A Common Grave - (Published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American Histo) by Susan Juster (Hardcover)

About the Book

"From Nevis to Newfoundland, Catholics were everywhere in English America. But often feared and distrusted, they hid in plain sight, deftly obscuring themselves from the Protestant authorities. Their strategies of concealment, deception, and misdirection frustrated colonial census takers, and their presence has likewise eluded historians of religion, who have portrayed Catholics as isolated dots in an otherwise vast Protestant expanse.Pushing against this long-standing narrative, Susan Juster provides the first comprehensive look at the lived experience of Catholics-whether Irish, African, French, or English-in colonial America. She reveals a vibrant community that, although often forced to conceal itself, maintained a rich sacramental life saturated with traditional devotional objects and structured by familiar rituals. As Juster shows, the unique pressures of colonial existence forced Catholics to adapt and transform these religious practices. By following the faithful into their homes and private chapels as they married, christened infants, buried loved ones, and prayed for their souls, Juster uncovers a confluence of European, African, and Indigenous spiritual traditions produced by American colonialism"--

Book Synopsis

From Nevis to Newfoundland, Catholics were everywhere in English America. But often feared and distrusted, they hid in plain sight, deftly obscuring themselves from the Protestant authorities. Their strategies of concealment, deception, and misdirection frustrated colonial census takers, and their presence has likewise eluded historians of religion, who have portrayed Catholics as isolated dots in an otherwise vast Protestant expanse.

Pushing against this long-standing narrative, Susan Juster provides the first comprehensive look at the lived experience of Catholics--whether Irish, African, French, or English--in colonial America. She reveals a vibrant community that, although often forced to conceal itself, maintained a rich sacramental life saturated with traditional devotional objects and structured by familiar rituals. As Juster shows, the unique pressures of colonial existence forced Catholics to adapt and transform these religious practices. By following the faithful into their homes and private chapels as they married, christened infants, buried loved ones, and prayed for their souls, Juster uncovers a confluence of European, African, and Indigenous spiritual traditions produced by American colonialism.

Review Quotes

"Written in lucid prose, and supported by prodigious research, A Common Grave challenges preconceived divisions between Protestant and Catholic to reveal a world of commingling and hybridity along with secrecy and disguise. Juster has given us a riveting and judicious study about the making of religious identity in a perilous and changing world."--Mark Valeri, Washington University in St. Louis

About the Author

Susan Juster is W. M. Keck Foundation Director of Research at the Huntington Library.