I was reading the thread about whether or not Dick Gephardt will get relected, and someone made the point that his challenger was trying to appeal to the Catholics in the aera. Supposedly 25% of the population is Catholic. What I was wondering is why is it such a dense population of Catholics? I know that University of Missouri- St. Louis (or was it St. Louis University? oh well) is historically Catholic. Does this density have something to do with an 18th century French influence possibly?
25% is densely populated with Catholics? That’s pretty much in line with the U.S. average, isn’t it? Roman Catholics made up about 23% of the population of the United States in 1996, according to my reference.
St. Louis was founded by the French, of course, and has a large Italian and southern German population. I imagine recent Hispanic immigration hasn’t hurt. Many northern US cities have large Catholic populations; St. Louis is a little south of such cities (Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, etc.), but not too far off the beaten path.
St. Louis’s Catholic community has been there for a long time and it’s fairly influential. The city boasts two cathedrals and both have basilica status.
Saint Louis University is a Jesuit institution, although it is not as highly regarded as Washington University. However, SLU has produced a lot of the political and business establishment.
The University of Missouri-St. Louis is a state school.