A few individuals aside, Im pretty skeptical of the claim that the current Protestant anti-Halloween movement is based in some kind of anti-Catholicism and am REALLY skeptical that Jack Chick has anything to do with it. 1. Yes, American Protestantism has a long history of anti-Catholicism and the anti-Halloween movement of the past, much like past anti-Christmas movements were grounded in anti-Catholicism, but that does not mean the current one is too. Yes many Protestants still hold some false views of Catholicism (i.e. Catholics worship statues) and fundamentalists are still very much anti-Catholic but true fundamentalists are pretty small in number. Yes there is still some anti-Catholicism found in American Protestantism, but it was more significant in the 1950s back when a sizable portion of Protestants thought the election of a Catholic president would mean America would be turned over to Rome than it is now. Back in the 1950s though, the anti-Halloween movement was largely restricted to JWs. So though I remain skeptical of this claim, I do think, considering some of Americas history that its not totally without merit. 2. Now, what Im really skeptical about is that Jack Chick has some sort of major role in this. Yes Chick is both anti-Catholic and anti-Halloween and considering how obsessed he is with the RCC, its probably true that his anti-Halloween stance is rooted in some of his anti-Catholic thought. That being said, outside of a few circles, Chick actually isnt a major player in Protestantism, and his anti-Catholic conspiracy theories are even more marginalized. His work, when found in the wild is typically restricted to his run of the mill gospel tracts, and theres a reason for that. Because of lobbying from Catholic groups, as well as Protestants not really wanting there ideas discredited by a guy who thinks the RCC has Lincoln killed, many Christian (i.e. Protestant) bookstores dont stock Chicks work and those that do typically ignore the conspiracy theory stuff. In all honesty Chick, particularly once you get outside the run of the mill salvation stories has more troll fans than fundamentalist, or even Evangelical ones. 3. Honestly I think that the anti-Halloween movement is, much like the anti-metal movement is more based in the Satanic cult scare of the 70s and 80s than any anti-Catholic feelings, at least for the most part.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 21:23:55 +0000