Why Catholicism Is Losing Influence To Protestantism In Brazil

International Business Times ^ | July 17, 2012 | Ryan Villarreal

[Dr. Thorne]

At least 1 million evangelical Christians took part in Saturday's annual "March for Jesus" in Sao Paulo, demonstrating the growing trend of Protestantism in Brazil.

With 123.2 million of 191 million Brazilians identifying as Catholic according to 2010 census data, the South American nation still holds the world's largest Catholic population, but adherents to the faith have been steadily declining over several decades, while Protestantism, particularly evangelical Christianity, has been on the rise.

[Rashputin]

"Evangelicals" is just one of the more recent attempts to hide from the reality that Protestant Christianity is the driving force behind the collapse of this country and of Christianity around the world. Whatever they call themselves in order to play games with statistics rather than deal with reality, the vast majority of Protestant "Christians" have absolutely no problem with murder by contraception which has without a doubt murdered at least as many infants as abortion has. Furthermore, the degeneration of society follows in lock step with the reduction in the number of faithful Catholics as well as being nearly the perfect inverse of the growth of "Evangelical Christians". Whatever they may think they are, they are in reality salt that has lost it's savor. Otherwise, society would have been improving in the past thirty years rather than going down the tubes while "Evangelicals" swap stories about the impending Great Escape or whichever other fantasy suits the conspiratorial bent of the congregation.

Oh, and by the by, 54% of Catholics and 57% of other folks calling themselves Christian voted for King Barry, so pretending some sliver of a sliver of the overall Protestant population is different doesn't float. Just like trying to float the lie that contraception is any different than other forms of abortion doesn't float.

Whatever you want to say about Catholics, the fact is that Catholics are not now and never have been the majority in an election in this country. In national elections they are outnumbered by a minimum of three to one by Protestants and even in MA where the percentage of the population that is Catholic is greater than anywhere else they're outnumbered 1.5 to one. In most States they make up less than a quarter of the electorate. Of course, if Protestants all stay home on election day and let only Catholics vote, or if the ninety percent of the Congress that's always been Protestant takes orders from the few Catholics, that's different. Are you saying that the vast, indeed overwhelming majority, of Protestants do whatever Cafeteria Catholics and Catholics in Name Only tell them to? Didn't think so, but it's not the Catholic minority that runs this country, not by a long shot.

It's obvious that the majority of Evangelical/Fundamentalist/Old Fashioned/Baptist/Methodist exceptions to the facts are enjoying the powerful delusion they're under, all the while whistling past their own grave by pretending they're not like "those people". Seeing that makes the parable of the Publican much obvious to those who really want to follow Christ. I do hope those following the heresy of Core enjoy the deluding themselves into denying they have refused to take up their cross and follow Christ the minute they committed the same sin Eve committed when she, too, revised His Word to suit herself. The guilt free murder, and sex without responsibility are no doubt just peachy keen now, but it's awful to think how those same things are going to torture such folks forever when they finally hear what almost all such folks will hear unless they change their ways; "I never knew you" from the lips of Christ who they refuse to surrender to.

have a nice day

[ansel12]

Well the Protestant vote did go democrat in 1932, 1936, and 1964.

The Catholic vote is a very dependable liberal vote.

In 2008 Protestants voted against Obama while Catholics voted for him, California has fallen under the influence and resulting politics of the Catholic vote as well.

[Rashputin]

"In 2008 Protestants voted against Obama while Catholics voted for him."

Absolutely and totally untrue. But, I guess you could sliver out the non-Protestant Protestants, the sorta-Protestant Protestants, the Christmas and Easter Protestants, and pretend you were on to something. Unfortunately, if you're going to play that game you have to sliver out around 60% of Catholics in which case Catholics didn't vote for King Barry either.

But, I understand. It's tough to keep that joyful attitude to ongoing mass murder by contraception unless you point the finger at someone other then the den of vipers around you. Now enjoy the broad, easy, guilt free, highway you're on and just keep pointing fingers elsewhere. After all, taking up the cross and following Christ is a LOT tougher than revising the Word of God to suit yourself the same way Eve did.

have a nice day

[ansel12]

No, the election data is based on the entire category of ‘Protestant’ which includes Episcopalians, blacks, liberals, conservatives, all of them.

The category of Protestant voted 54% republican, while baptized Catholics, members of a single church, voted pro-abortion democrat by 54%.

We see the same division with Hispanic voters.

[Rashputin]

Oh my goodness!!

Let's do stay focused on distortions related to voting!!

Yes, let's do ignore the FACT that Protestants have murdered by contraception at least as many infants as have been aborted. Let's ignore that this has always been a Protestant country with a three to one or better ratio of Protestants to Catholics and it's still doing down the tubes very rapidly. Let's also ignore the fact that the"explosive" growth of "Evangelical Christians" is perfectly synchronized with the decline in marriage, the increase in illegitimate births, the increase in STDs of all kinds, the increase of divorce, and most especially let's ignore the FACT that divorce is at as high and by some accounts higher among "Evangelicals" than among Catholics.

Yes, let's play political games and ignore the most important reality. The reality that this "Protestant" nation is dominated by Protestants, run primarily by Protestants, and without a doubt declining due to the fact that Protestants are far more interested in rationalizing their behavior than to following Christ.

I understand why Protestants like to play such games. They can't possibly point to their impact on society and say anything positive so naturally they set out to prove that figures don't lie but liars figure.

Anathema

have a nice day

[Natural Law]

"No, the election data is based on the entire category of ‘Protestant’ which includes Episcopalians, blacks, liberals, conservatives, all of them."

Since we all still vote by secret ballot you are pulling those numbers out of.....well never mind, but for you to be right you have to accept someone's incomplete and probably highly unscientific sampling data and extrapolate it to your desired conclusion. I don't accept that so show us your data and how the demographic groups are determined because even if all Catholics had stayed home or voted for none of the above (like nearly 40% actually did) Obama would still have been elected by Protestant votes.

[ansel12]

Well, Catholic immigration did have a profound on America’s politics and our destiny, Catholics still do what they can to vote in the changes that they desire for our once great nation.

Brazil is the world’s most Catholic nation, it was more than 93% Catholic when Kennedy was elected, Brazilians seem to have rebelled against Catholic liberalism, and moved to more conservative churches.

It seems weird for the pro-abortion Obama voters to be held up as the good guys and the 80% anti-abortion/anti-Obama voters to be attacked as evil, but I have seen this here before, it is a Catholic thing, something that they share with the atheists and other leftists.

[ansel12]

Well, that is one way to go through life, pretend that exit polling and voting studies don’t exist and that no one has any idea how any group votes, not blacks, or females, or Catholics, or by what income, or education, or anything else, it is all unknown and unknowable, politics is operated purely in the dark.

Weee know nutting.

