Catholicism and American politics

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Catholics represent the largest Christian denomination in America with about 65 million professing the faith in 2003. The 2001 census bureau estimates that 25.9% of the population of adults identify themselves as Catholics [1]. 85% of these Catholics find their faith to be “somewhat” or “very important” to them. It is even said that Catholics have represented up to 30% of the voting population in recent elections. [2]

Traditionally, Catholic voters have voted more for the Democratic Party, opting for civil rights and social security. However, in recent decades, with civil rights for Catholics playing a lesser and lesser role, the Catholic vote is less uniform, and many voters are influenced through issues of abortion and gay marriage. This is coupled by the drifting apart of some Catholics from the church through questions of birth control usage and feminist issues. When it comes to personal issues such as marriage and the family, Catholics are generally considered conservative, but on issues concerning social justice they are generally considered liberal. This has created a divergence in the Catholic vote, thus making it a good demographic target around election time. Most recently, George W. Bush has appointed two Catholic judges to the Supreme Court: John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

Unlike other countries with large Catholic populations, there is no major Christian Democratic Party in United States.

1 History
2 Recent politics 1965-present day
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Catholics were somewhat late-comers in American history at large. There were small populations that existed and even discovered America, but for the most part Catholics suffered much Anti-Catholic sentiments. During the American Revolution until the late 18th century, there existed only about a 1% population of Catholics (about 30,000). Then, there was mass immigration of Catholics from Ireland, Germany, Southern Europe, Poland, Philippines, and Latin America. By 1830, there were roughly 600,000 Catholics in the United States. 200,000 Irish had immigrated in the 1830s due to poverty in Ireland. The Irish Potato Famine in 1845 caused the Irish population in America to reach 962,000, the number doubling in the next ten years [3]. Anti-Catholic laws were established during the 1830s and 1840s. Groups such as the Know Nothings formed in the late 19th century and were even associated with the Democratic Party against the Irish Catholics.

But by the end of the 19th century, Catholics represented 14 percent of the total U.S. population, and by the early 1900s, Catholicism was the single largest religious denomination in the country [4]. Still, Catholics did not hold many high offices in politics. Of the first 54 justices on the United States Supreme Court, only one was Catholic. It wasn’t until the 1890s that more were appointed.

In October 1960, John F. Kennedy, the only Catholic elected president, drew the line as to how he would deal with his religion as president.

“I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party's candidate who happens also to be Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters and the Church does not speak for me.” [5]

The Echo Boom, led by the offspring of Irish and Italian immigrants in the northeastern United States has allowed the Catholic vote in America to become more complex and hard to forecast. Continuing Filipino and Latino immigration will continue to prevent prognosticators from anticipating the Catholic vote in future elections. But we can say that if current trends continue, it is almost certain that Roman Catholic will be a majority in the U.S sometime before the end of the century.

[edit] Recent politics 1965-present day

Catholics have been in the US Congress since the early 19th century,^{[citation needed]} and today represent 28.8% of Congress. The first Roman Catholic Supreme Court Justice was Roger B. Taney, appointed in 1836.

demographic table… http://www.adherents.com/adh_sc.html

Religion plays an important part in American politics, and it will continue to shape policies in the future. Specifically, the emergences of gay rights, abortion rights, and current immigration issues have a huge impact on voting patterns. Both gay rights, abortion rights, and even Terry Schiavo’s “right to die” case have not only tested the values of the Catholic Church, but united the evangelicals and Catholics. This is remarkable considering that National Association of Evangelicals formed in the 1940s was anti-Catholic. At the same time, some Catholics question the church stance on birth control and the role of women. According to Dr. John Green of University of Akron,

"There isn't a Catholic vote anymore; there are several Catholic votes."

Catholic Vote
Candidate	Party	Year
Reagan	Republican	1980,1984
Clinton	Democratic	1992,1996
Al Gore	Democratic	2000
George W Bush	Republican	2004

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In the early 1980s, there was only one Catholic justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. This changed in the mid 1980s when President Ronald Reagan appointed Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy to the court, both Catholic. The first President Bush appointed Clarence Thomas (a Catholic who at the time of his appointment was attending Episcopalian services, though he has since become an active Catholic) along with David Souter, an Episcopalian. President Bill Clinton appointed two Jewish Judges: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. The second President George W. Bush appointed John Roberts and Samuel Alito, both Catholics. As of 2008, the Supreme Court has a Catholic majority.

The four Catholic Supreme Court justices nominated in the last decade have become reliable votes for abortion restriction. In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health (1990), Hodgson v. Minnesota (1990), and Rust v. Sullivan (1991), Scalia and Kennedy upheld the restrictions in question . This is not to say that all Catholics vote a certain way, the majority of Catholic judges have been appointed by Republicans, while Protestant and Jewish judges have been appointed by Democrats, but there is still a great difference between Catholic judges and Protestant judges. While many Protestant judges were pro-choice, only one Catholic judge has ever ruled against abortion restrictions, and that was in one of six cases. This makes for very reliable voting patterns in the Supreme Court, when it comes to abortion issues at least [6].

