For Catholics, Beer Is About Following Traditions, Honoring Past, Celebrating LifeAlcohol has always been a significant aspect of Catholic culture. Beer is typically available at Catholic festivals, weddings, and celebrations for any occasion. Some of the greatest breweries in the world were originally founded and maintained by Catholics.
In fact, Annheuser-Busch (Budweiser, Bud Light) and Miller Brewing Company (Miller High Life, Miller Lite) were both founded by German Catholic immigrants.
In 1857, German Catholic Adolphus Busch left Kastel, Germany for the United States. He arrived in St. Louis, Missouri and worked in the local brewing industry.
Busch wanted to create a new beer with universal appeal that would exceed regional brands. He decided to tour Europe and study German brewing methods. He found Budweis, a popular Bohemian lager made with 30% rice, hops, and barley malt. He bought the naming rights and brought the beer to America.
Budweiser is currently the highest selling beer in the country and has become a cultural symbol of America.
In 1854, German Catholic Frederick Miller left Riedlingen, Germany for the United States. He arrived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and founded the Miller Brewing Company the next year.
Many other Catholics came to America and played a significant role in the growing beer industry.
However, early Americans were largely British WASPS (White Anglo Saxon Protestants). Methodists, Baptists, and most other Protestants believed drinking was sinful and immoral (most actually still do).
After the War of 1812 though, more ethnic Catholics gradually started arriving in America. WASP leaders worried Catholics would take over and destroy America. They started the temperance movement to outlaw alcohol and fight the influence of Catholic culture.
In 1826, WASP Presbyterian pastor Lyman Beecher started the American Temperance Society (ATS) to promote laws against alcohol consumption. By 1838, the group had more than 1.5 million members across America.
In 1869, WASP Methodist pastor John Russell started the Prohibition Party with a platform to outlaw the production and sale of alcohol.
In 1873, WASP feminists Mary Hunt and Frances Willard started the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) to join the fight against alcohol. The purpose of the WCTU was to create a “sober and pure world”. Other WASP feminists Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Webb Hayes were also strong supporters of the temperance movement.
The WCTU believed Catholic immigrants were alcoholics and started a program to target them at Ellis Island. The WCTU also distributed anti-Catholic literature which showed Irish and German immigrants drinking alcohol in excess and becoming intoxicated.
In 1913, the WCTU actually asked Churches to stop using wine because it contained “the narcotic poison, alcohol, which cannot truly represent the blood of Christ.” (Needless to say, the Catholic Church ignored them…)
In 1919 the WCTU also announced a plan to outlaw tobacco within five years. (Which also obviously failed…)
However, the WCTU did have substantial political power and pressured politicians to outlaw alcohol.
In 1893, WASP Pastor Howard Hyde Russell formed the Anti-Saloon League (ASL). The members saw themselves as preachers fulfilling their religious duty of eliminating alcohol in America. In 1902, WASP lawyer Wayne Wheeler took over the organization and fought for legislation against alcohol.
When America entered World War I in 1918, the temperance movement saw an opportunity to exploit American patriotism and anti-immigrant. Since Catholic immigrants enjoyed alcohol, temperance leaders claimed laws against alcohol were laws against the “enemy”.
“Patriotic” Americans joined the temperance movement and the group finally had the political power to change the constitution.
In 1919, the 18th Amendment established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States.
The ban on alcohol was a direct attack on Catholic culture and ethnic traditions in America. Many Catholic brewing companies that had operated for generations were forced out of business.
Some Catholics fought back and challenged the law. The American mafia and other criminal organizations actually grew during the ban and bought the support of corrupt politicians and police forces.
Eventually, Americans realized prohibition had actually caused more problems than it had fixed. In 1933, the 21st Amendment ended the prohibition of alcohol.
However, the attack on alcohol never REALLY ended. In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Age Drinking Act. The federal law set the legal drinking age to 21. (By comparison, 16 is the legal drinking age in Germany & Italy; 18 in Ireland & Poland).
Some Christians argue drinking is sinful and claim Catholics are “gluttonous alcoholics”.
But for Catholics, drinking beer is about following traditions, honoring our past, and celebrating life.
Article originally posted at JettandJahn.com,
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