The Irish standard., 1902-03-01
WHAT IS BlGoTRY ?
Exercise Of Religious Principle on
Undue Matter.

Unoue matter.
Were all men entirely agreed as to
the exact meaning of the words they
use, controversies would be shorter
and conclusions less subject to revi-
sion. Unhappily men not only use
words in sense peculiar to them
selves, but assume that their neigh
bors are under no misrepresentation i'll
the matter, hence the spectacle Of
disputants arguing at length each on
different subject which all think to
be identical, since all agree in giving
the same name to the object they dis
cuss. This kind of fighting in the dark
is perhaps most common in the wordy
warfare which RACES around re-
ligion; the commonest words, such as
Church." Scripture" and priest"
frequently bear as many meanings
as there happens to be disputants.
Often enough each writer or speaker
is conscious of the truth which UNDER
lies the words lie may use but fails
to recognize that he does not include
the whole truth and that his adver-
sary has fastened upon the very frag-
ment of truth which he is neglecting.
Much rhetoric ensues, there is the
noise of sounding brass and tinkling
cymbals and vain beating of air,
ending in the combatants separating
with mutual charges of bigotry. says
st. Andrews Magazine.
But each belligerent means by
"bigotry" something different to that
in the mind of his adversary. Each
declares the other "bigoted" for stick
ing to his own opinion, and usually
each is blind to the fact that in
making the charge so crudcly he like
wise convicts himself The aim of
the present paper is to arrive at Il
true description of what "bigot' is.
and how far his seeming courage of
conviction is rightly esteemed to be
Christian courage. 1t seems tolerably
certain that the word ''bigot'' became
part of our language about the time
of the Reformation" Probably it is
Of French origin, but scholars differ
in their account of the words early
history. A. glance ut the quotations
given under the word in DR.. Murray's
great dictionary, now being compiled,
chn1yye, f1,0f T.,
of our best writer's in the combined
sense of adhering to a creed, opinion
or system with obstinacy and unreal
sonableness; it is mainly. though not
exclusively, associated with things TO-
ligious.
But if we define "bigot" to be an
obstinate and unenlightcned adhesion
to creed, we shall do little or nothing
toward removing vagueness in its
meaning and application; for OBJ
stinacy in clinging to what one knows
or thinks to be true is scarcely n fault
where faith is considered. but big
otry" implies fault. Martyrs are held
by some to have been obstinate. but
they do not thereby merit the rcpraach
of bigotry. A Catholic holds to the
teachings of his creed in the face of
death itself, but that does not war
rant his being styled "bigot" Nor
is the case any better when the word
unreasonable" Or "unenlightened' is
added to the obstinncy: for what IN
religion is unreasonable? or what is
meant by unenlightcncd? who in Pro-
testant England is to decide what is
or what is not unreasonable? to whom
are we to look for Enlightenment? OBJ
yiously in II land where The principle
of private Judgment holds so wide Il
sway each person will have his own
ret ideas of what is reasonable and
enlightened in matters Of religion,
and, as far rs the proposed definition
goes, he will deem all who differ
from himself to be bigots.
Every man not prepared to follow
the lead of fashion in religion would
he marked as obstinate. unenlight-
ened, and, consequently, bigOted. If,
however. he is content to be broad
minded and assert all forms of rcli-
gion to be equally good and bad, he
will cease to be n bigot only by be-
coming a fool; for Christianity with
out dogma Or creed is in no sense
Christianity. The connection of
dogma with the idea of bigotry, as
so far dealt with, has been observed
long ago by Watts in 1741, who wrote
"a dogmatist in religion is not long
way off from bigot." This is hard
saying for Catholics, for of all creeds
the Roman Catholic is the only one
truly and uncompromisingly dog
matte, a fact which the use of the
word "bigotry' in English literature
only confirms. for it is nowhere so
freely used as in connection with
Catholics and their religion. Granting
the suggested definition Of bigotry and
assuming the right of private iudg-
ment, shrewd mind of the "RefOr-
nation period might have predicted
that the word "bigot" would newt
ably in the long run attach itself to
Catholics; for Catholic faith to the
non-Catholic is obstinacy. and the
Catholic acceptance of impenetrable