Sport and the Assimilation of American Catholics

In the nineteenth century European Catholics began migrating in ever larger numbers to the United States, where they faced opposition from the members of the dominant Protestant groups that had established the nation's norms, standards, and values. Such a hegemonic relationship left immigrants with choices to accept or reject such principles, and adopt or adapt them to their own cultures in the course of assimilation. Despite the theological, social, and cultural differences between Protestants and various Catholic immigrant groups, sport proved to be a common interest and a means to assert ethnic pride and religious identity. By the twentieth century the Catholic Church embarked on a campaign to amalgamate its diverse ethnic parishes into a more unified and cohesive national body. Using examples from Chicago, this research evidences how Catholic sports organizations managed to unite disparate factions in athletic contests against their Protestant competitors, and ultimately accommodate in pursuit of America's national goals. In the process Catholics obtained a greater measure of recognition and acceptance, as they gradually exchanged their ethnic identity for an American one, while maintaining their religious beliefs and, consequently, forging a more pluralistic society.