For all we know Evangelicals might be voting democrat and homosexuals voting 100% republican, heck, McCain may have gotten 96% of the black vote, Catholics may be fire breathing right wingers.

[Rashputin]

2008 was a normal Protestant election year with the majority of Protestants voting their emotions, their wallets, and their intense desire to go along to get along. They'll go along to get along even when that means ignoring the stench rising from Belzec or the fact they're voting for someone who fully intends force us all to be accessories to mass murder both before and after the fact. True, that's nothing new for those who ignore murder by contraception. Christians, however, are repulsed by the very idea of paying to murder infants much less murdering them to keep from interfering with their "sexual freedom".

As usual, Protestants were far more concerned with rationalizing their comforts and favorite diversions than with anything even vaguely related to what they claim to believe. As usual, when they realize they've elected a magnificent piece of work like LBJ, Jimmy Carter or King Barry, they revert instantly to what their religion is built around. They immediately begin revising history, reinterpreting Scripture to suit whatever illusion makes them most comfortable, and pointing fingers at others rather than daring to quarrel with the nest of vipers they so enjoy spending time with.

For some reason, though, Protestant folks can't seem to learn simple math. Things like one plus one equals two, or that twenty percent of the population isn't the majority. I guess it's tough to run with a crowd that ignores their own murder of infants and still try to disguise the fact that such behavior isn't Christian by any stretch of the imagination. Still, you'd think people who want to hide in whatever lies they can massage out of statistics would at least not stumble over simple math like 20 < 80.?

Anathema.

have a nice day

[ansel12]

The fact is that Protestants voted pro-life in 2008 as they always do, republican, the only times that the Protestant vote has ever gone democrat in presidential elections was in 1932, 1936, and 1964.

The Catholic vote has only gone republican 6 times in our history, and only once against an incumbent democrat, in other words, the few times republicans have won their vote, it was in a simple, status quo vote.

I don’t know whether you think that the McCain/Palin ticket was the pro-abortion ticket in 2008, or that the majority of Protestants joined Catholics in voting pro-abortion Obama in 2008, but both of those are wrong.

[Rashputin]

What, 32,999 of those non-Catholic groups who call themselves Christian really aren't? Only the folks you know really are?

Come on, the scam Protestants try to run all the time is so transparent it's not even funny any more. First, the calculate the number of Catholics who do something either in gross numbers or as a percentage of the population. Then they exclude from the ranks of Protestantism enough of their fellow Protestants to allow them to gin up some bogus numbers to support whatever they feel like spewing.

Bottom line, the overwhelming majority of those slain by abortion have been slain by Protestants, far more than 80%. When the facts are figured out it's going to be obvious that the guy in Germany who figures that two infants die from contraception for each abortion we know about will probably be underestimating the real numbers.

Protestants who engage in mass murder for the sake of their sex lives are desperate to pretend someone else is worse than they are. As has been the case throughout the history of this country, when they get desperate enough and their own culpability becomes impossible to hide, they turn loudly anti-Catholic, sometimes violently so.

The bottom line is this is a Protestant country. Always has been and still is, and it's Protestants who call the shots. King Barry is President, he couldn't have become President without the majority of those who call themselves non-Catholic Christians voting for him. What 54% of 20% of the population does isn't the deciding factor, never has been, and never will be. No way any of the funny little blather is going to change that fact.

People who murder their own children in order to have a better sex life are not Christian. Period. They may well be under a powerful delusion and given the number of "Protestant Christians" I know with tramp stamps I don't doubt a great many of them are. That doesn't change the FACT that unless they repent and change their ways they're destined to hear, "I never knew you".

I understand, though, Protestantism and Evangelicalism are little more than guilt reduction therapy sessions for people who are functionally identical to atheists.

That's exactly why Protestants voted for King Barry in 2008, because they're functionally identical to atheists and only take issue with King Barry when he messes with their money. Murdering millions of infants is just fine, but taxation and screwing with prosperity isn't tolerable for such fine Christian folks. There are Catholics who think the same way, sure, especially those who have decided it's easier to abandon the Church and become just another "speaker of the magic words" than to believe what Christ Himself said. Besides, Luther and their pastor promised them that everything they ever do is already forgiven once they say the magic words, so hey, sex, drugs, rock n' roll, the murder of infants, cheating and stealing, all macht nichts. It makes no difference.

So, take up your magic words and follow Luther into the heresy of Core. Taking up your cross and following Christ is, after all, so nineteenth century.

have a nice day

[ansel12]

This is getting too weird for me.

[Rashputin]

"This is getting too weird for me."

Interesting. I hear that when the heresy of Core, the lie that Magic Words replace following Christ, and a quick glance through porno sites, all fail to keep reality from seeping in, some who pretend to be Christian click their ruby red slippers together and repeat, "contraception isn't abortion, contraception isn't abortion, ...".

It probably works as well as repeating, "ignore reality, ignore reality, . ... " while burbling on about how that four times as many Protestants voting for Barry as Catholics voting for King Barry proves Catholics put him in office. That's not weird, that's stupidity, insanity, or a deliberate lie.

[ansel12]

Weird stuff.

[daniel1212]

Blessed be the Lord.

Note that link is of a survey of participants from 166 countries (74% employed by a rel. org., and 51% being ordained minsters) in the ecumenical (which can include Catholics) Third Lausanne Congress of World Evangelization (2010). And in some things US evangelicalism is more conservative.

Among the findings related to the prosperity gospel, it reports

90% reject the so-called prosperity gospel, the notion that God will grant wealth and good health to those who have enough faith.

77% also see evangelical leaders displaying lavish lifestyles as a threat (30% major, 47% minor), and only 20% do not see it as a threat at all (this may be understood as based upon it being a problem by occurrence, not simply doctrinally).

[daniel1212]

“The growth of Protestant churches...”

Your post, while rightly condemning the practice of contraception, also engages in a polemic under the premise that what Rome effectually teaches is the opposite of the things you charge Protestantism with, while failing to distinguish btwn two basic classes of Protestants.

It is not so Protestant churches that are growing overall, but evangelical ones, which separation is due to the Protestant mainliners becoming institutionalized and liberal like Rome, and these overall are dying, and both attack evangelical conservative churches.

And i do say that most of those in such institutionalized churches have not been born again. And as for the supposed 33k denoms, see here, http://contra-gentes.blogspot.com/2008/04/doctrinal-chaos-argument-one-of.html while disagreements and formal divisions also are a result of sola ecclesia, and under which are found the great heresies.

Nor were Luther and Reformers characterized by preaching antinominanism, but the opposite. http://peacebyjesus.tripod.com//Reformation_faith_works.html While it is Rome which fosters easy believism, that all that really matters is that you die in the arms of Rome. Only when they convert to evangelical faith is great concern for their souls manifest.

