Do Protestants really hate Catholics?

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TomH1 said:
I am not sure if there are similar problems in the USA but I do know that a lot of original immigrants from Europe were Protestant and they were often not welcoming to Catholics.
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Up into the 1800s, the US was widely considered a Protestant country. Catholics were tolerated, but they were not necessarily welcomed. They were a minority religion that was often associated with newer immigrant groups such as the Irish and the Italians. Even in the late 20th century, many Americans were suspicious of electing John Kennedy as President because they believed he would be controlled by the Pope.
 
ltwin said:
Up into the 1800s, the US was widely considered a Protestant country. Catholics were tolerated, but they were not necessarily welcomed. They were a minority religion that was often associated with newer immigrant groups such as the Irish and the Italians.
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This article paints a whole different picture -
Such history makes it seem especially strange that there was a time when just being a Catholic priest in NYC was a criminal offense legally punishable by death.
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Peace!!!
 
As a Lutheran, I can say that as far as the branch of Lutheranism that includes the church I attend (ELCA) we believe in the entire Body of Christ - and that includes Roman Catholics. We work with the Roman Catholic churches in our area to help the needy and the poor, to fight against violence, and to bring others to God however they will come. We believe there are many more things that we have in common with Roman Catholics than we have with non-Christians, and we are all part of the Body of Christ. Our Creed includes the line “We believe in the Holy catholic church,” which refers to the worldwide body of Christians, not just Roman Catholics.

But I must take some exception to the condescending comment by sainteriksrose, which suggested that Protestants are only partially authentic Christians. If you recall from Scripture, Paul was extremely clear about the fact that the churches he started were CHRIST’S churches, not his, not Apollonius’, and not of any the others Paul ordained. I am aware that certain Lutheran groups are just as guilty as other denominations when it comes to thinking we have it “right.” But the fact of the matter is, Jesus never felt the minutia religious people seem to worry about was all that important. I believe in a God that is accepting of the many ways his sheep come to him, as long as they come. If you happen to follow 2000-year-old traditions like the Catholics or 500-year-old traditions like the Lutherans, or 20-year-old traditions like another denomination, I doubt God cares so long as you worship Him in a manner that is respectful (by the standards of your culture), sincere, and is based upon Scripture. Most Protestants and Catholics have more in common than you might think if you have never studied the other. What we disagree about is usually rather unimportant and silly.

What about Peter’s church? Are Eastern Orthodox folks less Christian? if so, it has nothing to do with the fact that they aren’t Roman Catholic. At least Peter actually knew Jesus, so I would say that they have a leg up on the Catholics, if we are keeping score like that. See how silly this becomes? We are all the body of Christ, so we should always try to act like it and be gracious to those who worship in a different way or who came to Christianity differently. Peter, Paul, Constantine, Luther, it doesn’t matter as long as we come.

What I find even more disgraceful and disturbing is how so many Christians (both Catholic and non-Catholic) hate Jewish people. I will never understand that because, like it or not, the Jews are God’s chosen people, and the gentiles didn’t get invited to the party until thousands of years later. So everyone should thank the Jews for being there to give us Jesus Christ, not be angry that their misguided leadership killed Him. That was the best thing that ever happened to us.
 
Allyson said:
I have known some Orthodox like that. The guy who street preached on my college Campus was one.
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I went to an orthodox bookstore and talked to several from the greek orthodox church. They generally have an anti-catholic stance, but interestingly they say it’s best to stay away from the protestant church altogether due to their emphasis on branching out as compared to the catholic church.

*No hate on the orthodox but I really respect their devotion and emphasis on Jesus with their prayer rope.
TC3033 said:
In 40+ year as a non-denominational I never heard the Catholic Church brought up once at church.
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You must be really fortunate, I have witnessed several cases of catholic bashing in the evangelical churches that I used to attend in 5 years.
 
Allyson,

I have heard the ignorant claim that Roman Catholics are not Christian far too often. I have also heard it said about Lutherans as well, but not as often. Usually this is repeated by people who were taught it by prejudiced parents, or by new Christians who are of the non-denominational denomination. It strange, but some of the non-denominational denominations in my area seem to think that Christians are different than Catholics and are different than Protestants. I don’t get why they think this, but it must be that they have too much spirit and not enough doctrine. A year of confirmation classes taught by a crotchety priest or a grumpy old pastor would certainly set them straight.
 
