Francine Uenuma | Apr 2, 2021. John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic president and Joe Biden, the current one, is the second. In the meantime, you have to know three forms of Christianity if you want to understand the United States. Many people are also aware of the fact that Al Smith was the first Catholic to run for president, and that he did so in 1928. The Catholic Church teaches that promoting abortion is a mortal sin. Who Was The Only Roman Catholic President? He often speaks of his religious convictions and quotes the Bible, and he attends Mass regularly. Although about one-in-five U.S. adults are Catholic and Catholicism has long been one of the nations largest religious groups, John F. Kennedy was the only Catholic president until Biden was sworn in on Jan. 20. Though non-Protestants comprise at least 35 percent of the American population, Kennedy remains the only one ever elected president. And of the 14 major party nominees since Kennedys death, only Michael Dukakis was not a Protestant. (Barry Goldwaters father was Jewish, though Goldwater was not, inspiring a famous .) At the same time, Im very proud of how our Catholic community has responded. When Biden takes the oath of office on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2021, he will become only the second Catholic president in the United States history. I've attended Catholic schools and have a very loving family which has provided me with a great foundation with my faith, something that I will be forever grateful for. John F. Kennedy was the only president of Roman Catholic faith. President Kennedy was the only Catholic to have held the highest office in the land until Joseph Biden was inaugurated in 2021. Similarly, it's believed that Lyndon B Johnson, vice president for John F. Kennedy, also did not have a Bible when he was sworn in after the president's assassination (via Slate). Current VP Joe Biden is Catholic, as is the losing candidate in 2004, Senator John Kerry. Biden to become the second Catholic president in U.S. history, after JFK. He will follow in the footsteps of President John F. Kennedy, who served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. By the time Kennedy was elected in 1960, there was less fear surrounding the idea of a Catholic president, but Kennedys Catholicism was still a significant issue for many voters and there were still many people who were afraid that he would serve the Pope rather than the American people. What religion was Thomas Jefferson? I have been a devout Catholic for my entire life. John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden are the only Catholics to have held the office of president of the United States, despite the fact that Catholicism has historically been one of the largest religious groups in the United States. There's been only one Catholic presidential nominee among the 28 party nominations since Kennedy, and that was another JFK, John Forbes Kerry in 2004. But it appears that neither of them plans to ask for forgiveness. NBC's Maura Barrett looks at what role President-elect Joe Biden's faith may play in his term at the White House. The first and only Catholic ever elected president of the United States was John F. Kennedy. Who was the only Roman Catholic US President? How many US presidents were not religious? When Joe Biden took office in January, he became the 46th president of the United States, but only the second Catholic in U.S. history to hold the position. Other Catholics have run for President before Kennedy, most notably Al Smith in 1928 , but lost. Several of the nations earliest presidents, including George Washington, James Madison and James Monroe, were Episcopalians. But since the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1945, the only two Episcopalian presidents have been Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. America has had a strain of anti-Catholic prejudice since the very beginning. 1. The loudest voices from the right have tagged the phrase Catholic in name only onto our current president and other Catholic Democrats. When President-elect Joe Biden assumes office in January, he will become only the second Catholic president in U.S. history, following John F. Kennedy. Over the past four years, many American christians have religiously exalted former President Donald Trump to a pedestal, sometimes viewing his authority as God-given. Out of the 46 presidents since the inauguration of George Washington in 1789, the only other Catholic commander-in-chief was John F Kennedy. John Kennedy ,on November 9, 1960, became the only Roman Catholic to be elected US President so far. Was Al Smith the first Catholic president? How many of the presidents of the United States were not John F. Kennedy was the first president to be a Roman Catholic. 2. As America gallops towards the 2020 Presidential Election we take a look at the fact that JFK was the first Catholic elected to the White House as president and was the last. President Donald Trump is seen Aug. 14, 2017, at the White House in Washington. There have been at least four nontrinitarian presidents. President Barack Obama was a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago for over 20 years before resigning his membership in 2008. The University of Notre Dame is not the only Catholic institution raising eyebrows when it comes to President Obama. In a variety of states, Catholics initially couldnt hold office at all, and as recently as 30 years before Kennedys election, a Catholic candidate for president had his run torpedoed because of Jefferson, Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson were the only three presidents who were not affiliated with any religious tradition. Joe Biden has become the second ever Catholic president of the United States. Aside from Biden, only one other Catholic, John Kerry, has been a presidential nominee on a major party ticket since Kennedys assassination in 1963. Although about one-in-five U.S. adults are Catholic and Catholicism has long been one of the nations largest religious groups, John F. Kennedy was the only Catholic president until Biden was sworn in on Jan. 20. The Obamas are currently searching for a new church in Washington, D.C. Yes - because he is only the second President of the United States to belong to this denomination. On the morning of his inauguration, President Joe Biden attended Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, where the only other Catholic to reach the nations highest office, John F. Kennedy, was mourned nearly six decades earlier. He was the first Catholic to be elected President of the United States. Last weekend it was that time again. Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms as the 22nd and 24th president. In the midst of dual crises, in a time of fear and uncertainty, we have come together to help our neighbors and No Thomas Jefferson was considered a Deist, adhering to the liberal religious stream of Deism that prioritizes reason over revelation and opposes conventional Christian concepts such as the virgin birth, original sin, and Jesus resurrection. He is only listed once in this chart. Their shared place in history is poignant, but the ensuing misgivings from leaders within the Dear Friends,None of us will forget 2020 anytime soon. John F. Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic to be elected president, was the first to take the oath of office using a Douay version of the Bible. Instead, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Johnson used a Missal, a Catholic book of prayers, to swear his oath while on board Air Force One (pictured above). Only president sworn in with catholic bible? When Joe Biden took office in January, he became the 46th president of the United States, but only the second Catholic in U.S. history to hold the position. However, a strong faith is not the case for nearly everyone my age, including those who have gone to Catholic school with me. Only one other president, John F.Kennedy, was a member of the Roman Catholic faith.The only three presidents who were not associated with any religious tradition were Andrew Johnson, Thomas Jefferson, and Lincoln.Jefferson was the only non-Christian president. The pandemic, together with the social unrest in the wake of George Floyds unjust death, have taken a heavy toll. To Jim Kelly, a retired engineer from Westwood, Biden is "Catholic in name only. Regarding elections, there is one thing so many of us seem to agree on but which is dead wrong, namely that voting for president of the United States is a binary choice. After the 2012 election, I was with some Catholics who kept referring to See answer (1) John F. Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic to be elected president, was the first to take the oath of office using a Douay version of The Bible. the Committee on Doctrine for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops may potentially expose President Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi as sinners in the eyes of the church. Answer (1 of 6): No.