I grew up in Manhattan in the mid-60s. My family was Catholic and we knew a lot of Jewish people. I was aware of this religious difference mostly because of some kids getting days off from Public School because of the Jewish Holidays.
When I was in second grade (in Catholic school) we read in our social studies book that most Americans were Protestant. This was disturbing news to me because I had never heard that word before.
Imagine, learning that MOST of your fellow citizens were something you’d never even heard of.
When we got out of school that day I asked my mom “What’s a Protestant?” And she looked at me shocked and said “You don’t know?!?!?”
Oooh boy, I was really up the creek on this Protestant thing!
Then she said “Oh, of course you don’t know, there aren’t anymore Protestants around here any more.” Then she sort of explained it to me. A few years later my friend introduced me to the tales of Henry VIII and the history started to fall into place.
I had to laugh seeing this thread, I’ll never forget that day. Aside from the day JFK was killed that was pretty much the most confused I’d been up to that point in my life.
My late father-in-law had a tired old joke he’d pull out whenever he passed a cross walk marked “Pedestrian Crossing”. He’d always ask, “Why do the Presbyterians get their own crossing? Where are the crossings for the Lutherans and the Catholics?”