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Anti-Catholicism was deeply rooted among Protestants in Great Britain and Germany after the Reformation. Immigrants brought that hostility with them to the American colonies. Two types of anti-Catholic rhetoric existed in colonial society. The first, derived from the theological heritage of the Protestant Reformation and the religious wars of the sixteenth century, consisted of the Biblical "Anti-Christ" and the "Whore of Babylon" variety and dominated anti-Catholic thought until the late seventeenth century. The second type was a secular variety which focused on the alleged intrigues of Catholic states which were hostile to both Marxism and Classical Liberalism. Historians have studied the motivations for anti-Catholicism. Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. characterized prejudice against the Catholics as "the deepest bias in the history of the American people."〔John Tracy Ellis, "American Catholicism", University Of Chicago Press 1956.〕 Conservative writer Peter Viereck once commented that (in 1960) "Catholic baiting is the anti-Semitism of the liberals."〔Herberg, Will. "Religion in a Secularized Society: Some Aspects of America's Three-Religion Pluralism", ''Review of Religious Research'', vol. 4 no. 1, Autumn, 1962, p. 37〕 Historian John Higham described anti-Catholicism as "the most luxuriant, tenacious tradition of paranoiac agitation in American history". After 1980, the historic tensions between evangelical Protestants and Catholics faded dramatically. In politics the two often joined together in conservative social and cultural issues, such as opposition to gay marriage and abortion. By 2000 the Republican coalition included almost half the Catholics and a large majority of white evangelicals.〔William M. Shea, ''The Lion and the Lamb: Evangelicals and Catholics in America'' (Oxford University Press, 2004)〕 ==Origins== American Anti-Catholicism has its origins in the Reformation. Because the Reformation was based on an effort to correct what was perceived as the errors and excesses of the Catholic Church, its proponents formed strong positions against the Roman clerical hierarchy in general and the Papacy in particular. These positions were held by most Protestant spokesmen in the colonies, including those from Calvinist, Anglican and Lutheran traditions. Furthermore, English and Scottish identity to a large extent was based on opposition to Catholicism. "To be English was to be anti-Catholic," writes Robert Curran.〔Robert Emmett Curran, ''Papist Devils: Catholics in British America, 1574–1783'' (2014) pp 201-2〕 Many of the British colonists, such as the Puritans and Congregationalists, were fleeing religious persecution by the Church of England whose doctrines and modes of worship were firmly rooted in the Roman Church. Because of this, much of early American religious culture exhibited the more extreme anti-Catholic bias of these Protestant denominations. John Tracy Ellis wrote that a "universal anti-Catholic bias was brought to Jamestown in 1607 and vigorously cultivated in all the thirteen colonies from Massachusetts to Georgia." Colonial charters and laws contained specific proscriptions against Roman Catholics having any political power. Ellis noted that a common hatred of the Roman Catholic Church could bring together Anglican and Puritan clergy and laity despite their many other disagreements. In 1642, the Colony of Virginia enacted a law prohibiting Catholic settlers. Five years later, a similar statute was enacted by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1649 the Act of Toleration was passed, where "blasphemy and the calling of opprobrious religious names" became punishable offenses, but it was repealed in 1654 and thus Catholics were outlawed once again. By 1692, formerly Catholic Maryland overthrew its Government, established the Church of England by law, and forced Catholics to pay heavy taxes towards its support. They were cut off from all participation in politics and additional laws were introduced that outlawed the Mass, the Church's Sacraments, and Catholic schools. In 1719, Rhode Island imposed civil restrictions on Catholics. Pennsylvania became a safe haven for Catholic refugees from Maryland. William Penn had been harassed as a Quaker, and he enacted a broad grant of religious toleration and civil rights to all who believed in God, regardless of their particular denomination. The threat of war between England and France brought about renewed suspicions against Catholics. However, the Quaker government in Pennsylvania refused to be coerced into violating its traditional policies. John Adams attended a Catholic Mass in Philadelphia one day in 1774. He praised the sermon for teaching civic duty, and enjoyed the music, but ridiculed the rituals engaged in by the parishioners. In 1788, John Jay urged the New York Legislature to require office-holders to renounce the pope and foreign authorities "in all matters ecclesiastical as well as civil," which included both the Catholic and the Anglican churches.〔(Annotation )〕 Once the Revolution was underway and independence was at hand, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland passed acts of religious toleration in 1776. George Washington, as commander of the army and as president, was a vigorous promoter of tolerance for all religious denominations. He believed religion was an important support for public order, morality and virtue. He often attended services of different denominations. He suppressed anti-Catholic celebrations in the Army.〔Paul F. Boller, "George Washington and Religious Liberty." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1960): 486-506. (in JSTOR )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Anti-Catholicism in the United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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