treating a person as an inferior or tearing apart someone's beliefs because they do not match their own still results in unintentional tension. The understanding and respect towards each other starts to diminish and becomes an issue for those who practice a religion that is misunderstood. Those who are being outcasted for their religious beliefs have become one of the 'Last Acceptable Prejudices' (Jenkins). Among these prejudices is one that is rarely discussed - Anti-Catholicism. Anti-Catholicism is the discrimination, hostility, or opposition to the beliefs of the Catholic Church or a person who identifies as a Catholic. 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 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. 

Historically, the cultural divide between future Protestants and Catholics began during the reformation. Germans began to practice Lutheranism, and soon after Henry VIII, the King of England, created the Anglican Church. Both groups cut off all ties with the Catholic Church. Completely blocking a dominant religion at the time created a cultural shift and separation between the denominations, causing the two groups to become isolated from each other and despise one another. 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. When Catholics and Protestants moved to America, colonies were kept separated and people belonged to the colony that identified with their religious group. 

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 denominations. 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, the church should be run systematically. Protestants, however, believe that following the bible is the only necessary step that people need to follow in order to reach salvation ("What is the difference between Catholics and Protestants?"). Although this ultimately should not be a big deal because Americans have the protected right to worship as they please, the two religious groups hold it against each other. This leads to conflict between different Christian denominations because each group believes that their way of worship is the only way. Once people are in a mindset that does not allow them to stay open minded towards others and their beliefs, discrimination occurs. This discrimination for Catholics means being socially, politically, and culturally excluded from other Christian denominations.

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 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, Catholics as individuals must prove that they have the ability to show mercy to others. Father 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." (Lockey).  The Catholic belief of purgatory differs from what Protestants expect it to be, as most view it as a thing to be feared therefore concluding the negative connotation that purgatory is a form of punishment to sinners.

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. 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 that the Pope figure serves as the anti-Christ. These rumors and false beliefs continue today with the current Pope, Pope Francis. Father 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). In other words, people assume that a person who's in such a high position as the Pope is considered judgmental and abusive with their power. The general public holds such criticism for the Pope because he is the representation of the Catholic Church. Many people also 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.

On the other hand, when the Pope tries to make changes to controversial beliefs within the church, he is still considered to be at fault. Anti-Catholics and conservative Catholics view Pope Francis as a leader who is trying too hard to 'be compatible to Barack Obama' (Shaw). They disagree with his ideas on economics, taxes, and overall compassion for all people. Pope Francis is the first Catholic figure to verbalize his concern for the poor and his more liberal thoughts on how we should provide for them. Conservatives who are against these ideals ultimately take out their disagreement on these politics on the Pope. However, for many, Pope Francis serves as a wonderful representation of the Catholic Church and leaves a majority of people more open-minded towards Catholicism.  

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). To this day, little is known about this 'children's game' and how it was played. The fact that children were playing such offensive games shows how despised Catholics were to the people, and how these ideas spread down from generations. Children are not born with hatred, but learn to hate depending on the environment they are placed in. Unfortunately, this cycle is a contributing factor as to why Anti-Catholicism is still persistent today. People are misunderstanding the Catholic faith because they are taught about Catholicism in only a negative light.

Hate groups that grew popularity in the nineteenth and twentieth century, for example, the Ku Klux Klan, also targeted Catholics (Fogarty). Catholics immigrating were at an all time high, with a total of 3,500,000 Catholics living in America by 1870 (Richard). The concept of 'nativism' was clouding the minds of Americans, wanting to target any minority that they felt weren't 'originals', including Catholic immigrants. During the second 'wave' of Ku Klux Klan terrorism, the Ku Klux Klan expanded and now began to target Catholic and French-Canadian immigrants in the north. The leader of the Ku Klux Klan at the time, King Kleagle F. Eugene Fransworth, made it a goal to eliminate Catholics living in America. "This is not an Italian nation, this is not an Irish nation, and this is not a Catholic nation, it always has been and always will be a Protestant nation." As a result, people were not rationally considering the fear that Catholic immigrants were experiencing. Instead, America went through yet another cycle where people feared Catholicism and kept themselves isolated from it out of fear.

 Although many were not welcoming to Catholic immigrants, they were considered to be most likely to convert to American culture (Kenny). Ironically, America was supposed to be welcoming to all religious and ethnic backgrounds, yet treated immigrants who were barely surviving in poverty with such hostility. 

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 oppose the Catholic Church, but the ideals of individualism in America have skewed 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 American 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, meaning that others believe an individual should be able to choose their religious beliefs freely. There is a misunderstanding that Catholics believe they are superior, 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).

Politically, Catholic beliefs are undermined and whittled down to stereotypes. "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. John F. Kennedy is the only Catholic president that has represented the United States because any other Catholic candidate has been quickly not considered (Chan). The fear that Catholicism is going to take over our government paralyzes people from being able to understand that their religious rights are protected, and that Catholicism and democracy can happily coincide together. 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. 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 the man who was accused of sexually assaulted young children in Altoona-Johnstown 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 people begin to disagree with the teachings of Christianity, and the Catholic Church has a preconceived notion that LGBT+ members are not welcomed in the church. 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+. Those who do vocally express a hatred towards LGBT+ are usually not well informed of gay rights and are more vocal about their views, yet are noticed by others because of their controversial ideas. As a result, their views become imprinted onto Christianity and give people the misconception that all Christians are against LGBT+ rights.

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. Religion may not always unite us spiritually to every person we come in contact with, but it should always serve as a reason to treat everyone with the same kindness and compassion as those we get along with. 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.

