The Catholic Church Crossed a Line

On Religion and Politics

I grew up in a Catholic family in the rural Midwest.

For those not in the know, the rural Midwest is Protestant country. Often ‘non-denominational Christianity’ of the sort that promotes far-right morality and politics. This means that, among other things, I heard lots of anti-Catholicism from the locals. These attitudes even survived well past the integration of Catholics into the U.S. mainstream following the JFK presidency.

I’m a Catholic no longer.

I actually gave up Catholicism way back in my teens. By that I mean I stopped attending church and stopped believing in church doctrine. In terms of religious belief, I’ve been an atheist for more than 20 years.

But my attitude toward the Catholic Church took a major turn in the last couple of years.

A Turn for the Worse

Does this mean I’ve moved closer to the church as I’ve reached midlife? Have I reunited with a church from which I’ve been estranged for more than two decades? Maybe those years in the wilderness convinced me to return to the flock?

Well, no. Not at all. Quite the opposite, in fact.

I left the church on amicable terms. Not because I had a bad experience or due to any particular affront or scandal. No hard feelings at all. Rather, I just stopped believing in its doctrines.

I reworked my political and religious beliefs in my teens and early 20s, accepting some form of socialism and atheism. While my beliefs have evolved in various ways since then (whose haven’t?), I still carry socialism and atheism as cornerstones of my views. Catholicism doesn’t mesh well with that.

And then, the Supreme Court issued its Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade and taking away from women the right to make health care decisions about their pregnancies.

That changed things.

The Catholic Church isn’t technically a ‘political organization.’ But everyone knows it butts in to U.S. politics by, among other things, lobbying against abortion rights. And with the Dobbs decision, the church finally succeeded in forcing its outlandish theology onto the entire country. Including the millions and millions of non-Catholics over whom they should have no authority whatsoever.

For that, the Catholic Church can go fuck itself. If it wants to make demands of its own members, fine. But it’s quite another thing to force theocratic rules onto the entire country.

Who Gets to be Anti-Catholic?

I didn’t like the anti-Catholicism I heard from the Protestants of my childhood. Ever after leaving the church, I didn’t appreciate it. They knew very little about Catholicism, its doctrines, its believers, and its impact on society. No one needed to listen to their Protestant nonsense.

Evangelical Protestants (or ‘non-denominational Christians,’ or whatever they’re calling themselves today) hate Catholics less than they used to. Or so it seems. But the assessment of their views hasn’t changed. Protestants should still take a seat when it comes to discussing Catholicism.

But I attended a Catholic Church for nearly two decades. I went to dozens of fish fries and church picnics. My parents had me baptized, I made First Communion, and I passed all the other milestones of a Catholic childhood.

So, look, I earned the right to criticize the Catholic Church all I want. I can do it, and Protestants can’t.

That said, I mostly avoided exercising that right until the Dobbs decision. With Dobbs, the Catholic Church crossed a line.