Description
Book SynopsisAnti-Catholicism has a long history in America. And as Philip Jenkins argues in The New Anti-Catholicism, this virulent strain of hatred--once thought dead--is alive and well in our nation, but few people seem to notice, or care. A statement that is seen as racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, or homophobic can haunt a speaker for years, writes Jenkins, but it is still possible to make hostile and vituperative public statements about Roman Catholicism without fear of serious repercussions. Jenkins shines a light on anti-Catholic sentiment in American society and illuminates its causes, looking closely at gay and feminist anti-Catholicism, anti-Catholic rhetoric and imagery in the media, and the anti-Catholicism of the academic world. For newspapers and newsmagazines, for television news and in movies, for major book publishers, the Catholic Church has come to provide a grossly stereotyped public villain. Catholic opinions, doctrines, and individual leaders are frequently the butt of ha
Trade ReviewOverall, The New Anti-Catholicism is an insightful, highly readable, and disturbing expose of anti-Catholicism in contemporary America. While it might leave the reader with questions about the 'new'-ness of the current anti-Catholicism and how that anti-Catholicism fits into the opinion held by many secularists and liberals of Christianity in general, perhaps that is not such a bad thing. * John C. Pinheiro, H-Net Book Review *
