It was 1960 and the big question of the presidential race was "Can a Catholic be elected as President of the United States?"
The question almost seems absurd today...we know John F. Kennedy was elected, but at the time anti-Catholicism was a big issue.
Years before in the 1930s perennial presidential candidate Alf Landon lost several times, with the fact that he was Catholic a significant reason. At that time there were signs all over the Northeast saying "No Catholics, Irish or Blacks", whether in ads for employment, places for rent or sale, or simply placed on the doors of businesses.
It was still not uncommon to see these signs in the 1950s. Growing up in the Deep South, I clearly remember a variation of this when service stations had three restrooms...one for Ladies, one for Gentlemen, and one for Colored...public water fountains labeled White or Colored.
In the Deep South Anti-Catholic sentiment was high back then...not too hard to understand when you look at the basic fundamental nature of churches here, most originally founded on principles by John Calvin, John Knox, John Wesley, Martin Luther, Roger Williams, Thomas Cranmer...all who directly labeled the Pope as the 'Anti-Christ'.
Kennedy lost big in the Deep South, again, like Alf Landon before, his Catholicism being a significant factor.
But now it's 2015 and we have a ton of candidates running... six are Catholic; Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, Marco Rubio, and Rick Santorum. It is hard to imagine that these six would have to face the question of IF they could even run BECAUSE they are Catholic. In 1960 Ben Carson could not have run simply based on the color of his skin, and none of the women running now would have been seriously considered on any level.
A litmus test for people, whether they are running for President or simply being an American, should not be based on whether they are Presbyterian, Jewish, Catholic, Baptist, Islam, Buddhist, Episcopalian, or whatever a person chooses to embrace...or not to embrace. There are wonderful people who make up the vast majority of all religions world-wide; we often only hear about small, but intense radical factions who give the rest a bad name.
Have we changed? Sure we have... it's getting better all the time.
I look at the reception this week of Pope Francis who is being embraced by Americans of ALL faiths...and I love his nickname as "The People's Pope". What a perfect example of how people of all faiths can hear a message and recognize the 95 percent of things we all have and want in common, and not focus on labels and differences.
Focus on the 95 percent of things we all have and want in common, and not focus on labels and differences.
What a great idea... and how American.