Anti-Catholicism in 19th Century
The word protestant means other Christian denominations not belonging to the Catholic church. Until the nineteenth century, American Catholism was relatively small, but that began to change. Thousands of Roman Catholic immigrants began flooding into America primarily from Ireland, Germany, and Italy.
Protestant leaders became alarmed and threatened at this heavy influx because they believed that the Catholic church was the “Whore of Babylon” described in the New Testament Book of Revelation. To many protestants, Catholics were intolerant, prescriptive, and against religious freedom of mind. Catholicism was also considered to be a hindrance to progress because it was thought to cling to dead tradition and held little respect for the Bible…to which protestants followed closely.
Latter-day Saints recognize phrases in The Book of Mormon such as “Mother of all Harlots,” “Mother of abomination” and “Whore of all the earth.” These phrases refer to what is also referenced as “the great and abominable church.” These phrases were commonly and intentionally used during the second great awakening to refer to the Catholic church. Anti-Catholisism was part of the religious landscape of the day. The Mormon movement was born out of early nineteenth century Protestantism. Properly understanding these intellectual issues imbedded in the culture is important background information for understanding the unique reception of the Book of Mormon.
These particular phrases are “significant indicators of just how much influence nineteenth century culture exerted itself in the development of the book’s text.” (Luffman)
“The anti-catholic theme certainly connected with early nineteenth-century seekers. When we properly contextualize text into the day and time period it was written, we no longer continue to hold beliefs and prejudices that are harmful and hurtful to other people and faith communities.” (Dale E. Luffman, The Book of Mormon’s Witness to Its First Readers, 2013).