Over 80% of Italians are Catholic and the Roman Catholic church has always been influential in the country’s decision making. In the United Kingdom, as the result of many religious battles stemming from Henry VIII separating himself from the Catholic Church in order to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon, Protestant Christianity, headed by the monarchy, is the official religion.
In Tudor England, Catholic worship was considered to be an act of treason against the monarchy who now held spiritual and political power over their people. The 1534 Act of Supremacy declared the English Crown ‘the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England.’, in place of the Pope. Consequently, Catholic monasteries and convents were shut down.
At the same time in Scotland, Catholic worship was made illegal by the Scottish Reformation.
All of these in tow contributed to the Catholic bias that still exists in the UK today. Even though Catholicism is legal, there is a bias that exists and is most notable in peripheral areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In Northern Ireland, for example, on the 11th of July Protestant neighbourhoods burn bonfires of large towers made off wooden pallets and tyres. They also burn Catholic symbols, effigies and Irish national symbols. On the next day during the festival known as the Twelfth, in the Ulster province, Protestants parade through the streets to celebrate the victory of Protestant King William of Orange, over Catholic King James II.
The event has regularly upset Catholic communities as they find the marches to be an intimidating act of supremacy. Unfortunately, the event has often led to violence between the two religious communities.
The political sphere also exhibits prejudice. In 2018 Andy Kerr, a Scottish Labour Party member who at the time was chair of the National Executive Committee, was forced to apologise to a female delegate, after suggesting he wouldn’t take her question after seeing her make the sign of the cross.
Source Background: Christopher, Flickr
politica
politica
Anti-Catholic bias in the United Kingdom