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Romanism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Drawing depicting Pastor John Dowling authoring his book The History of Romanism[1]

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 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.[3] 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.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. Dowling, John (1845). The History of Romanism: from the Earliest Corruptions of Christianity to the Present Time (fourth ed.). E. Walker. pp. –2.
  2. 1 2 "Definition of ROMANISM". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2026-02-06.
  3. Coleman, Frances (2022-01-28). "100 years: not so long ago and not all that different". al. Retrieved 2026-02-06.
  4. "Rev Ian Paisley 1966 – YouTube". YouTube.

Further reading

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