It is about Catholic identity and community in America from without and from within. On all counts it is difficult to distinguish a contemporary Catholic from a non-Catholic. Even Catholics do not find it easy to define what it means to be a Catholic in America today. Many disagree with the Vatican and with each other on ethical, doctrinal, and ecclesial issues. Yet their remain significant differences between Protestant Christianity and Catholicism in America.
Catholics have a distinct history within America.
Until recently, they have been outsiders politically and culturally in the history of America, often distrusted and ghettoized by mainstream Protestant America. Their church is hierarchical with the highest echelons of power situated in Rome. Their religious beliefs are steeped in a tradition carefully articulated over a period of almost two thousand years. This course examines historical and contemporary Catholicism in America. The American Catholic Experience Naughton, Jim.