When we think of conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, we think of the wars following the Protestant Reformation in Europe in the 1500s and 1600s. The United States, we assume, has followed a policy of free expression of religion, as promised in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Sad to say, that is not true. I would like to share with you (briefly) the story of the “Philadelphia Riots of 1844.”
![Riots over the Bible? Yes. In Philadelphia.](https://www.goodmaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1024px-Riot_in_Philadelphia_June_i.e._July_7th_1844_-_H._Bucholzer-1024x675.jpg)