As far as a contraception is concerned, you are correct that it is wrong, though few realize it can result in abortions, and which needs to be made known (substantiation would help), yet the majority of RCs whom Rome treats as members also use it without fear, while also being more liberal in moral views than their evangelical counterparts, who are hardly functionally identical to atheists: http://peacebyjesus.tripod.com/RC-Stats_vs._Evang.html

While conservative Catholics consider their liberal counterparts as self-excommunicated, Rome treats them as members in life and in death, which even the treatment of “notorious public sinners” (who are basically sppsd to be formerly disfellowshipped) such as Ted Kennedy exampled.

As politicians reveal, it is not what is officially said that reveals belief, but what is characteristically exampled. And while Prots can formally separate from liberal churches, many conservative Catholics find the only way they can separate from their liberal counterparts is to be in schism, such as SSPX groups.

In addition, unlike in the past, while Protestants in general are taking the country down, yet they are joined by a majority of Catholics in so doing, but both stand in sharp contrast to the overall evangelical vote and in values.

However, both faiths are in overall spiritual decline, while in numbers Mormonism, Islam, non-affiliated and Wicca are the fastest growing faiths. Yet in a real sense the pre-college young are more open than in recent years, but are the most Scripturally ignorant and morally confused generation America ever raised. And which the historical evangelical preaching of the gospel of repentance and faith, followed by works, must reach.

[Rashputin]

"but evangelical ones, which separation is due to the Protestant mainliners becoming institutionalized and liberal like Rome"

ROTFLMAO Like Rome, sure. So, they're standing firm against abortion and abortion by contraception? Teaching what Christ and the Apostles taught rather than what Luther and Calvin made up to suit themselves? Keeping the entire Bible Christ and the Apostles never once said had errors rather than throwing out portions that even Luther couldn't figure out how to twist to suit his own agenda? Nah, Protestants don't do any of those things.

The fact is that it's not Rome that's liberal, it's Americans in general who are unabashedly extremely liberal in all matters of Faith. So liberal in fact that every single "back to the Bible" or "return to basics" effort turns into just another gang of Jesus Freaks pretending that emotion is the same thing as faith. Those who were once Catholic and have left The One True Church have been enticed into heresy of Core by the Protestant lifestyle that puts the value of an unencumbered sex life above the value of human life and the value of their own predispositions above the Word of God.

The majority of the population standing around pretending that saying the magic words is the same bearing your cross and following Christ are bound to attract the weak, the weakest of the weak in fact and that's who has left His Church to join the "Evangelical" folks who can't even understand simple Scripture like, "this is my body". The very sort of people anxious to be a part of the majority rather than being true to Christ and Christianity, that's who leaves The One True Church, the same sort that are already outside of it and are so blind they can't see their own errors.

Hey, but that's OK. Keep on murdering those infants, telling each other that it's not a problem, pretending you're following Christ, and ignoring the fact that anyone who endorses the murder of infants through contraception isn't Christian in any way, shape or form. The majority of the population is Protestant so just sit with the majority, turn up the music, and have a good time.

I feel great sorrow over the lost folks in this country breezing down the broad highway and claiming they're on a rough and rocky road. They've fallen for a strong delusion, one that Luther revived and they've accepted in order to rationalize whatever sort of behavior they want to enjoy. People who can ignore their hero Paul calling marriage a sacrament and pretend baptism isn't a sacrament but claim to be Christian have already fallen for the very "great delusion" they like to pretend someone else is falling for or will fall for. Instead of begging Christ to open their eyes, though, they much prefer to focus on Great Surrender and Evacuation they've made into a bestselling doctrine built on lies and half truths along with a dash of ignorance.

Yeah, those beasts and boogie men draw a crowd and if that doesn't work there's always "Christian" rock to bring the wallets in and pump them up before passing the hat. Good clean work with no heaving lifting, that's the motto of the folks preaching in almost every "Evangelical" church and I've been to one heck of a lot of them. No matter how popular or how good such a delusion feels, it is a blatant denial of the Kingship of Christ and directly opposite of what Scripture teaches. But you know, it sure does sell, just like telling people to say the magic words rather than taking up their cross sells. Just like denying that murder by contraception is still murder. Just like pretending that saying a few magic words is what Christ had in mind when he said to take up your cross.

The only differences between the "institutional" Protestant crowd and all the "Evangelicals" is that the two groups choose to ignore different sins, prefer slightly different flavors of heresy, and market themselves to different segments of the population, that's all. And that goes double for "Fundamentalists", too. Except for the SBC that holds fast to three and almost four, ninety percent of "Fundamentalists" have totally dropped four of the five things the founders of what is called Fundamentalism originally outlined.

Bash Rome and Catholicism all you like, but doing so is doing the bidding of the Father of Lies who eggs anti-Catholicism on the same way he leads most "Evangelicals" to stop bothering to even show up for church now and then after a few years. It's the land of the Father of Lies people who obey him will spend eternity in regretting having not listened to The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church Christ Himself founded rather than a horny alcoholic guy five hundred years ago who couldn't even keep an oath or keep from telling a lies lies nearly every time he spoke a sober word.

you have a nice day now, ya' hear?

[daniel1212]

Anyone who embraces Jesus for any other reason than taking up their cross and following Him to Calvary has embraced the "prosperity gospel".

And which, as an honest appraisal shows, is what Roman Catholicism promotes, a live as you please as long as you die in the arms of Rome mentality. And while you may excommunicate them, Rome treats them as members in life and in death, like as said, was exampled in the case of Ted Kennedy.

And as shown, RCs overall and like institutionalized Protestants are more liberal than their evangelical counterparts, which hold Scripture as supreme as the wholly inspired Word of God, and Catholics show much less sacrificial commitment.

Your charge also reveals ignorance of historical evangelical faith, which was marked by sacrificial faith, and not the imposed kind, but due to personal devotion. Go read some of the beloved classic Matthew Henry commentary for instance.

Moreover, while conversion and being a disciple does require taking up the cross and following Him to Calvary, characteristically overcoming temptation to compromise, yet faith calls for and enables positive realization of God;s power, such as to escape edge of the sword, and out of weakness to be made strong, and to turn back the armies of the aliens. (Heb. 11:34)

America has always been a liberal project. Its so called "conservatism" is a rootless, progressivist, neocon capitalism

Such a non-objective appraisal is necessary to defend Rome, while it must be supposed that the alternative is what we see where Catholicism predominates, such as in the NE, or perhaps you advocate returning to the days of Catholic theocracies and all the means of the Inquisitions and unBiblical means of dealing with theological competition (which early Protestants had to unlearn),

Meanwhile the pope asserts nations are obligated to provide guarantee access to health care for all of their citizens, regardless of social and economic status or their ability to pay. Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone concurs, saying governments must adopt the proper legislative, administrative and financial measures to provide guaranteed universal access to basic health care, as a right. Perhaps the ObamaPhone will be next, under the premise that "Communication should not be limited to people in relation to what they are able to afford." (http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1004736.htm)

[daniel1212]

Rather than posting more of such contrived reality, RCs should just admit that they will not hear anything that disturbs their imagined Catholic purity and broadbrushing of Protestants. However, the evidence is against such.

