‘Romanists’ for Rum, Baptists Against Booze: Two Churches in the Struggle Over Prohibition in 1919

Abstract

This article focuses on two referenda held on the issue of prohibition in
New Zealand in 1919. It especially examines the attitudes of the Baptist
and Roman Catholic churches on the issue of alcohol and their roles in
the prohibition debate. For their part Baptists of that era were totally
anti-alcohol and strongly supportive of prohibition. Catholics, on the
other hand, felt under particular emotional stress at that time, largely
because of ongoing chaos in Ireland (the motherland of many New
Zealand Catholics) and because of increased anti-Catholicism fostered by
the Protestant Political Association which emerged in 1917. In that
context the Catholic hierarchy was more inclined to portray the
prohibition movement in Catholic-versus-Protestant terms and, with
greater than normal vigour, to urge Catholic faithful to oppose
prohibition. The prohibition movement came within a few thousand
votes of success at the two referenda. Because Catholics were so strongly
urged to oppose prohibition, it is suggested that not only did returning
soldiers keep New Zealand ‘wet’ – the Catholic vote also kept New
Zealand ‘wet".