Irish Catholic Racism in Canada

Irish Catholic Racism in Canada
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The Canadian history is largely influenced by the events of different cultures meeting therefore causing tension among various groups yielding to prejudice among the groups. One of the groups moving into Canada was the Irish people from Ireland who were natively Catholics. This caused tension between the catholic Christians and the faith of the typical inhabitants of the new found land today’s Canada. Four hundred years after the settlement in the land there was still discrimination against the Irish Catholics in the nineteenth century. The immigration of the Irish people continued in Canada to the better half of the nineteenth century. However, their experience during this period was not welcoming to them (Bramadat, & Seljak, 2008). They faced brutal discrimination, unjust racism and hatred from the Canadians who perceived them as an inferior race and religious people. There were various reasons why the Catholics were brutally discriminated in Canada during the early years of the nineteenth century as discussed herein.
One of the major causes of the Irish Catholic Christians in Canada was the rise of the anticlericalism. In the early modern age, the Catholic Church under the leadership of pope strived to maintain its original role in politics and religion as there arose the modern secular world and powers. This on the other hand, led to the outbreak of the hostile attitude and resistance propelled against the spiritual, religious, political and social power and rule of pope and the clergy that was in the guise of the anticlericalism. In addition, the Catholic Church did not fall under the colonial government of British nationally and it marked major from the other protestant incoming settlers in Canada. This therefore made the Canadians who disliked the presence of the British colonial government in the country discriminate the Catholics as they perceived them as partners with the colonial government. It was therefore the vast religious difference that contributed to the Irish Catholics discrimination (Bramadat, & Seljak, 2008).
Further, the anticlericalism led to the protestant reformation that gave birth to the epochal crisis on the spiritual authority of the church and later the new rise of the anti-Catholics. The other major reason for the severe persecution and discrimination of the Irish Catholics in Canada was the inevitable influence of the prominent protestant leaders. During this period the Protestants had fierce battle with the pope and the clergy. Prominent leaders such as John Wesley, John Calvin and Martin Luther among others spear headed the struggles against the ruler-ship of the pope and the clergy. In most of their speeches and articles they referred to pope as the antichrist. These leaders had their religious movement such as the Lutherans that was led by Luther and the united Methodist among others. They published doctrinal preaching against pope and the succession of popes. They described this succession as wicked and ungodly. They condemned the authority and the dictatorship of the Catholics on priests’ total celibacy as well as the rituals of abstinence and fasting. Therefore, Canada being founded on protestant perceived the Catholics as antichrists and would disregard them (Wilson, & Société historique du Canada. 1989).
Their faith was another factor that led to the discrimination of the Irish Catholics in Canada. Evidence comes from the Ontario province that mainly hosted the Canadian Protestants. In this province, the orange order was in control and it was an anti-catholic movement though it had political affiliations. With such people as the Alexander Muir in power the Irish Catholics were subject to discrimination, hatred and persecution in Canada.
The fear of the Protestants made them discriminate the Irish Catholics. Catholics from Ireland and elsewhere in Europe immigrated in large numbers and unlike in other parts of America, in Canada they settled in the rural areas. The rate at which they settled and multiplied was scary to the protestant Canadians. It was evident that they were going to take the prominent places and jobs making it easy for them to control Canada and es...