And as some actually admit they will not read links that refutes them, here are some portions of such.

THEOLOGICAL VIEWS AND PRACTICES

• 73% (highest) of Pentecostal/Foursquare believers strongly affirm that Christ was sinless on earth, with Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists being tied at 33%, and the lowest being among Episcopalians with just 28% http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/53

• 94.4% of Evangelical Protestants and 84.9% of Catholics believe that Jesus is the son of God. 42.1% of the former and 46.1% of the latter say they pray once a day or more. http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/33304.pdf

• 47.8% of the Evangelicals and 11.8% of Catholics affirm the Bible is Literally true. 6.5% of the former and 19.8% of the latter see it as an ancient book of history and legends. ^

• 42.1% of Evangelical Protestants and 7.1% of Catholics Read Scripture weekly or more. ^

• 64% of those in Assemblies of God churches (versus only 9% of Catholics) strongly DISAGREE that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others they will earn a place in Heaven [salvation on the basis of merit]. ^

• 56% of Assemblies of God (versus 17% Catholics) Christians strongly DISAGREE that Satan is just a symbol of evil [rather than a real being]. ^

• Catholics and Mainline Protestants tend more towards belief in a more Distant God. Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion - American Piety in the 21 Century – September 2006 . http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/33304.pdf

• Evangelical Protestants and Black Protestants tend towards belief in a more Authoritarian God. ^

• Thirty percent of Protestants listed God as their most important connection (relationship) versus 9% of Catholics. Barna, 2008 http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/44-americans-identify-their-most-important-relationships

• Political conservatives were almost three times as likely as political liberals to identify God as their most important relationship (33% vs. 12%, respectively). ^

• Among 7,441 Protestant pastors. Asked if they believed that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God: 87% of Methodists said no. 95% of Episcopalians said no. 82% of Presbyterians said NO. 67% of American Baptists said no. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/54

• Bible Reading: the highest was 75%, by those going to a Pentecostal/Foursquare church who reported they had read the Bible during the past week (besides at church), while the lowest was among Catholics at 23% ^

• Volunteer church work (during past 7 days): Assemblies of God were highest at 30%, with the lowest going to Catholics at 12%. ^

• Donating Money (during the last month): Church of Christ churches were the highest at 29%, with Catholics being the lowest at 12% ^

• American evangelicals gave four times as much money, per person, to churches as did all other church donors in 2001. 88 percent of evangelicals and 73 percent of all Protestants donated to churches. John Ronsvalle and Sylvia Ronsvalle, The State of Church Giving through 2004: Will We Will? 16th ed. (Champaign, Ill.: Empty Tomb, 2006),12. http://www.generousgiving.org/stats#

• A Catholic survey reports that 4 percent of US Catholics described themselves as “very” involved in parish or religious activities other than attending Mass, and 11% as “somewhat involved, and 64% as “not involved at all.” Among weekly (or more) attendees (approx 22% of adult Catholics), 13% were very” involved, 29% “somewhat involved and 25% not involved at all.” http://cara.georgetown.edu/CARAServices/FRStats/devotionpractice.pdf

• 59% of Catholics (and 80% of weekly attendees) reported they had a statue or picture of Mary on display in their home, but 48% never pray the rosary.

• By denomination, 61% of the those associated with an Assemblies of God church said they had shared their faith at least once during the past year, as did 61% of those who attend a Pentecostal/Foursquare church, and ending 14% among Episcopalians and just 10% among Roman Catholics. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/54

• 25% of Evangelical Christians and 20% of other Protestants and 7% of Catholics said the read the Bible on a daily basis. 44% of Catholics said they rarely or never read the Bible, along with only 7% of Evangelical Christians and 13% of other Protestants. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/december_2008/catholics_protestants_practice_faith_in_different_ways

• 91% of Evangelical Christians and 63% of other Protestants and 25% of Catholics consider themselves to be born again; ^

• 44% of Evangelical Christians reflect at least daily on the meaning of Scripture in their lives. 36% of other Protestants and 22% of Catholics do the same; ^

• 52% of Evangelical Christians have had a meaningful discussion about their faith with a non-Christian during the past month. 28% of other Protestants and 18% of Catholics also have held such a discussion. ^

• 68% of Evangelical Christians attend a regular Bible Study or participate in some other small-group activity. 47% of other Protestants take part in small groups related to their faith, along with 24% of Catholics. ^

• Church attendance [2002-2005]: Evangelicals at approx. 60 percent showed the highest percentage of those who reported they attended services weekly or almost weekly, with 30% going more than once a week. Catholics were at 45 percent (9% more than once a week), and Jews 15 percent. Gallup poll. between 2002 and 2005. http://www.christianpost.com/article/20060418/weekly-attendance-highest-among-Evangelical-churches.htm

• Church attendance [2001]: 69% of those associated with Assembly of God churches, and 66% of other Pentecostal churches and 61% of those in non-denominational Protestant churches were the most likely to have attended in the past week (which does to mean they always do) .

• However, numbers from head counts show the actual rate of attendance is less than half of what the pollsters report. http://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/indv10258/readings/HadawayWhatthePolls.pdf ; http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.html

• From 2000 to 2004 the Catholic Church experienced an 11% decrease in its attendance percentage, followed by mainline Protestant churches which saw a 10% percentage decline, while Evangelicals experienced the smallest drop at 1%. http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.html

• Another study found that a growing number of people are attending small Christian groups, with 24.5% of Americans now saying their primary form of spiritual nourishment is meeting with a small group of 20 or less people every week. ^

• Between 2000 and 2004, the net gain (the number of new churches minus the closed churches) in the number of evangelical churches was 5,452, but mainline and Catholic churches closed more than they started for a net loss of 2,200, while a net gain of 13,024 churches was necessary to keep up with the U.S. population growth. At those rates, by 2050, the percentage of the U.S. population attending church will be almost half of what it was in 1990. ^

• 39 percent of Catholics affirmed not attending church is a sin, versus 23 percent of Protestants. Ellison Research, March 11, 2008 http://ellisonresearch.com/releases/20080311.htm http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080312/study-behaviors-americans-consider-sinful.htm

• Christian church attendance is between 1 ½ and 2 times higher in the South and the Midwest than it is in the West and the Northeast [the latter two have the highest percentage of Catholics]. http://www.theamericanchurch.org/facts/8.htm; http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2007/03/01/how-many-americans-attend-church-each