Please allow me to apologize for ignorant Protestants everywhere. They know not what they do and they don’t represent the majority of us.
 
Thank you for your reply…

What I said is that ProtestantISM - .not ProtesTANTS - only contains a PART of Christ’s teachings. Which means that ProtestANTS do not have access to ALL of what Jesus offers, which is the fullness of the grace He offers in the Sacraments.

God’s angel’s will do the reaping, even where there has not been sowing. (Matthew 25)

Everyone’s stupidity killed Jesus. And Roman’s 11 warns us against arrogance against the original branches. That said we are not to “hate” (your word) anyone, hence the “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”.
 
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Thank you!

I don’t believe they do, as not all are in-your-face rude. And among those who are, a few are actually willing to have a semi-reasonable discussion on the matter.

Others…not so much. But I’m more than happy to pray for them after shaking their sputtering, confrontational dust.💓✝️🕊️
 
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gohjedrek said:
You must be really fortunate, I have witnessed several cases of catholic bashing in the evangelical churches that I used to attend in 5 years.
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I don’t think so, I believe that’s the norm and you were unfortunate to attend such churches.

I’ve heard non-Catholics “bashed” at my wife’s parish. Is that the norm of my experience, or is it not? I’m told by Catholics here it’s not…
 
adf417 said:
This article paints a whole different picture -
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That article is referring to a colonial era law. I was referring to the 1800s, long after the US had enshrined freedom of religion into the Constitution. The two time periods are very different because in the colonial era you still had official religions. But note that the law was only enforced once and that person wasn’t even a Catholic but instead an Anglican non-juror.
 
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TC3033 said:
I don’t think so, I believe that’s the norm and you were unfortunate to attend such churches.
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I guess it really depends on the background of the church and what people in the church think. Practising Christians/Catholics belong to one of these groups:
  1. Don’t discuss their faith at all, but go to church
  2. Discuss their faith with love, but stay clear of engaging in a debate
  3. Discuss their faith with love, debate with the other parties to understand the other party more
  4. Discuss their faith to win the debate, so his/her belief system comes up as the most superior
The protestants, I have met have generally been more vocal of their beliefs, usually belonging to 3/4, mostly 4. I think the ones I met, were evangelical and had calvinistic perspectives. I will almost always get into a debate with them initiating, because I don’t hold on to the views of sola scriptura/sola fide. I think it has something to do along the lines with their belief that when you die, you come before God and have to answer him questions of your belief.

Of course, there are protestants who belong to 2/3, but the ones I met, were not really evangelical and had arminian perspectives.They were generally nice and they do welcome catholics into their church to find out more.

The catholics, which I have met, who were cradle born, usually belong to 1/2.

It all boils down to personal experiences, so yours and mine could be different by a wide scale due to geographical location and also, churches that we went before.
 
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ltwin said:
That article is referring to a colonial era law. I was referring to the 1800s, long after the US had enshrined freedom of religion into the Constitution. The two time periods are very different because in the colonial era you still had official religions. But note that the law was only enforced once and that person wasn’t even a Catholic but instead an Anglican non-juror.
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And the post which you replied was referring to the “original immigrants from Europe”. Either you are being slightly misleading or you need to explain how you know the poster you were replying to was speaking of the era after the colonial period only. I dont think he was.

From a purely historical perspective without qualifications the article goes on to say-
He [Ury] had entered a climate of intolerance and paranoia.
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And…
The demise of the non-Catholic Ury serves as a vivid example of just how intense anti-Catholic hostility was in that era.
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Peace!!!
 
ltwin said:
Even in the late 20th century, many Americans were suspicious of electing John Kennedy as President because they believed he would be controlled by the Pope.
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Thank you. I had known that but it had seemed into some deep and dark memory bank. I’m grateful you reminded me.
 
I am not surprised by this. I believe New York would have been part of a British colony at the time and it was illegal to be a Catholic on this side of the pond too. Where they did show their ignorance is if Ury was a graduate of Cambridge University he can’t have been a Catholic as only Anglicans could go to Cambridge or Oxford universities at the time. (I can only speak for the two English universities that then existed. I’m not sure what the rules were at Scotland’s four ancient universities or Trinity College, Dublin.)
 
I know, until 1775, being Catholic in Virginia was a crime punishable by DEATH. Food for thought
 
Help me with a link or citation. I know that Quakers were liable to the death penalty in Virginia, in the 17th century. Never heard of Catholics, same. Expand my knowledge base, if you will.
 
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