Immigrant City, Catholic City

The history of American Catholicism is, at its core, an urban history. Gothic steeples overshadowing dense neighborhoods are a hallmark of the landscape of America's cities. But as we'll discuss in our reading of Studs Lonigan and the parish history of Holy Family Parish, there is more to the urban nature of American Catholicism than its architecture. For these churches embodied and represented a profound sense of community and place that not only shaped America's Catholics but America itself. To compliment our readings, below are three videos from the Chicago History Museum's "Catholic Chicago" exhibit from a few years ago. What themes are repeated here? Do we hear a little Studs Lonigan here?

Catholic Chicago - Parish Life from Chicago History Museum on Vimeo.

Catholic Chicago - Growing Up Catholic from Chicago History Museum on Vimeo.

And we'll conclude today by discussing the changes in both Chicago and American Catholicism is the years surrounding World War I. These changes would mark American Catholicism throughout the remainder of the twentieth century and would especially shape the experience of new Catholic Hispanic immigrants in the late twentieth century. Here is a brief view of the 1926 Eucharistic Congress I'll be discussing.

The Eucharistic Congress - Chicago 1926 from Chicago History Museum on Vimeo.

Manya Brachear and Religious Chicago

In an age where newspaper companies are slashing budgets and cutting purportedly frivolous staff like religion reporters, Chicago is still somewhat luck in that the Chicago Tribune still employs a reporter devoted to the city's religious beat. Over at GetReligion.org, a blog devoted to interrogating the press' handling of religious issues, Sarah Pulliam Bailey interviews the Tribune's reporter on religion Manya Brachear. Here's a taste:

Photo from chicagotribune.com

Why is it important for journalists to understand the role of religion in our world today?
Religion motivates people whether they know it or not. Doctors, politicians, philanthropists and business leaders often rely on their faith to guide their actions, sometimes more often than they admit or realize. Furthermore, religion also answers the question “why?” for many people. “Why?” is one of our five Ws. If we journalists fail to understand what drives everyone around us, we fail to answer the “why?” and thus fail to do our jobs.

Bracher runs her own religious news blog where she features her work on the city called The Seeker. I'm a longtime reader of Bracher's and you can find her top-notch reporting there.

The 1893 World's Parliment of Religion

Held throughout the summer of 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition solidified Chicago's prominence as one of America's great cities. Organized to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Columbus' arrival upon North America, the Exposition included one of the first attempts to encourage an interfaith dialogue in the World's Parliament of Religions.

Read the opening address of the Parliament. What were the intents of its organizers? How do they comprehend and engage the religious diversity? Read pages 62-82.



Of course, the Parliament did not, and could never, speak for all of the city's religious traditions. Chicago's preeminent revival preacher Dwight L. Moody--the Billy Graham of his day--and a number of conservative evangelical Protestants protested the entire Exposition for its refusal to close on Sundays. You can read accounts of Moody's revival/protest below. What does Moody's efforts say about his view of the city's religious diversity. How does it differ from the World's Parliament? In particular, read pages 15-18, 126-133, 184-202.



And just for kicks, you can listen to a rare recording of Moody's voice, taken late in the 1890s, to get a sense of his personality and the character of late nineteenth century revivalism.

Welcome to the Blog!

Welcome to "Religious Chicago," a blog originally designed for a public seminar of the same name held at the Newberry Library. Here you'll find postings of the seminar's readings, pictures or videos relevant to the seminar's topics, as well as errant items and musings on the religious life in the city of Chicago. I would welcome any feedback you may have as well as any items or submissions you'd like to share. Get in touch at religious.chicago@gmail.com.