The wordsPopery (adjectivePopish) andPapism (adjectivePapist, also used to refer to an individual) are mainly historical pejorative words in theEnglish language forRoman Catholicism, once frequently used byProtestants andEastern Orthodox Christians to label their Roman Catholic opponents, who differed from them in accepting theauthority of the Pope over theChristian Church.[1] The words were popularised during theEnglish Reformation (1532–1559), when theChurch of England broke away from theRoman Catholic Church and divisions emerged between those who rejected papal authority and those who continued to follow Rome. The words are recognised as pejorative;[2][3][4][5] they have been in widespread use in Protestant writings until the mid-nineteenth century, including use in some laws that remain in force in theUnited Kingdom.[6]
Popery andPapism are sometimes used in modern writing asdog whistles foranti-Catholicism or they are used as pejorative ways of distinguishing Roman Catholicism from other forms of Christianity that refer to themselves asCatholic, such asEastern Orthodoxy, Lutherans ofEvangelical Catholic churchmanship or Anglicans ofAnglo-Catholic churchmanship. Papist was used in the latter way in 2008 by theAristotelian University of Thessaloniki at a conference opposingecumenism, and the word sees some wider use in theEastern Orthodox Church.[7][1]
According to theOxford English Dictionary, the wordPapist was first used in 1528.[9]
The word was in common use by Protestant writers until the mid-nineteenth century, as shown by its frequent appearance inThomas Macaulay'sHistory of England from the Accession of James II and in other works of that period, including those with no sectarian bias.
The word is found in certain surviving statutes of theUnited Kingdom, for example in the EnglishBill of Rights of 1689 and the ScottishClaim of Right of 1689. Catholics have been excluded from the British throne for centuries. In 1701, Parliament passed theAct of Settlement, which requires that only a Protestant monarch could rule over England and Ireland.[10] Under theAct of Settlement of 1701, no one who professes "the popish religion" may succeed to the throne of theKingdom of England and the Act continues to apply to the United Kingdom and all of theCommonwealth Realms;[6] until theSuccession to the Crown Act 2013 amended it with effect from 2015, the Act of Settlement also banned from the throne anyone who married "a papist". Fears thatRoman Catholic secular leaders would beanti-Protestant and would be unduly influenced from Rome arose after all allegiance to the Pope was banned in England in the reigns ofHenry VIII andElizabeth I.Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), the author ofGulliver's Travels, employed the term in his satirical essayA Modest Proposal, in which he proposed selling Irish babies to be eaten by wealthy English landlords.Daniel Defoe wrote in the popularRobinson Crusoe (1719), near the end of the novel: "[...] I began to regret having professed myself a Papist, and thought it might not be the best religion to die with."
Similar terms, such as the traditionalpopery and the more recentpapalism, are sometimes used,[11][12][13] as in thePopery Act 1698 and the IrishPopery Act. TheSeventh-day Adventist prophetessEllen G. White used the termspapist andpopery throughout her bookThe Great Controversy, a volume harshly criticized for its anti-Catholic tone.
During theAmerican presidential election of 1928, theDemocratic nomineeAl Smith was labeled apapist by his political opponents. He was the first Roman Catholic ever to gain the presidential nomination of a major party, and this led to fears that, if he were elected, the United States government would follow the dictates of the Vatican.[14] As of 2022[update],John F. Kennedy andJoe Biden are the only Roman Catholics to have been elected President of the United States.
The term is still sometimes used today,[15][16] although much less often than in earlier centuries.
In early use the term appeared in the compound form "Crypto-Papist", referring to members of Reformed, Protestant, or nonconformist churches who at heart were allegedly Roman Catholics.[17][18]Alexis Khomiakhov, a Russianlay theologian of the nineteenth century, claimed that "All Protestants are Crypto-Papists".[19]
Although the term has been used as a means of attacking Protestants withhigh church sympathies, such asWilliam Laud andJohn Spottiswoode, at other times there have been individuals who have secretly converted to Catholicism, for example,James II of England,Bartholomew Remov andYelizaveta Fyodorovich. Some people may later on openly convert, such asGeorge Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, or secretly convert with reservations, such asJohn III of Sweden.
Anglican Archdeacon Richard Davies wrote, "He died a papist," a pejorative term Protestants used to refer to Catholics.
That all and every Person and Persons that then were or afterwards should be reconciled to or shall hold Communion with the See or Church of Rome or should professe the Popish Religion ... should be excluded and are by that Act made for ever (incapable) to inherit possess or enjoy the Crown and Government of this Realm and Ireland and the Dominions thereunto belonging or any part of the same or to have use or exercise any regall Power Authority or Jurisdiction within the same
| Jurisdiction |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | |||||
| Major basilicas | |||||
| Titles Papal names | |||||
| Symbols | |||||
| Proclamations | |||||
| Activities | |||||
| Vestments | |||||
| Transportation | |||||
| Household | |||||
| Staff | |||||
| Related | |||||