• The states with the most frequent churchgoers were Mississippi, Alabama, S. Carolina, Louisiana, Utah Tennessee, Arkansas, N. Carolina, Georgia, then Texas. The states with the most infrequent churchgoers were Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Hawaii, Oregon, Alaska, then Washington. http://www.gallup.com/poll/125999/mississippians-go-church-most-vermonters-least.aspx http://www.gallup.com/poll/22579/church-attendance-lowest-new-england-highest-south.aspx

• Catholics' responses to the questions that make up the 2004 Gallup Index of Leading Religious Indicators show Catholics lag noticeably behind Protestants on all but two of the survey items that make up the Index: belief in God and church membership. http://www.gallup.com/poll/14725/protestants-vs-catholics-whos-got-religion.aspx

• Among those who converted to a Christian denomination, 42% of of those to Roman Catholicism, 43% of Episcopalian converts, 44% of those to Lutheranism, 48% of those to Methodism, 50% of those to the Presbyterian church, 60% of Baptist converts, 60% of Non-denominational converts, and 73% of of converts to Pentecostal churches reported they attend services weekly. http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=482

• In 2011, 49% of Catholics were likely to attend church services, down from 59% in 1991, while 29% were unchurched, up from 20% in 1991, and were 10 points less likely to volunteer at their church (down to only 9%). http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/514-barna-study-of-religious-change-since-1991-shows-significant-changes-by-faith-group

• Of an estimated Catholics population in the United States of almost 78 million less than 48 million attend more than once yearly. http://www.glenmary.org/rcms2010/

• See HERE for 2001 church attendance (based on adults who attended a church service in the past week) by Denomination.

• 49% of evangelical adults fit the charismatic definition, with 7% of Southern Baptist churches and 6% of mainline churches being charismatic, according to their Senior Pastors, 9% of whom are female (same as non-charismatic). 36% of all U.S. Catholics, and 22% of all charismatics in the U.S. identify as Catholic. Barna research, 2008 http://www.barna.org/congregations-articles/52-is-american-christianity-turning-charismatic

• 51% of all born again Christians are charismatic, with 46% of all adults who attend a Protestant church identifying with that. 16% of the country's white Protestant congregations are Pentecostal, compared to 65% of the Protestant churches dominated by African-Americans. (Barna research, 2008)

• The highest percentage of those who strongly agree they have a personal responsibility to share their faith was found among believers in Pentecostal/Foursquare churches (73%) http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/53

• 81% of Pentecostal/Foursquare believers strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all that it teaches , followed by 77% of Assemblies of God believers, and ending with 26% of Catholics and 22% of Episcopalians. ^

• The percentage of Catholics who believed the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches declined from 34% in 1991 to 26% in 2011 http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/514-barna-study-of-religious-change-since-1991-shows-significant-changes-by-faith-group.

• The typical Catholic person was 38% less likely than the average American to read the Bible; 67% less likely to attend a Sunday school class; 20% less likely to share their faith in Christ with someone who had different beliefs, donated about 17% less money to churches, and were 36% less likely to have an "active faith," defined as reading the Bible, praying and attending a church service during the prior week. Catholics were also significantly less likely to believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches. 44% of Catholics claimed to be "absolutely committed" to their faith, compared to 54% of the entire adult population. However, Catholics were 16% more likely to attend a church service and 8% more likely to have prayed to God during the prior week than the average American. Barna Reaearch, 2007, “Catholics Have Become Mainstream America” http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/100

• 82% of Mainline Churches, 77% of Catholics and 53% of Evangelical Churches affirmed, "There is MORE than one true way to interpret the teachings of my religion." U.S. Religious landscape survey; Copyright © 2008 The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. http://religions.pewforum.org/comparisons#

• Orthodox (29%), Mainline Churches (28%), and Catholics (27%) led Christian Churches in affirming that the Scriptures were written by men and were not the word of God, versus Historically Black Churches (9%), and Evangelical Churches (7%) who rightly affirm its full inspiration of God. ^

• Catholics broke with their Church's teachings more than most other groups, with just six out of 10 Catholics affirming that God is "a person with whom people can have a relationship", and three in 10 describing God as an "impersonal force." 2008 The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. http://religions.pewforum.org/comparisons#

• Only 33% of Catholics strongly affirmed that Christ was sinless on earth. http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/53

• <66% of Catholics supported women's ordination to the priesthood, and 73% approved of the way John Paul II leads the church. Surveying the Religious Landscape: Trends in U.S. Beliefs by George Gallup, Jr. and D. Michael Lindsay (Morehouse Publishing, 1999). Copyright © 2004 -- The Gallup Organization www.gallup.com

• 80% of Catholics believe it is possible to disagree with the pope on official positions on morality and still be a good Catholic. Time/CNN nationwide poll of 1,000 adults, conducted by Yankelovich Partners, Sept. 27-28, 1995; subsample of 500 Catholics, MOE ± 4.5%

• 77% of Catholics polled "believe a person can be a good Catholic without going to Mass every Sunday, 65 percent believe good Catholics can divorce and remarry, and 53 percent believe Catholics can have abortions and remain in good standing. 1999 poll by the National Catholic Reporter. http://www.catholictradition.org/v2-bombs14b.htm

• Comparing Catholics and other Americans, 44% of Catholics claimed to be "absolutely committed" to their faith versus 54% of the entire adult population, and donated about 17% less money to churches; was 38% less likely than the average American to read the Bible; 67% less likely to attend a Sunday school class; 20% less likely to share their faith in Christ with someone who had different beliefs; 24% less likely to say their religious faith has greatly transformed their life; and were 36% less likely to have an "active faith," (defined as reading the Bible, praying and attending a church service during the prior week.) Yet Catholics were 16% more likely than the norm to attend a church service and 8% more likely to have prayed to God during the prior week. Catholics Have Become Mainstream America, Barna research, July 9, 2007 http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/100-catholics-have-become-mainstream-america TOC

• MORAL VIEWS AND BEHAVIORS

• 40% Roman Catholics vs. 41% Non-R.C. see abortion as "morally acceptable"; Sex between unmarried couples: 67% vs. 57%; Baby out of wedlock: 61% vs. 52%; Homosexual relations: 54% vs. 45%; Gambling: 72% vs. 59% http://www.gallup.com/poll/117154/Catholics-Similar-Mainstream-Abortion-Stem-Cells.aspx

• Committed Roman Catholics (church attendance weekly or almost) versus Non-R.C. faithful church goers (see the below as as morally acceptable): Abortion: 24% R.C. vs. 19% Non-R.C.; Sex between unmarried couples: 53% vs. 30%; Baby out of wedlock: 48% vs. 29%; Homosexual relations: 44% vs. 21%; Gambling: 67% vs. 40%; Divorce: 63 vs. 46% ^

• Comparing 16 moral behaviors, Catholics were less likely to say mean things about people behind their back, and tending to engage in recycling more. However, they were also twice as likely to view pornographic content on the Internet, and were more prone to use profanity, to gamble, and to buy lottery tickets. ^

