America at 250
As the United States indulges in a star-spangled celebration of its 250th birthday, a cornerstone of historical significance that stands out is religious freedom, and unlike for many other nations, it is a unique founding principle of this nation.
“From the beginning, we’ve had this quarrel – that’s why I call it the Founders Quarrel – which is, on the one hand, there was agreement that we should have religious liberty. But what that actually meant was what?” Linda Przybyszewski, associate professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, told OSV News.
“They argued about it,” she said of the Founding Fathers, “because so many of them believed that some form of belief in God was necessary to teaching people virtue and morality – since we need virtue and morality in order to be a self-governing republic. The question then became, ‘Who’s going to teach the religion?’ ... And I don’t think that has ever gone away.”
A mix of faiths
The variety of religious traditions complicated matters.
“At the founding of the United States, we saw a fascinating mix of groups who argued for religious liberty,” explained Przybyszewski. “There were deists – people who believed in God, but had their doubts about Christ – like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. There were also sort of ‘orthodox’ churches, which were in some cases newer – like the Baptists, or the Presbyterians – and they had been actively persecuted by colonies that had established churches; that is, churches with privileges.”
During the colonial period of the early 1700s, most colonists – about 85% of some 500,000 – lived in colonies with an official state church, typically the Congregational or Anglican Church.
“This disparate group of people argued very strongly for religious liberty,” Przybyszewski said, “which is why we have in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that Congress shall make no law regarding the establishment of religion or imposing on the free exercise of religion.”
Michael Breidenbach – dean of the Honors College and associate professor of history at Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, Florida – agreed.
“Religious experience for colonial Americans was very varied. There were some colonists who came specifically because they were fleeing religious persecution,” he shared.
“There were others who were trying to find a better life than what they had in Europe. And most of them were, I would say, a Christian in some description – although there are notable and important exceptions with Jews and Muslims; and of course, those who did not profess the faith, gnostics or atheists,” said Breidenbach.
‘Free exercise’ – except for Catholics
The Maryland Toleration Act of 1649 – written by Cecil Calvert (1605-1675), son of George Calvert (1580-1632), the Catholic founder of the colony of Maryland (later home of the first U.S. diocese) – is typically identified as the first American law specifically referring to “the free exercise” of religion.
Ironically, it was repealed in 1654 when William Claiborne, who was stridently anti-Catholic, took control of the colonial government. A new law was passed barring Catholics from openly practicing their religion.
“By the time we get to American Independence,” said Breidenbach, “what changes is that we see a shift in the discourse to the natural rights of someone to freely exercise one’s religion – public worship – according to the dictates of their conscience. And that’s a different commitment because the government can’t abridge those rights,” he added.
Prejudice against Catholics
Catholics, Breidenbach noted, were at the forefront of the commitment for the natural rights of religious liberty.
Archbishop John Carroll of Baltimore (1735-1815) – the first Catholic bishop in the U.S. – wrote publicly on the subject; his brother Daniel Carroll (1730-1796) was a framer of the U.S. Constitution; and their second cousin Charles Carroll (1737-1832) was the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence.
Still, non-Protestants often faced exclusion and outright persecution.
In the 17th century, Massachusetts hanged people for being Quakers; when the Declaration of Independence was signed, nine of the 13 colonies prohibited Catholics and Jews from holding office; in 1838, the governor of Missouri issued Executive Order 44, calling for the “extermination” of the Mormons; and during the 1830s, Protestant mobs burned convents and sacked churches during anti-Catholic riots.
“A lot of American Protestants didn’t even think the Catholic Church was producing people who were going to make good citizens,” explained Przybyszewski. “The Protestant view of Catholics was that this was a backward, superstitious, not really Christian church – which their faith had rejected centuries earlier.”
Stigma lingers
Since May 2020, at least 410 anti-Catholic episodes have occurred throughout the country, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops notes.
