“C” is for Catholics. In 1716 the South Carolina Assembly banned Catholic and Irish immigration for fear they would collaborate with Spanish Catholics in Florida. A few Catholics came anyway but the lack of an established Catholic church led them to abandon their faith or at least shy away from any public demonstration of their Catholicism. Organized Catholic life began in 1788 with the arrival of the first stationed priest in Charleston. In 1820 the Catholic Church established the Diocese of Charleston. In the twentieth century the Catholic population was concentrated in Columbia and Charleston. An upsurge of Catholics coming to the diocese in the 1990s kept the church focused primarily on issues of church building and staffing. Historically, Roman Catholics have “fit in” with the dominant social and political culture of the state.
“C” is for Catholics
