I think it was Fulton Sheen who said something like “There are not a hundred Americans who hate Catholics, but there are thousands of Americans who hate what they think the Catholic Church is.” It expresses in a nutshell the problem of anti-Catholicism not only among the general population, but also amongst our non Catholic, Protestant brothers and sisters.

On social media this week I posted, “I have never met a Catholic who is as instinctively and profoundly anti-Protestant as almost every Protestant is anti-Catholic”. The post prompted some robust replies–which is ok, but this blog post will help to elucidate the problem.

When I say that Protestants are instinctively and profoundly anti-Catholic the anti-Catholicism comes in many forms. At one end of the spectrum is the old fashioned anti-Catholic rhetoric about the Church of Rome being the “great whore of Babylon” the pope being an anti-Christ and catholics being blatant idolaters. Historically this has been combined with white hot gossip and rumors about a papist conspiracy to control the world, tales of rampant sexual abuse and corruption like the story of Maria Monk.

For a history of anti-Catholicism in America check out this article

However, these extremes are dying out and the anti Catholicism now is more of a political/cultural thing– Catholicism is seen to be repressive, ultra conservative and out of date. Among Protestants the anti-Catholicism is still sometimes mocking and aggressive, but more often it is masked by tight, polite smiles of a kind of forced toleration. Evangelicals grin and bear it when they encounter Catholics, but beneath the polite smiles the deeply seated anti-Catholicism still rules. Finally, at the other end of the spectrum are the Protestants who share a Catholic sensibility. The Anglo Catholics and high church Lutherans and Methodists claim affiliation with Catholics and even claim to be “catholic” themselves, but scratch the surface and you’ll soon find how fiercely they dislike the Catholic Church.

Why is this? When you think it through you’ll see that anti-Catholicism is written into the Protestant genetic code. That’s where their churches come from. They were founded in violent reaction to, and rejection of Catholicism. It is an integral part of their historic identity. And as a result Protestants today are still raised in a context and atmosphere which is fundamentally anti-Catholic. If it is not there in the extreme, sensationalist way it once was, it is more subtle and fundamental and therefore even more potent. It’s the air they breathe- the world they live in, and often they are unaware of how anti-Catholic their basic assumptions are.

The Catholic attitude, on the other hand, is not an instinctive and fundamental reaction to and rejection of Protestantism. Most Catholics are blissfully ignorant of the intricacies and labyrinthine byways of Protestantism. I remember once trying to explain to a Catholic bishop about the complex network and connections that make up global Anglicanism. Instead most Catholics regard our Protestant brothers and sisters with a detached concern…rather like the way most mainstream Evangelicals might regard Seventh Day Adventists,  Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons.

This would not apply to converts to Catholicism from Protestantism. Often there will be a strong antiProtestant element to their witness. Maybe they have been wounded or disappointed by their Protestant experience (as many converts from Catholicism to Protestantism complain of the failures of the Catholic Church). That’s understandable while regrettable.

My own approach as a convert from Evangelicalism and then Anglicanism is that of  More Christianity. Protestantism is mere Christianity, why not have more? To put it in the terms of one of my favorite quotes, We affirm all that our Protestant brothers and sisters affirm. We just don’t deny what they deny. I am, at times critical of the failings and flaws of Protestants, but I am critical of Catholic flaws too. Criticism can be objective, fair and kind. I hope I do not fall into bitterness, recrimination or blame. If I have done so in the past its my fault.

I’ll conclude by reminding Catholics that Protestants are our brothers and sisters. If some of them are aggressively anti-Catholic and attack what we believe and love–suck it up. Don’t bite back. They are reacting against what they think we believe and do–usually not knowing what we really believe and do.

I also  invite any Protestants who may read this to have the courage and curiosity to explore what Catholics really believe and ask whether God may be leading you to be received into the full communion of his church. My writings here on the blog may help in that process as well as several of my books. More Christianity explains the Catholic faith to Evangelicals in a friendly way. Our Lady? explores the Marian dogmas and devotions in a dialogue with an Evangelical friend An Answer Not an Argument  is a collection of my essays on the Catholic faith and There and Back Again is my conversion story. You can check them out and purchase on my website here or at Amazon.