“Incidents,” the USCCB states, “include arson, statues beheaded, limbs cut, smashed, and painted, gravestones defaced with swastikas and anti-Catholic language and American flags next to them burned, and other destruction and vandalism.”
While present questions of religious liberty may seem discouraging, Breidenbach sees a lesson in the nation’s revolutionary history.
“Catholics in colonial America were presumed dangerous until proven loyal. And to go from being suspected subjects of a king to trusted patriots in a new republic is a remarkable transformation,” he emphasized.
— Kimberley Heatherington
Pope Leo’s June prayer intention is for sport to foster peace and encounter
With the FIFA World Cup opening this month and a summer of sports travel looming for many families, Pope Leo XIV has dedicated his June prayer intention to the power of sport to build bridges between cultures and nations. He released a video prayer calling on athletes, coaches and fans alike to embrace the field as a space of encounter rather than division.
The Vatican released the monthly “Pray with the Pope” video on June 2 in which the pope prayed that “sport may always be a school of fraternity, not of empty rivalry, a space of encounter, not exclusion, a path of peace, not violence.”
The monthly video is part of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, a global network of 22 million people in 90 countries led by the Society of Jesus who pray for the pope’s monthly intentions. The website shares prayers, a monthly audio message from the pope, and other resources to help individuals and groups connect with the global Church community.
The pope’s official prayer intention for the month of June reads, “For the values of sport: Let us pray that sport may be an instrument of peace, encounter and dialogue between cultures and peoples, and may promote values such as respect, solidarity, and personal growth.”
The American pope’s prayer intention comes as his home country will begin co-hosting the World Cup on June 11 alongside Mexico and Canada. A record 48 national teams will compete across 104 matches in the three host nations through July 19.
“Lord of life, we thank you for the gift of sport, for those who glorify God through the exercise of their bodies, for the friendships born on the field and the joy of playing as a team,” Pope Leo said in the video, recorded inside the Church of San Pellegrino in Vatican City.
“May those who play, train or cheer discover in sport a universal language that brings cultures together, unites peoples, and sows respect, solidarity and personal growth,” he added.
From the first days of his pontificate, Pope Leo has been known for his love of sport. He is an avid tennis player and a fan of Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox.
In his first interview as pope, he was asked who he would cheer for if the United States and Peru (where he served as a missionary for years and is also a citizen) were to face each other in the World Cup. He said he would cheer for Peru. As it happens, neither Peru nor Italy qualified for the 2026 tournament, sparing him any potential conflict of allegiances.
In April, the pope welcomed Italian Olympic and Paralympic athletes who competed in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games to the Vatican. In May, the pope received the players and management of Inter Milan, winners of this season’s Italian Serie A title, for a Vatican audience.
In the prayer video, Pope Leo drew a connection between athletic life and the Christian journey.
“Lord Jesus, may every sport become a parable of life lived with you, working with joy and effort, living with humility in defeat and with gratitude in the victory you offer in your Resurrection,” he prayed.
“May your Spirit never be lacking in us, making us one team, united with you to build communion and fraternity in history.”
— Courtney Mares, OSV News
More online
At www.popesprayer.va: Join the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network
For the values of sports
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord of life,
we thank you for the gift of sport,
for those who glorify God through the exercise of their bodies,
for the friendships born on the field
and the joy of playing as a team.
You teach us that in life, as in the game,
no one is saved alone.
We need others to grow,
to learn respect, to overcome our limits,
and to celebrate together the victories we achieve.
We ask that sport may always be
a school of fraternity, not of empty rivalry,
a space of encounter, not exclusion,
a path of peace, not violence.
May those who play, train or cheer
discover in sport a universal language
that brings cultures together, unites peoples,
and sows respect, solidarity and personal growth.
Lord Jesus,
may every sport become a parable of life lived with you,
working with joy and effort,
living with humility in defeat
and with gratitude in the victory you offer in your Resurrection.
May your Spirit never be lacking in us,
making us one team, united with you
to build communion and fraternity in history.
Amen.
— Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network