In The Wall Street Journal, Dominic Green time-travels back to the kick-off of anti-Catholic ideology.
It extends back longer than those oddball Puritans who made their disruptive religion their business. Think game-changer Henry VIII who broke the chokehold that ancient religion had on Europe.
With the nomination of "devout Catholic" Amy Coney Barrett for the U.S. Supreme Court, that push-back on Roman Catholic beliefs will explode into extreme harshness.
It's unlikely that comics will bring back the old jokes about the preoccupation with human sexual activity. Classic had been the Catholic school's supposed prohibition of girls' wearing shiny patent leather shoes. Those were assumed to reflect the female's panties. Horror.
Instead, anticipate how much the fundamentals of the religion mirror those of the far right. At the top of the list is prolife. That influences every law from abortion to assisted suicide.
Another issue could be the global power of that religion. Such influence has become suspect. After all, so many modern military conflicts have been triggered by religious ideology.
At one time Catholicism had been one of the most recognizable worldwide brands. Recently, though, its market share has declined. Ever since the Boston Globe broke the story about priest sexual abuse of boys the Roman Catholic Church has been struggling for a comeback.
Depending on the outcome of the U.S. Senate confirmation process, institutions associated with Catholicism could take a major hit.
So effective could be the attack on that belief system that, for example, members of parishes could lose confidence in the priestly leadership. Say good-bye also to the parish K-8 parish school. No more those cute uniforms trotting around the neighborhood.
Catholic colleges such as Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania could lose enrollment. For years, on this blog I recommended that it rebrand as "faith-based." In myriad circles, anything Catholic leaves a bad taste. This is an era when small liberal arts institutions of higher education are on the brink of collapsing. As Boston Magazine reports, that's the new usual in New England.
The media could ditch quoting worldwide leader of Catholicism Pope Francis on holidays such as Christmas. Replace that with a leader in Buddhist thought. Suggestion: American Buddhist nun Pema Chodron.
This nomination could be creating the tipping point in the wobbly hold that religion still has on some minds, hearts and pocketbooks in America. During the mid 20th century that power went over the top with immigration. Catholicism seized the opportunity of socializing those newcomers to Americana. In return for that service, the hierarchy demanded rigid conformation to the beliefs. Families with 12 children were not unusual. Barrett has seven children.
Prediction: This nomination bodes ill for the global Roman Catholic brand.
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