• In a survey asking whether one approves or rejects or overall sees little consequence (skeptical) to society regarding seven trends on the family (More: unmarried couples raising children; gay and lesbian couples raising children; single women having children without a male partner to help raise them; people living together without getting married; mothers of young children working outside the home; people of different races marrying each other; and more women not ever having children), 42% of all Protestants were “Rejecters” of the modern trend, 35% were Skeptics, and 23% were “Approvers.” Among Catholics, 27% were Rejecters, 34% were Approvers, and 39% were Skeptics. (Among non religious, 10% were Rejecters, 48% were Approvers, and 42% were Skeptics.) Pew forum, The Public Renders a Split Verdict On Changes in Family Structure, February 16, 2011 http://pewsocialtrends.org/2011/02/16/the-public-renders-a-split-verdict-on-changes-in-family-structure/#prc_jump

• 50 percent of Protestants affirmed gambling was a sin, versus 15 percent of Catholics; that getting drunk was a sin: 63 percent of Protestants, 28 percent of Catholics; gossip: 70 percent to 45 percent: homosexual activity or sex: 72 percent to 42 percent. Ellison Research, March 11, 2008 http://ellisonresearch.com/releases/20080311.htm http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080312/study-behaviors-americans-consider-sinful.htm

• Combined aggregate results from 9 surveys conducted from 2001 through 2004 show 71% of Protestants (68% of regular church goers) and 66% of Catholics (59% of regular Catholic church-goers) support capital punishment. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/gallup-poll-who-supports-death-penalty

• 73 percent of Catholics rejected Catholic teaching artificial methods of birth control. Catholic World Report; 1997 survey of 1,000 Catholic Americans by Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut

• Only 20 percent strongly agreed with the Church teaching that only men may be ordained. ^

• Of never-married adult females, 25% of Evangelicals, 11% of Catholics and 14% of Mainline Protestants professed never to be have had sexual relations. Countering Conventional Wisdom: New Evidence on Religion and Contraceptive Use, Guttmacher Institute, April. 2011

• 74% of Evangelicals, 73% of Mainline Protestants, and 68% of sexually active Catholics women use birth control. 3% of the Catholics rely on natural family planning. Attendance at religious services and importance of religion to daily life are largely unrelated to use of highly effective contraceptive methods. ^

• 88% of Catholics believe that they can practice artificial means of birth control and still be considered good Catholics. New York Times/CBS News poll, Apr. 21-23, 1994, subsample of 446 Catholics, MOE ± 5%

• 98% of self-identified Catholic women ages 15-44 who have ever had sexual relations have used a method of contraception other than natural family planning at some point in their lives. .” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/the-claim-that-98-percent-of-catholic-women-use-contraception-a-media-foul/2012/02/16/gIQAkPeqIR_blog.html?wprss=fact-checker

• 40% of 18- to 29-year-old Catholics said the church’s “teachings on sexuality and birth control are out of date.” http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/528-six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church

• 59% of all Catholic women of childbearing age practice contraception—a rate of usage statistically equivalent to that of the general population (60%). Calvin Goldscheider and William D. Mosher, "Patterns of Contraceptive Use in the United States:

• 58% of Catholics 52% if they are voters) believe that employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception;

• 50% of white Catholics support this requirement, versus 47% who oppose it, along with 38% of white evangelical Protestants an 50% of white mainline Protestants. Public Religion Research Institute, February 2012 http://publicreligion.org/research/2012/02/january-tracking-poll-2012/

• Catholic women have an abortion rate 29 percent higher than Protestants. Alan Guttmacher Institute http://www.catholicleague.org/research/Catholic_women_and_abortion.htm

• 26 percent of Catholics (2007) polled strongly agree with the Church's unequivocal position on abortion Catholic World Report; 2997 survey of 1,000 Catholic Americans by Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut

• 46 percent of Catholics who say they attend mass weekly accept Church teaching on abortion; 43 percent accept the all-male priesthood; and 30 percent see contraception as morally wrong. ^

• 31% of faithful Catholics (those who attend church weekly, 2004) say abortion should be legal either in "many" or in "all" cases. 2004, The Gallup Organization Gallup Survey for Catholics Speak Out: 802 Catholics, May 1992, MOE ± 4%

• When ask to choose, three-fourths of all Protestant pastors surveyed said [2009] they are pro-life, and 13 percent said they were pro-choice. LifeWay Research; http://www.lifeway.com/ArticleView?storeId=10054&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&article=LifeWay-Research-protestant-pastors-share-views-on-gay-marriage-abortion

• In a 2010 LifeWay Research survey 77 percent of American Protestant pastors (57% of mainline versus 87% evangelical) strongly disagree with same-sex marriage, with 6% percent somewhat disagreeing, and 5% being somewhat in agreement and 10 percent strongly agreeing. (5% of evangelical).

• Only 3% of evangelical pastors (versus 11% mainline) somewhat agree that there is nothing wrong with homosexual marriage.

• 11% of evangelical pastors (versus 30% mainline) somewhat agree that homosexual civil unions are acceptable, with 67% of the former and 38% of the latter strongly disagreeing with homosexual civil unions. October 2010 LifeWay Research survey of 1,000 randomly selected Protestant pastors. http://www.lifeway.com/ArticleView?storeId=10054&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&article=LifeWay-Research-protestant-pastors-oppose-homosexual-marriage

• A 2002 nationwide poll of 1,854 priests in the United States and Puerto Rico reported that 30% of Roman Catholic priests described themselves as Liberal, 28% as Conservative, and 37% as Moderate in their Religious ideology. 53 percent responded that they thought it always was a sin for unmarried people to have sexual relations; 32 percent that is often was, and 9 percent seldom/never. However, nearly four in 10 younger priests in 2002 described themselves as conservative, and were more likely to regard as "always a sin" such acts as premarital sex, abortion, artificial birth control, homosexual relations, etc., and three-fourths said they were more religiously orthodox than their older counterparts. Los Angeles Times (extensive) nationwide survey (2002). http://www.bishop-accountability.org/resources/resource-files/reports/LAT-Priest-Survey.pdf http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_2_39/ai_94129129/pg_2

• The survey also found that 80% of Roman Catholic priests referred to themselves as “mostly” heterosexual in orientation, with 67% being exclusively heterosexual, 8% leaning toward heterosexual, 5% completely in the middle, and 6% leaning toward homosexual and 9% saying they are homosexual, for a combined figure of 15% on the homosexual class. Among younger priests (those ordained for 20 years or less) the figure was 23%. ^

• One-third of surveyed priests said they “do not waver” from their vow of celibacy, while 47% described celibacy as “an ongoing journey” and 14% said they “do not always succeed in following” it. 2% said celibacy is not relevant to their priesthood and they do not observe it. not celibate. ^

