A Comparative Historical Categorisation of Anti‐ C atholicism

A balanced understanding of anti‐ C atholicism requires an appreciation of its diverse and multifaceted nature. This article draws on the author's extensive research on anti‐ C atholicism in the E nglish‐speaking world to propose a four‐fold categorisation: constitutional‐national, theological, popular and socio‐cultural. Each category is illustrated by historical examples drawn primarily from nineteenth‐century B ritain and the U nited S tates, but also ranging more widely across time and space. They are fluid and interlinked but nevertheless provide a useful basis for analysis. It is shown how an awareness of the diversity of anti‐ C atholicism enhances understanding of its widespread influence, and also of its long‐term patterns of fluctuation, persistence, and decline. In particular, whereas since the later nineteenth century theological anti‐ C atholicism has become marginal and popular anti‐ C atholicism highly localised, the relative resilience of constitutional‐national and social‐cultural anti‐ C atholicism is explained by their mutation from a primarily P rotestant to a primarily secular ideological foundation.