[edit] Gay issues

The traditional view of family is what most Roman Catholics defend today: a father, mother, and children. The Roman Catholic church teaches that although it is not sinful to be a homosexual, sodomy is a sin, and that practicing homosexuals are sinners like other sinners: "They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided." (Catechism of the Catholic Church para. 2358) Some Roman Catholics take this to mean that voting in favor of "benefits for lifelong partners" is a compassionate act, whereas others vote against this as promoting these issues, which is the Church teaching on responsible voting.

[edit] Abortion

The Catholic Church has always condemned abortion. Archbishop John Francis Donoghue (Atlanta, GA), Bishop Robert Joseph Baker (Charleston, SC), and Bishop Peter Joseph Jugis (Charlotte, NC) wrote that "Catholics in political life have the responsibility to exemplify in their public service this teaching of the Church, and to work for the protection of all innocent life" and that politicians who support abortion rights are "cooperating with evil. [7]" This issue was highlighted when Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke of St. Louis, Missouri said he would deny Senator John Kerry communion because of his stance on abortion rights, even being a supporter of partial-birth abortion. Most recently, with the nomination of Alito, a Catholic-based political advocacy group warned liberals that, "Given the likelihood of a vigorous debate, we remain steadfast in our insistence upon a fair and dignified process free of any attack on Judge Alito's Catholic faith and personal beliefs, early attacks by left-wing interest groups are particularly worrisome." There were many questions related to Alito's Catholicism and how that might effect his interpretation of law, particularly on his known anti-abortion sentiments.

The Vatican and the American Bishops as well as others world wide have issued orders that Catholic government officials must protect the value of life at the pain of excommunication, committing mortal sin and possible eternal damnation. It reported that on March 13, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued "Sacramentum Caritatis" a warning that respect for life is a "non negotiable value" and one who receives communion but is "unworthy" to do so, is guilty of the blood of the Lord and "eateth and drinketh judgment to himself." This has been interpreted much more specifically, as in an article at www.catholicplanet.com, dated May 223, 2005 (edited on November 10, 2007) and authored by Ronald l. Conte, Jr. who writes: "Any Catholic Judge who rules in favor of abortion commits an objective mortal sin. Any Catholic judge who uses his legal power to permit a woman to obtain an abortion, or to permit someone to pay for an abortion, or to permit someone to assist a woman in obtaining an abortion, or to permit someone to perform an abortion, when it is in any way, shape, or form within such judge's power to prevent or restrict abortion, commits an objective mortal sin. Furthermore, any Catholic judge who, in work or deed, expresses his belief that abortion is over ethical or moral, or that it should be legal, is a heretic and is automatically excommunicated under Canon Law. All Catholic judges are morally obligated to deny or restrict abortion whenever it is within their capability under the moral law."

It must be noted that some Catholics in the predominant Catholic northeastern United States oppose restrictions on abortion, led by such representatives and senators such as Senator Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, Rosa DeLauro, and Carolyn McCarthy^{[citation needed]}. Only one of the four Democratic pro-life senators is Roman Catholic, Bob Casey, Jr., which seems to indicate a strong Catholic secularization in the American political left. Compared with that, there is a tendency in some conservative sectors, to portray the Republican Catholic senators, who are mostly pro-life as the "real" Catholics^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Immigration

The immigration debate has also changed relations between Republicans and Roman Catholic voters.

On the one hand, there is the fact that the Roman Catholic leadership in the U.S. seems to oppose many restrictions on immigration, where most immigration to the U.S. is from predominately Roman Catholic nations. Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke has been involved in rallies to allow undocumented workers a chance at citizenship. By welcoming migrant workers, many of whom are Catholic, Burke says, "we obey the command of Our Lord, who tells us that when we welcome the stranger, we welcome Christ Himself."

In 2006, Roger Cardinal Mahony controversially announced that he would order the clergy and laity of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to ignore H.R. 4437 if it were to become law.^[1] Cardinal Mahony personally lobbied senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein to have the Senate consider a comprehensive immigration reform bill, rather than the enforcement-only bill that passed the House of Representatives.^[2] Cardinal Mahony also blamed the Congress for the illegal immigration crisis due to their failure to act on the issue in the previous 20 years, opposed H.R. 4437 as punitive and open to abusive interpretation, and supported S. 2611.^[3]^[4]

Roughly 30% of the Roman Catholic population is Hispanic. Pope John Paul II advocated that countries should accommodate people fleeing from economic hardship if they are able.

On the other hand, the Roman Catholic laity may be out of step with the "high" priestly leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. on this issue. Many prominent opponents of mass immigration to the U.S., such as, most notably, Pat Buchanan, are Roman Catholics who base their "conservatism" in their faith. Since, for one, immigration is a sensitive issue for many, it is difficult to gauge the effects of conservative Roman Catholic thinkers on the immigration debate. One can note that the mainstays of the so-called "paleoconservative" and related immigration-reform movements are largely Roman Catholic: Pat Buchanan, Thomas Fleming, Russell Kirk, William Buckely, etc.