• 71 percent of priests responded that it always was wrong for a woman to get an abortion, 19 percent that it often was, and 4 percent seldom/never. ^

• 28 percent judged that is always was sin for married couples to use artificial birth control, 25 percent often, 40 percent never. ^

• 49 percent affirmed that it was always a sin to engage in homosexual behavior, often, 25 percent; and never, 19 percent. ^

• To take one's own life if suffering from a debilitating disease: always, 59 percent; often, 18 percent; never, 17 percent. ^

• 15 percent of the clergy polled listed themselves as "gay or on the homosexual side." Among younger priests 23 percent did so. Los Angeles Times (extensive) nationwide survey (2002). http://www.bishop-accountability.org/resources/resource-files/reports/LAT-Priest-Survey.pdf

• 44 percent of the priests said "definitely" a homosexual subculture'--defined as a `definite group of persons that has its own friendships, social gatherings and vocabulary'--exists in their diocese or religious order. ^

• After examining the official web sites of 244 Catholic universities and colleges in America, the TFP Student Action found that 107 – or 43% have pro-homosexual clubs. TFP Student Action Dec. 6. 2011; studentaction.org/get-involved/online-petitions/pro-homosexual-clubs-at-107-catholic-colleges/print.html

• 39 percent of Roman Catholics and 79 percent of born-again, evangelical or fundamentalist American Christians affirm that homosexual behavior is sinful. LifeWay (SBC) Research study, released Wednesday. 2008 LifeWay Research study. http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080606/survey-americans-divided-on-homosexuality-as-sin.htm

• 79 percent of American Jews, 58 percent of Catholics and 56 percent of mainline Protestants favor acceptance of homosexuality, versus 39 percent of members of historically black churches, 27 percent of Muslims and 26 percent of the evangelical Protestants. U.S. U.S. Religious landscape survey; Copyright © 2008 The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. http://religions.pewforum.org/comparisons#

• 56% of Catholics overall (and 46% of the general public) believe that sexual relations between two adults of the same gender is not a sin, while 39%. of Catholics say homosexual behavior is morally wrong, (versus 76% of white evangelicals and 66% of black Protestants, and 40% of Mainline Protestants). 41% of Catholics do not consider homosexual behavior to be a moral issue. (Pew Research Center, Religion & Politics Survey, 2009; PRRI/RNS Religion News Survey, October 2010; http://publicreligion.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Catholics-and-LGBT-Issues-Survey-Report.pdf)

• Catholics testify [2010] to showing more support (in numbers) for legal recognitions of same-sex relationships than members of any other Christian tradition, and Americans overall. Almost three-quarters of Catholics favor either allowing gay and lesbian people to marry or allowing them to form civil unions (43% and 31% respectively). Only 22% of Catholics said there should be no legal recognition of a gay couple’s relationship. (PRRI, Pre-­-election American Values Survey, 9/2010; http://publicreligion.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Catholics-and-LGBT-Issues-Survey-Report.pdf.)

• This 2010 survey of more than 3,000 adults found that 41% of White American Catholics, 45% of Latino Catholics (versus 16 percent of White evangelical Christians, and 23% of Black Protestants) supported the rights of same-sex couples to marry, and 36% (22% of Latino Catholics) supported civil unions (versus 24% of White evangelicals, and 25% of Black Protestants). Among the general public the rates were 37 and 27 percent.

• 69% of Catholics disagree that homosexual orientation can be changed, versus 23% who believe that they can change. ^

• 19% of White Catholics, 30% of Latino Catholics, 58% of White evangelicals, 52% of Black Protestants and 29% of White Mainline Protestants oppose any legal recognition of homosexual marriage. ^

• 60% of Catholics overall, and 53% of the general public favor allowing homosexual couples to adopt children. ^

• 73% of Catholics favor laws that would protect gay and lesbian people against discrimination in the workplace, and 63% favor allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military. For the general public the figures are 68% and 58% respectively. ^

• 49% of Catholics and 45% of the general public agree that homosexuals should be eligible for ordination with no special requirements. ^

• Among Catholics who attend services regularly (weekly or more), 31% say there should be no legal recognition for homosexual relationships (marriage or civil unions), with 26% favoring allowing gay and lesbian people to marry, versus 43% of Catholics who attend once or twice a month, and 59% of Catholics who attend a few times a year or less favoring allowance of homosexual marriage. ^

• 27% of Catholics who attend church services regularly say their clergy speak about the issue of homosexuality, with 63% of this group saying the messages they hear are negative. ^

• 48% of white evangelical Protestants oppose letting homosexuals serve openly in the military, with 34% supporting this proposal, versus 63% of Catholics (66% of white) supporting and 23% opposing. Pew forum, November 29, 2010, http://pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Issues/Gay_Marriage_and_Homosexuality/gays%20in%20military%20full%20report.pdf

• White evangelicals are most satisfied with their church’s handling of homosexuality, with 75 percent giving it an `A’ or a `B.’ Catholics are the most critical, with nearly a third — twice as many as any other group — giving their church a `D’ or `F.’ Oct. 2010 Poll sponsored by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Religion News Service. http://thepulpit.freedomblogging.com/2010/10/22/survey-links-gay-bullying-to-religion/7682/

• 31% of Catholics called celibacy a major factor leading to sexual abuse, while another 28% called it a minor factor. 35% said celibacy did not play a part in the abuse. http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/poll_catholics_050410_2pm.pdf

• 30%, meanwhile, said homosexuality played a major role. An additional 23% said it played a minor role. 37% said it was not a factor. ^

• The percentage of percentage of adults Protestants who have been married and divorced is 34% versus 28% for Catholics, (the survey not determining if the divorce occurred before or after conversions) while Evangelicals were at 26%. Atheists or agnostic were at 30% (only 65% were ever married, vs. 84% for born-again Christians) while those aligned with a non-Christian faith were at 38%. The largest disparity (17%) relative to divorce was between high and low income levels (22% to 39%). http://www.barna.org/family-kids-articles/42-new-marriage-and-divorce-statistics-released TOC

  POLITICAL-MORAL VIEWS AND AFFILIATION

• A study which broke down Mainline Protestants, Evangelical Protestants, and non-Hispanic Catholics into the three subgroups of traditionalists, centrists, and modernists, found that 5.3 percent of the population qualified as traditionalist Catholic, 5.4 percent as centrist Catholics, and 4.9 percent of were modernist Catholics. The Henry Institute, A Pre-Election Analysis http://www.calvin.edu/henry/civic/CivicRespGrant/rel&08election.doc

• Latinos Catholics constituted 6.8 percent of the survey respondents. ^

• About 68 percent of traditionalist Catholics opposed gays and lesbian marriage, versus 50% of centrist Catholics and 65 percent of modernist Catholics. ^

