Papist Patriots

The Making of an American Catholic Identity

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, Denominations, Catholic, Catholicism
Cover of the book Papist Patriots by Maura Jane Farrelly, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Maura Jane Farrelly ISBN: 9780199912148
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: January 2, 2012
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Maura Jane Farrelly
ISBN: 9780199912148
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: January 2, 2012
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

"The persons in America who were the most opposed to Great Britain had also, in general, distinguished themselves by being particularly hostile to Catholics." So wrote the minister, teacher, and sometime-historian Jonathan Boucher from his home in Surrey, England, in 1797. He blamed "old prejudices against papists" for the Revolution's popularity - especially in Maryland, where most of the non-Canadian Catholics in British North America lived. Many historians since Boucher have noted the role that anti-Catholicism played in stirring up animosity against the king and Parliament. Yet, in spite of the rhetoric, Maryland's Catholics supported the independence movement more enthusiastically than their Protestant neighbors. Not only did Maryland's Catholics embrace the idea of independence, they also embraced the individualistic, rights-oriented ideology that defined the Revolution, even though theirs was a communally oriented denomination that stressed the importance of hierarchy, order, and obligation. Catholic leaders in Europe made it clear that the war was a "sedition" worthy of damnation, even as they acknowledged that England had been no friend to the Catholic Church. So why, then, did "papists" become "patriots?" Maura Jane Farrelly finds that the answer has a long history, one that begins in England in the early seventeenth century and gains momentum during the nine decades preceding the American Revolution, when Maryland's Catholics lost a religious toleration that had been uniquely theirs in the English-speaking world and were forced to maintain their faith in an environment that was legally hostile and clerically poor. This experience made Maryland's Catholics the colonists who were most prepared in 1776 to accept the cultural, ideological, and psychological implications of a break from England.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

"The persons in America who were the most opposed to Great Britain had also, in general, distinguished themselves by being particularly hostile to Catholics." So wrote the minister, teacher, and sometime-historian Jonathan Boucher from his home in Surrey, England, in 1797. He blamed "old prejudices against papists" for the Revolution's popularity - especially in Maryland, where most of the non-Canadian Catholics in British North America lived. Many historians since Boucher have noted the role that anti-Catholicism played in stirring up animosity against the king and Parliament. Yet, in spite of the rhetoric, Maryland's Catholics supported the independence movement more enthusiastically than their Protestant neighbors. Not only did Maryland's Catholics embrace the idea of independence, they also embraced the individualistic, rights-oriented ideology that defined the Revolution, even though theirs was a communally oriented denomination that stressed the importance of hierarchy, order, and obligation. Catholic leaders in Europe made it clear that the war was a "sedition" worthy of damnation, even as they acknowledged that England had been no friend to the Catholic Church. So why, then, did "papists" become "patriots?" Maura Jane Farrelly finds that the answer has a long history, one that begins in England in the early seventeenth century and gains momentum during the nine decades preceding the American Revolution, when Maryland's Catholics lost a religious toleration that had been uniquely theirs in the English-speaking world and were forced to maintain their faith in an environment that was legally hostile and clerically poor. This experience made Maryland's Catholics the colonists who were most prepared in 1776 to accept the cultural, ideological, and psychological implications of a break from England.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Morals from Motives by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book The Contested Murder of Latasha Harlins by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book The Geronimo Campaign by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book A History of Western Choral Music, Volume 1 by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book Navigating Life with Parkinson Disease by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book Restructuring and Functional Heads by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book The Human Rights-Based Approach to Higher Education by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book Culture and Group Processes by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book Body Dysmorphic Disorder by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book The Navel of the Demoness by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book Southern Honor by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book Temptations of Power by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book Valuing an Entrepreneurial Enterprise by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book Fundamentalism And American Culture by Maura Jane Farrelly
Cover of the book Accountability in Social Interaction by Maura Jane Farrelly
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy