Catholicism vs. Anglicanism in Gothic Literature
Lots of Gothic lit is intensely anti-Catholic. Like, angry peasants with pitchforks anti-Catholic. Speaking of which, it's the long history of peasants with pitchforks, witches burned at the stake, and tortuous inquisitions that Gothic writers were tapping into when they craft their grisly tales. Part of the appeal is that England's past is sort of a repository of various faiths including pagan traditions that allowed for a continued interest in the supernatural.
But the dominant religion in England during the time most Gothic novels were produced was Anglicanism: a rejection of Catholicism established by (then Catholic) King Henry VIII in 1534 after he wanted to divorce his wife and remarry (the Pope said no, so Henry created his own church).
Anglicanism was no longer new by the time Castle of Otranto was written, so Gothic texts, then, were able to capitalize on a faith that now felt both foreign and ancestral, old and exotic. Unfortunately, this came at the expense of vilifying an entire faith with the literary fixtures like rapacious monks and superstitious villagers…
But it made for some really good stories.
Chew on This
In the Gothic tradition, it's not a stretch to go from eroticizing Catholicism to seeing England itself as wholly apart from "the other." What do you think? Jane Eyre has a lot of religious issues from missionaries to bigamy and everything else in between.
Part of the allure of Catholicism for the Gothic audience was what they saw as the lush theatricality of the Catholic Church. Saints, banners, music, incense—all were seen by them as an incredible spectacle. Check out how Wilde merges the ethical issues in The Picture of Dorian Gray with the sensory overload sprung from this tradition.