Romanism
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Romanism is a derogatory term for Roman Catholicism[2] used when anti-Catholicism was more common in the United States.[citation needed]
The word was first attested in 1603.[2] The Fundamentals, often seen as the foundation of Christian fundamentalism, saw "Romanism" as the "single greatest threat to authentic Christian faith" according to Douglas E. Cowan, and included an article titled Is Romanism Christianity? in which T. W. Medhurst, a student of the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon, called Romanism a "Satanic delusion."[3][4]
The term was frequently used in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Republican invectives against the Democrats, as part of the slogan "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion" (referencing the Democratic Party's constituency of Southerners and anti-Temperance, frequently Catholic, working-class immigrants).[citation needed] A book titled The Three Keys to Hell; or, Rum, Romanism and Ruin was published in 1915.[5] The term and slogan gained particular prominence in the 1884 presidential campaign[citation needed] and again in 1928, in which the Democratic candidate was the outspokenly anti-Prohibition Catholic Governor of New York Al Smith.[citation needed]
In Northern Ireland, the term was also used by Democratic Unionist Party founder Ian Paisley in anti-Catholic speeches.[6][better source needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Dowling, John (1845). The History of Romanism: from the Earliest Corruptions of Christianity to the Present Time (fourth ed.). E. Walker. pp. –2.
- 1 2 "Definition of ROMANISM". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ↑ Cowan, Douglas E. (2023). The Christian Countercult Movement. Elements in New Religious Movements. Cambridge University Press. pp. 19, 21. doi:10.1017/9781009053419. ISBN 978-1-009-05417-1.
- ↑ Medhurst, T. W. (1915). "Is Romanism Christianity?". In Torrey, Reuben Archer (ed.). The Fundamentals. Testimony Publishing Company.
- ↑ Coleman, Frances (January 28, 2022). "100 years: not so long ago and not all that different". al. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Rev Ian Paisley 1966 – YouTube". YouTube.
Further reading
[edit]- Romanism and the Reformation (1881) by Henry Grattan Guinness
- The Bible and Romanism – the window-dressing continues (2000), by Arthur Noble
- Sère, Bénédicte; Wazer, Caroline (2025). "Anti-Romanism and Its Hitherto Unrecognized Medieval Roots". Inventing the Church: The Pull of the Past in Ecclesial Politics. Columbia University Press. pp. 133–154.
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