Anti-catholicism was always a theme in the different narratives of American history that I was taught in school. From my understanding, it seems like it had been a major force since the first British colonies were chartered, with Maryland being established as a safe haven for Catholics who had been persecuted by the other colonies. The Know Nothing movement of the mid-19th century, the resurgence of the KKK in the 1920s, and Al Smith's 1928 presidential candidacy also stand out to me. The last instance of anti-Catholicism that stands out to me was during Kennedy's 1960 presidential run. I can remember being taught that his faith was seen as a major barrier to his electability.
It still seems weird to me that anti-Catholicism was prevalent less than 60 years ago. Today, it's virtually non-existent. As someone who was raised Catholic, my faith was never an issue growing up (for perspective, I was born in 1999 and have lived in both PA and NC). I have never heard of Catholicism interfering with a marriage, being a reason for discrimination or bullying, or anything else of the sort. Sure, there are plenty of people who criticize the Catholic Church as an institution for things like the child sex abuse scandal, but that doesn't amount to systemic oppression or interpersonal prejudice.
So my question is this: when, how, and why did anti-Catholicism "end" in America?
I've already entertained a few possibilities. Was anti-Catholic sentiment mainly a product of the nativism directed towards "ethnic" immigrants from Europe? And did it accordingly die when these groups started to be considered white? I think that's a pretty likely explanation, but anti-Semitism is still rampant, and most people consider Jews to be white. Or was it simply a consequence of secularization, with Catholics and Protestants taking their faiths less seriously and thus realizing that they essentially believe in the same thing? This explanation also has a flaw; Christian sectarianism is still prevalent in the UK, despite being more secular than the U.S.
I'm particularly interested in the Battle of Blair Mountain and events in the early 20th century. I'm really interested in labor history in general and am hoping to find more academic leaning books rather than a simple retelling of events. Thank you!
In the 19th Century, Catholics were prosecuted. But today, basically nobody cares whether or not you are Catholic or protestant. When did this change, and what happened?
Mistrust of experts is rampant and on the rise. Why? What is to be done? Is it necessarily a bad phenomenon?
