Images – Page 3

“Don’t Believe That”

February 14, 2019 Sacred Liberty

First, note how the Catholic children and the priest are depicted as baboon-like creatures. This Thomas Nast cartoon, which appeared in Harpers, refers to a Bible-in-the-schools controversy that erupted in Long Island City, Queens, in 1875. The school board had required children to read from the King James Version; Catholic students could either sit in the room during the exercise or leave for the day. In a gutsy form of civil disobedience, the Catholic children responded by blocking their ears…

The Immortal Chaplains

February 13, 2019 Sacred Liberty

Two ministers, a priest and rabbi gave up their life preservers as the U.S. Dorchester sank after being hit by a German torpedo in 1942. The story of their heroism hit a nerve in part because it fit a new message from the U.S. government – that one of the main things that distinguishes us from the Nazis and the Communists is religious freedom. The Postal Service issued this stamp – with its telling subhead, “interfaith in action” – in…

The Burning of the Ursuline Convent

February 12, 2019 Sacred Liberty

In August 1832, rumors started spreading that sinister things were happening behind the walls of the Ursuline Convent in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The Catholic school had become popular with affluent Boston Protestants and Unitarians, but word had spread that a “mystery” woman was being held there against her will. On the morning of August 10, posters appeared around Charlestown: “To arms!! To arms! Leave not one stone upon another of that curst nunnery that prostitutes female virtue and liberty under the…