Transcript Catholic and Jewish growth stretch diversity

Catholic and Jewish
growth stretch diversity
Chapter 8
Catholics in America
» John Carroll became the first American
bishop in the nation- a move that
recognized and affirmed the major
Catholic presence in the United States
» In spite of this (or perhaps as a result
of this) anti-Catholic sentiment among
Protestants was high
» Catholic loyalty to the pope, “odd”
doctrines such as “transubstantiation”
inclined many to believe that Catholics
would make poor, even dangerous,
citizens
Catholics in America
» Thus, Catholics faced the dual problem of trying to
assuage Protestant fears, but still live an authentically
Catholic existence; efforts often competed
» Many churches, to the chagrin of Carroll and Rome,
shrugged off church authority, in favor of a more
autonomous, seemingly Protestant church
» On the other side, parochial schools were created
to insure that Catholic beliefs would be taught to
Catholic children
» On either side, priests and bishops worked tirelessly to
provide organization and integrity to their American
Catholic Church
Catholics in America
» Immigration, particularly between 1865-1914, brought
an even greater influx of Catholics from Europe
» Adding to the English and French Catholic
presence, Irish Catholics (coming over due to
famine in Ireland) joined and then surpassed their
compatriots in numbers; to this day, Catholicism in
America is seen as bearing a decidedly Irish cast
» Catholic women, particularly women religious, played
a prominent role in creating a distinctly American
» Catholic identity, particularly since they were in
charge of educating children in the home and at
school, respectively
» Nuns played a particularly central role; teaching at the
parochial schools they were the primary shapers of young
Catholic minds
Catholics in America
» However, many Catholics wondered whether America
was a fit environment for Catholicism
» The separation of church and state was seen as
problematic for those hailing from countries where
a single institution governed society and the church
» In response, Orestes Brownson, a Catholic convert,
espoused “’Americanism; or the view that
Catholicism as a religion represented the epitome
of the values and ideals associated with American
democracy” (114)
» Complicating these internal debates was the growing
culture of literature, rhetoric and nativist political
campaigns by non-Catholics intended to scare
Protestants into reclaiming religious control of their
country (see pp. 115-116 for more details)
Jews in America
» Though far fewer in number than their
Catholic counterparts, Jewish
immigrants carved out a space for
themselves in the American religious
landscape in the years prior to, but
especially, following the civil war
» The early wave was comprised of
Sephardic Jews (those hailing from
southern and southwestern Europe);
later waves brought more Ashkenazim,
Jews of eastern European origin
Jews in America
» Ideological and theological strains stemming
from German thinkers “came to dominate
American Jewish life” reflecting diversity
even among this relatively small immigrant
population
» Reform Judaism, a movement based on
Enlightenment principles with the intention
of stripping Judaism down to its “essential
principles”; this became a primary means of
adapting Judaism to the American context
» David Einhorn and Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise
were the most prominent American
proponents of this particular movement
Ethnicity and Religion
» Ethnicity is broadly defined as “the distinctive
character and cultural mores of a people, usually with
language, region or nation, race, and a sense of
identity as key ingredients”; ethnicity has become a
primary element in understanding religious forms in
America
» I.e. One is not simply a Lutheran, but a Finnish Lutheran,
etc…; religious identity is characterized and qualified by
ethnicity
» For Catholics, whose immigrants often shared a
common nationality or language or Jews, whose
religious identity often translated into a national or
ethnic identity, their religious experience is
intertwined with issues of ethnic identity