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

Pope Francis & the Primacy of Conscience

The most egregious remark in the Pope's interview with Scalfari concerns a subjective definition of conscience, one that the self-described atheist says he "perfectly shares."

Letter to the Editor: September 2003

The Real Michael Rose... Unconditional Love, Unconditional Salvation... Leon Suprenant's Clericalist Mentality... Leon Suprenant Clarifies His Position... Proof That God Never Abandons His Church... Feminist Influence On the Bishops...

Would Offensive U.S. Military Action in the Persian Gulf Be Morally Justifiable?

Ed. Note: The following letter, dated November 15 and written at the urging of a…