Volume > Issue > Catholic Chic

Catholic Chic

GUEST COLUMN

By Richard Crepeau | April 2002
Richard Crepeau is Professor of History at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. This column previously appeared on PopPolitics.com.

Is it some sort of new chic?

Am I somehow suddenly “in”?

For some reason over the past several months there seems to have been a rash of people popping up “everywhere” who claim, and I emphasize “claim,” to have been “raised Catholic.” The most recent is the guy who played “Puddy” on Seinfeld, who made his confession to Terry Gross on Fresh Air.

Reading the newspaper, I discover politicians who were “raised Catholic.” Celebrities of all sorts from television, movies, or some esoteric branch of show business or the arts tell the world with a wink and a nod that they were “raised Catholic.” It seems to resonate with everyone. There seems to be an unspoken understanding of the precise meaning of this biographical fact.

Enjoyed reading this?

READ MORE! REGISTER TODAY

SUBSCRIBE

You May Also Enjoy

Welcome to Waukesha County Jail

In the midst of the starkness, the ribald laughter, and the dormant figures wrapped in their headphones, I thought, "But for the grace of God, this is the world."

The Nihilism & Atheism of Allan Bloom

Bloom takes as his model an atheist who is prepared to be deceptive about his beliefs in order to protect his own interests. It seems fair to infer that Bloom is such a person.

Cohabitation: Ten Facts

Benedict XVI wrote that among the four "fundamental values" that are "not negotiable," one is "the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman."