Challenge: Majority Catholic US

Some sort of plague arrives that eliminates the Anglo-Saxon population, leaving the Italian, Irish, and Polish immigrants alive.
 
I read in Time that Catholics might form a majority of the US Christian population (but not the population-at-large) within a few decades.
 
Considering that there is no unified Protestantism per se, there already is a majority of Catholics. That is what the highest percentage of Christians identify themselves as.

I assume this What If involves Catholics outnumbering the combined Protestant numbers.
 
The heavens erupt in song and light shines down on every Catholic Church on earth. The world is quite startled by this as the heavens do not typically erupt in song. In the next few days, various sects of Christianity are assimilated. The world now has a Catholic majority, United States included.

If that isn't enough, Jesus Christ marches an army of angels throughout North America proclaiming the teachings of the Catholic Church.
 
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Wolfpaw

Banned
Too bad that butterflies the U.S. ;)

Perhaps not ;)

Think about it; a colony that is majority Catholic may be more likely to revolt against British rule earlier on. Granted, this would most likely butterfly away the U.S. as we know it, but something along its lines could emerge!

 
Like most said, you'd probably need a POD of 17th century. An English colonial policy of dumping troublesome Irish in the colonies, or English Catholics seeking the colonies as a refuge in very high numbers.

There's also the POD of the US taking over all of Mexico after the 1845-48 war. But the only 20th century POD I can think of is a US intervention in the Mexican Revolution that somehow leads to a US takeover of the whole nation. Perhaps the paternalistic attitude gets extended to Central America in the 20s and 30s. All pretty unlikely.

But a Catholic majority US would be less politically conservative, while it might remain socialy or religiously conservative. Health care reform in the 1940s, but no abortion rights even today, for example.
 
Pretty much would have to have Mexico (at least) in the US. Some sort of Draka-esque 'US unites the entire hemisphere/continent of North America' and raises it to first world status to fight off the evil Nazi/Commies/Draka/lizards.
That's what the United States does in the infamous (and poorly thought out) "New World Moral Order" map from 1942. With all of Middle America, the Caribbean and the Philippines part of the US, I imagine it would have a Catholic majority.

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The Roosevelt Corollary involves annexing any unstable Latin American nation, therefore the US ends up annexing all or most of Latin America. Could enter WWI on the side of the Central Powers and annex Canada after that if you want to get the Quebecois Catholics.
 
Considering that there is no unified Protestantism per se, there already is a majority of Catholics. That is what the highest percentage of Christians identify themselves as.

I assume this What If involves Catholics outnumbering the combined Protestant numbers.

What you just described is a plurality. Not a majority. There is a small, yet very important difference.

A majority is when more than half of the population supports something. A plurality is when something has the most support, but not less than half of the people support it.

Now, Catholics now represent a plurality of Christians (and all religions, if it comes to that) in the United States, but, strictly speaking, they do not have a majority (nor are they particularly close).
 
Considering that there is no unified Protestantism per se, there already is a majority of Catholics.
Last I checked, Catholics do not constitute 50% + 1 of the American population. They certainly are the largest Christian sect, but they are by no means a majority.
 

Skokie

Banned
Shouldn't be too hard. Nix the 1924 Immigration Act, which reduced southern, central and eastern European immigration. Get Catholics to have 5-13 children per family throughout the remainder of the century.
 
We could invent a Great Man (someone in OTL who died as a kid or did something else rather than, say, enter the priesthood) who convinces a lot of Episcopalians to "cross the Tiber," perhaps in the reaction to the increasing liberalization of their church.
 
POD: 1914

1914: Mexico's dictatorial Huerta regime is not overthrown by Venustiano Carranza.
1917: Huerta decides to join with Germany, to declare war on the United States, after receiving the Zimmerman telegram.
1918-1920: The United States and Mexico are at war. The American army led by "Black Jack" Pershing slogs through Mexico, before overthrowing Huerta. War casualties approach the World War I total for the European countries, nearly 3% on each side.
1921: Mexico is formally absorbed as a protectorate of the U.S.
At this time, the combined population of Amer-xico is approximately 116 million with 40 million Catholics.
1930's: The New Deal and the "make-work" programs of the depression extend into massive development of Mexico, leading to a demographic shift, as Mexico starts to rapidly grow in population. At the same time, the improvements in Mexico, and the general ruthlessness of companies like United Fruit, lead to large amounts of immigration from Guatemala and Costa Rica into southern Mexico. The "Banana Diaspora" as it was called lead to an even higher amount of catholics in Southern Mexico, now receiving the benefits of the new deal.
1940's to current: The catholics out breed the protestant population of the U.S., and the early improvements to Mexico, and related immigration laws towards latin American countries, pressed for by Mexican representatives and senators lead to a Catholic plurality.

2010: Cenusu data reveals that the U.S - Mexico has a population of 490 million people, with 265 million Roman Catholics. [54.0% Roman Catholic]
The old U.S. has approximately 300 million people with 33% identifying as Roman Catholic.
The old Mexico has approximately 190 million people with 86% identifying as Roman Catholic. [Mexico right now identifies as 88% R.C. according to wikipedia]
 
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