Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
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Reconstructing Religious Identity: Southern Baptists and Anti-Catholicism, 1870-1920 by David Terrell Mitchell A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Auburn, Alabama December 8, 2012 Copyright 2012 by David Terrell Mitchell Approved by J. Wayne Flynt, Chair, Distinguished University Professor of History, Emeritus Charles Israel, Associate Professor of History David Carter, Associate Professor of History Richard Penaskovic, Professor of Religious Studies Abstract This dissertation examines how Southern Baptists utilized anti-Catholicism to reconstruct their religious identity from 1870 to 1920. It documents the beliefs, rhetoric, and actions of Baptists as they encountered Catholics both at home and abroad. It is the first manuscript detailing Southern Baptist perceptions of Catholics and Catholicism from the Reconstruction to the end of World War I. It offers a new point of departure for southern religious history by examining how the South’s largest denomination responded to and was shaped by a non-Protestant religious group. ii Acknowledgments There are so many people that deserve recognition. Archivist Laura Botts at Mercer University’s Georgia Baptist History Depository, Lisa Persinger at Wake Forrest Unversity’s North Carolina Historical Collection, and Gillian Brown at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah all generously shared their resources and ideas with me. Bill Sumners and Taffey Hall made my research at the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives a pleasant and productive experience. Committee members Charles Israel, David Carter, and Richard Penaskovic offered useful comments. For his meticulous editing, constructive criticism, and generosity with his time, I am grateful to my director, Wayne Flynt. Researching and writing a dissertation from a distance proved challenging. I am thankful for my sustaining colleagues. Bob Billinger and Caroline Hoefferle at Wingate University provided teaching assignments that helped financially. Special thanks goes to Gregory Crider at Winthrop University, who proved to be a mentor and friend. Finally, I am grateful for a loving and supportive family. My parents, John and Barbara Mitchell, and my sister Angela, provided me with years of encouragement. My wife, Brooke, endured my “Boo Radley” years with grace and at times, nudged me back on course. Without her, I could not have completed this project. The birth of my son, Carter, has been transformational. He brought joy and hope into my life, making the final stretch of writing the easiest to complete. iii Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... iii Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter One – Gospel Warfare: Advancing Baptist Doctrine Through Anti-Catholicism .................................. 16 17 The Battle Over Ideas ................................................................................................... 18 Rebels with a Cause: Baptists and Religious Authority .............................................. 28 Doctrinal Conflict and the Democratic Impulse ........................................................... 38 Chapter Two – Identity Preserved: Anti-Catholicism and in Southern Baptist Missions ......................................... 49 Promoting Missionary Zeal ........................................................................................... 52 Mission Work on the Home Front ................................................................................ 65 Organizing Resistance .................................................................................................. 78 Chapter Three – “The Call of the South:” Anti-Catholicism and the Southern Baptist .................................................. 91 An Uneasy Alliance ...................................................................................................... 94 “A Call to Baptists in the South” ................................................................................ 101 Progressive Orthodoxy ................................................................................................ 111 Chapter Four – “The Great Unfinished Task:” Anti-Catholicism and the Southern Baptist Quest for Moral Reform .......... 125 Preserving the Old in the New South .......................................................................... 127 iv A Swell of Immigration .............................................................................................. 131 “The Two Pillars of Evil:” Rum and Romanism ....................................................... 142 Chapter Five – The Paradox of Womanhood: Southern Baptists, Anti-Catholicism, and Gender ...................................... 157 Catholic brain-washing ............................................................................................... 158 The Corruption of the Priesthood ............................................................................... 160 Marriage and Family Life ........................................................................................... 166 Rumors, Distortions, and Half-Truths ........................................................................ 169 The Horror of the Convents ........................................................................................ 173 Class, Gender, and Catholicism .................................................................................. 185 Contested Public Spaces and Gender .......................................................................... 188 Feminizing Catholicism .............................................................................................. 192 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 196 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 203 v Introduction In June 1994, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution calling for Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics to engage in interfaith dialogue. The measure recognized historical differences in beliefs between the two groups, such as religious authority, church practices and rituals, and the nature and means of spiritual regeneration. However, it also established areas of common ground where dialogue might produce improved relations. Although there had been previous attempts at reconciliation, this was the first time since the Fundamentalist takeover of the SBC that Southern Baptists were officially willing to extend an olive branch.1 Although some Southern Baptist intellectuals believed that the ensuing discussions encouraged mutual respect and understanding, other factions questioned the relevance of such activities. Baptist pastor Jerry Moser, who claimed his Louisiana church to be home to a number of converted Catholics, was one of the most outspoken critics. His rationale was that discussions 1 Michael Clark’s thesis is the best scholarly study of the recent relationship between Southern Baptists and Catholics. See Michael J. Clark, "Canonical Issues Emerging in the Southern Baptist - Roman Catholic Dialogue" (Catholic University of America, 2002); see also, Barry Hankins, Uneasy in Babylon: Southern Baptist Conservative and American Culture, Religion and American Culture (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2002). 1 Abstract This dissertation examines how Southern Baptists utilized anti-Catholicism to reconstruct their religious identity from 1870 to 1920. It documents the beliefs, rhetoric, and actions of Baptists as they encountered Catholics both at home and abroad. It is the first manuscript detailing Southern Baptist perceptions of Catholics and Catholicism from the Reconstruction to the end of World War I. It offers a new point of departure for southern religious history by examining how the South’s largest denomination responded to and was shaped by a non-Protestant religious group. ii Acknowledgments There are so many people that deserve recognition. Archivist Laura Botts at Mercer University’s Georgia Baptist History Depository, Lisa Persinger at Wake Forrest Unversity’s North Carolina Historical Collection, and Gillian Brown at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah all generously shared their resources and ideas with me. Bill Sumners and Taffey Hall made my research at the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives a pleasant and productive experience. Committee members Charles Israel, David Carter, and Richard Penaskovic offered useful comments. For his meticulous editing, constructive criticism, and generosity with his time, I am grateful to my director, Wayne Flynt. Researching and writing a dissertation from a distance proved challenging. I am thankful for my sustaining colleagues. Bob Billinger and Caroline Hoefferle at Wingate University provided teaching assignments that helped financially. Special thanks goes to Gregory Crider at Winthrop University, who proved to be a mentor and friend. Finally, I am grateful for a loving and supportive family. My parents, John and Barbara Mitchell,