“We shall be a Catholic country”: Counting Catholics in the Antebellum United States

The size of the United States Catholic population interested Catholics and Protestants in the nineteenth century. Administrative reports, missionary chronicles, directories, travelers’ accounts, and newspaper and magazine articles chronicled Catholic growth and its various causes: natural increase,...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: DeStefano, Michael (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Soc. 2021
In: US catholic historian
Year: 2021, Volume: 39, Issue: 4, Pages: 49-75
IxTheo Classification:CH Christianity and Society
KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
KBQ North America
KDB Roman Catholic Church
KDD Protestant Church
Further subjects:B Hughes
B Carroll
B Demographics
B Beecher
B Bishop John
B England
B Lyman
B Statistics
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:The size of the United States Catholic population interested Catholics and Protestants in the nineteenth century. Administrative reports, missionary chronicles, directories, travelers’ accounts, and newspaper and magazine articles chronicled Catholic growth and its various causes: natural increase, immigration, conversion, and acquisition by the United States of territories with a Catholic presence. Growth estimates, whether local numbers or national totals, varied enormously throughout the century. Despite this variety, the narrative behind the numbers told a remarkably consistent story: for better or worse, Catholics were increasing. These statistics helped Catholics assert their presence in a Protestant society and Protestants used fear of Catholic growth to stimulate Protestant renewal.
ISSN:1947-8224
Contains:Enthalten in: US catholic historian
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1353/cht.2021.0022