Abstract

Mathew Carey's Douai Bible of 1790 was the first Catholic and only the second English Bible published in the Americas. It was also part of the first group of Catholic devotional and instructional works printed in early America, all produced by Carey, and marks the emergence of a Catholic presence in late-eighteenth century American print culture. During the period, Enlightenment attitudes about toleration for religious minorities came into conflict with the Enlightenment's critique of Catholicism's perceived role in history and stereotypes about Catholics as hostile to Bible reading. The appearance of Carey's Bible and other Catholic publications coincided with creation of the first American diocese and appointment of its first bishop, John Carroll, in 1789. During this brief period after limited toleration was first granted to Catholics at the federal level, lay Catholics such as Carey co-opted Enlightenment critiques of European Catholic intolerance to argue for increased toleration of their own faith in the new republic. By positioning themselves as supporters of republicanism and religious plurality, and by contributing to and representing themselves in print and in civic organizations, Catholics announced their support for democratic values, literacy, and the tolerance they sought for their own faith.

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