--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For while this year it may be a Catholic…" description: "\"For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew— ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/john-f-kennedy-246_baptists_for-while-this-year-it-may-be-a-catholic_2751844.jpg" --- # For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the… ![“For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew— or a Quaker or a Unitarian or a Baptist. It was Virginia's harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson's statute of…” quote by John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/john-f-kennedy-246_baptists_for-while-this-year-it-may-be-a-catholic_2751844.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/john-f-kennedy-246_baptists_for-while-this-year-it-may-be-a-catholic_2751844.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/john-f-kennedy-246_baptists_for-while-this-year-it-may-be-a-catholic_2751844.jpg) > “For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew— or a Quaker or a Unitarian or a Baptist. It was Virginia's harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to Jefferson's statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim, but tomorrow it may be you — until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril.” [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Kennedy notes religious groups have faced suspicion; past oppression led to religious freedom statutes, warning future persecution. **In simple terms:** Religious groups have been blamed, leading to laws protecting freedom. Key Takeaway Guard against scapegoating of any faith. Themes religion tolerance history rights societal harmony Mood hopeful cautious Type historical political When to use this quote - policy debate - education - community building Key Concepts civil liberties legal precedent social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - How can societies protect minority faiths? - What lessons from history apply today? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex histories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baptists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baptists/) [Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) [Harassment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harassment/) [Jew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jew/) [Peril](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peril/) [Preacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preacher/) [Quaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quaker/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-freedom/) [Separation between church and state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separation-between-church-and-state/) [Suspicion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicion/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [Unitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unitarian/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) [Virginia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virginia/) ## Related quotes > [“For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/for-while-this-year-it-may-be-a-catholic-against-whom-the-finger-of-2/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute - where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-believe-in-an-america-where-the-separation-of-church-and-state-is-3/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-believe-in-an-america-that-is-officially-neither-catholic-2/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I do not speak for my church on public matters; and the church does not speak for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-do-not-speak-for-my-church-on-public-matters-and-the-church-does/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end... where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-believe-in-an-america-where-religious-intolerance-will-someday-end/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I believe in a president whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-believe-in-a-president-whose-religious-views-are-his-own-private/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Finally, I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end; where all men and all churches are treated as equal; where every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/finally-i-believe-in-an-america-where-religious-intolerance-will/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish - where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-believe-in-an-america-that-is-officially-neither-catholic/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I believe in an America ... where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-believe-in-an-america-where-no-public-official-either-requests-or/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [A Unitarian is a person who believes in at most one God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/a-unitarian-is-a-person-who-believes-in-at-most-one-god/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [My family for several generations have been members of the Unitarian Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leverett-saltonstall/my-family-for-several-generations-have-been-members-of-the-unitarian/) [Leverett Saltonstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leverett-saltonstall/) > [Manly natural religion - it is not joining the Church; it is not to believe in a creed, Hebrew, Protestant, Catholic, Trinitarian, Unitarian, Nothingarian.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/manly-natural-religion-it-is-not-joining-the-church-it-is-not-to/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [ ...\[T\]oday's Washington is about as attentive to the Tenth Amendment as the Unitarian Church is to the Book of Revelation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentive-to-the-tenth-amendment-as/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [ “He \[Erasmus Darwin\] used to say that 'unitarianism was a feather-bed to catch a falling Christian.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/he-erasmus-darwin-used-to-say-that-unitarianism-was-a-feather-bed-to/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I was raised Unitarian, and my mother said she took us to church so that we wouldn't get religious later in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/i-was-raised-unitarian-and-my-mother-said-she-took-us-to-church-so/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) ## More by John F. 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Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Great crises produce great men, and great deeds of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/great-crises-produce-great-men-and-great-deeds-of-courage/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [There comes a point where you see no evidence that the carrot and diplomacy are working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/there-comes-a-point-where-you-see-no-evidence-that-the-carrot-and/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [Suspicion on one side breeds suspicion on the other, and new weapons beget counter-weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/suspicion-on-one-side-breeds-suspicion-on-the-other-and-new-weapons/) [John F. 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I don't believe in man-made religions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whoopi-goldberg/my-family-is-jewish-buddhist-baptist-and-catholic-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Whoopi Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whoopi-goldberg/) > [Martha Stewart contributes more to our civility than the Baptist Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/martha-stewart-contributes-more-to-our-civility-than-the-baptist/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [If my ruling disposition is self-interest, I perceive that everything that happens to me is always for or against my self-interest; if, on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-my-ruling-disposition-is-self-interest-i-perceive-that-everything/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Christianity has a built-in defense system: anything that questions a belief, no matter how logical the argument is, is the work of Satan by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/christianity-has-a-built-in-defense-system-anything-that-questions-a/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [I grew up in that minority. I grew up in the South, in Roswell, Georgia, and it was heavily white, Baptist, conservative. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/i-grew-up-in-that-minority-i-grew-up-in-the-south-in-roswell-georgia/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [John the Baptist never performed any miracles. Yet, he was greater than any of the Old Testament prophets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/john-the-baptist-never-performed-any-miracles-yet-he-was-greater-than/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [He's a Catholic, a Hindy, an atheist, a Chein, a Buddhist, a Baptist and a Jew, and he knows, he shouldn't kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buffy-sainte-marie/he-s-a-catholic-a-hindy-an-atheist-a-chein-a-buddhist-a-baptist-and-a/) [Buffy Sainte-Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buffy-sainte-marie/) > [The biological evolutionary perception of life and of human qualities is radically different from that of traditional religion, whether it's Southern Baptist or Islam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-biological-evolutionary-perception-of-life-and-of-human-qualities/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I was baptized a Baptist, but I'm just Christian, as far as I'm concerned. I could go in any church, doesn't matter if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-latifah/i-was-baptized-a-baptist-but-i-m-just-christian-as-far-as-i-m/) [Queen Latifah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-latifah/) > [When Jesus stepped into the waters of the Jordan and was baptized by John the Baptist, he did so not because he was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/when-jesus-stepped-into-the-waters-of-the-jordan-and-was-baptized-by/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It has never been recommended to confuse "loving" with "seeking to please"... ...Salome pleased Herod's guests; I can hardly believe she was burning with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/it-has-never-been-recommended-to-confuse-loving-with-seeking-to/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [A Roman Catholic worships a god who speaks through the Pope, while a Baptist worships a god who does not. 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