• Traditionalist Catholics disagreed that “abortion should be legal and solely up to the woman to decide” 71 to 21 percent, centrist Catholics agreed 54 to 40 percent, and modernist Catholics agreed 80-16 percent. ^

• Catholic Latinos, overwhelmingly identify as Democratic, 57 percent to 15 percent. Religion and the 2008 Election: ^

• 99% of Protestant pastors who hold to very conservative theology strongly disagree that homosexual marriage should be legal, with 98% also describing themselves as pro-life, and of such 98 percent strongly agree with the statement "Our church considers Scripture to be the authority for our church and our lives." Among pastors who do not strongly disagree that gay marriage should be legal, 71 percent said they agreed with the above affirmation, as well as 65% of pro-choice pastors (three-fourths of all Protestant pastors surveyed said they are pro-life). LifeWay Research; http://www.lifeway.com/ArticleView?storeId=10054&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&article=LifeWay-Research-protestant-pastors-share-views-on-gay-marriage-abortion

• Evangelical Protestants are the most politically conservative Christian tradition. Within each tradition, those with literal views of the Bible are more politically conservative than is their tradition overall. Catholics that are Biblical literalists (11.8%) hold more conservative political views than the Catholic population in general does. The Biblical literalist Catholic is as politically conservative as the Biblical literalist who is Evangelical (47.8%) or Mainline Protestant. (11.2%) American Piety in the 21st Century, Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/33304.pdf

• 72% of Catholics said that the will of the American people should have more influence than the Bible on US law, as compared to 63% of the general public. Pew Research Center, "Pragmatic Americans Liberal and Conservative on Social Issues," August 3, 2006, http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/283.pdf (accessed June 24, 2008).

• Latino Evangelicals are 50% more likely than those who are Catholics to identify with the Republican Party, and are significantly more conservative than Catholics on social issues, foreign policy issues and even in their attitudes toward the plight of the poor. http://pewforum.org/surveys/hispanic

• 50% of Evangelicals considered themselves Republican or leaned toward that party, 34% Democratic or leaned thereto; 9% Independents. ^

• 48% of Catholics considered themselves Democrats or leaned toward that party, 33% Republican or leaned thereto; 10% Independent. ^

• Based upon exit polling, 74 percent of Evangelicals voted for McCain in 2008, with 25 percent for Obama. (Another measure which put the percentage of US evangelicals at 23 percent, with 73 percent voting for McCain, 26 percent for Obama.) http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=367

• Catholics overall supported Obama over McCain by a nine-point margin (54% vs. 45%) ^

• 37% of Catholics were registered as Democrats [2007], 27% Republican, and 31% as Independents. Aggregated Pew Research Surveys, 2007. http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=295#ideology

• 34% of weekly Mass attending Catholics are Democrats, and an additional 19% are not affiliated with a party but lean toward the Democrats (53% identifying or leaning as Democrats). 28% of weekly attenders are Republicans and an additional 17% lean

• toward being a Republican (43 percent identifying or leaning as Republicans). Thus Democrats have a 10% point edge among weekly attendees, Catholics who attend Mass less

• than weekly are even more likely to be a Democrat rather than a Republican. http://cara.georgetown.edu/NewsandPress/PressReleases/pr061808.pdf

• Exit polls in 2008 reported that weekly churchgoing Catholics voted for John McCain over Barack Obama, by just 50 percent to 49 percent. Weekly Protestant church attendees voted for McCain over Barack Obama 66 to 32 percent. http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/churchgoing_catholics_chose_mccain_over_obama/

• 77 percent of Black Protestants said they vote Democratic, whether they attended weekly services or not. 2008 The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

• 71% of Evangelicals, 35% of Protestants and 25% of Catholics said that a candidates position on abortion would have a lot of influence on their decision of who to vote for in 2012. Likewise 63% of evangelicals, 35% of Protestants and 19% of Catholics and said a candidates position on homosexual marriage would have a lot of influence on their decision. Barna, April, 2011 http://www.barna.org/transformation-articles/482-voters-most-interested-in-issues-concerning-security-and-comfort-least-interested-in-moral-issues

• 73% of Catholics polled say they believe Catholic politicians are under no religious obligation to vote on issues the way the bishops recommend, with 75% disapproving of denying communion to Catholics who support legal abortion, while 70% of Catholics say that the views of Catholic bishops in the US are unimportant to them in deciding for whom to vote, and 69% of say they feel no obligation to vote against candidates who support abortion. Belden Russonello & Stewart, "Secular and Security-Minded: The Catholic Vote in Summer 2008," Catholics for Choice, July 2008. http://www.catholicvote.net/page7/page22/page22.html

• According to a February, 2011 Pew forum survey, 44% of white evangelical Protestants agree with the Tea Party movement, with only 8% disagreeing, while 33% of white Catholics agree and 23% disagree. Only 12% of atheists/agnostics support it with 67% opposing. http://pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/Tea-Party-and-Religion.aspx

• 65% of Catholics supported a tax increase for the wealthiest Americans in 2006, up from 52 percent in 2002. Majorities of Catholics support issues traditionally considered planks of the Democratic Party platform: universal healthcare, pro-labor policies, access to abortion, and social welfare programs for the poor. http://cara.georgetown.edu/NewsandPress/PressReleases/pr061808.pdf

• 10% of Evangelical Protestants reside in the NE, 23% in the Midwest, 50% in the South, and 17% in the West. Catholics: 29% NE, 24% Midwest, 24% in the South, 23% in the West. “Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream,” Pew Research Center, 2007. http://religions.pewforum.org/comparisons#

• The population of Massachusetts ranks as the most liberal, with Boston and Cambridge being the most liberal large cities (100,000 or more), followed by California. http://www.epodunk.com/top10/liberal/index.html

• The 16 most Catholic states contain 24 of the most liberal cities. Excluding (Maryland 26th), predominately Roman Catholic states contain all but one (Seattle WA) of the 30 most liberal cities. Of states in which S. Baptists are the single largest denomination none (of the 30 cities) were found. (the term “liberal” being defined according to individual contributions to PACs, election returns and the number of homosexual households: http://www.epodunk.com/top10/liberal/index.html http://www.glenmary.org/grc/RCMS_2000/Catholic_findings.htm , http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html.

• The highest percentages of residents who describe themselves as Christian are typically in the South, including: Shreveport, LA (98%), Birmingham (96%), Charlotte (96%), Nashville (95%), Greenville, SC / Asheville, NC (94%), New Orleans (94%), Indianapolis (93%), Lexington (93%), Roanoke-Lynchburg (93%), Little Rock (92%), and Memphis (92%). http://www.barna.org/faith-spirituality/435-diversity-of-faith-in-various-us-cities

• 73% of the populations of Charlotte and Shreveport held scripture in high regard, versus only 27% of the residents of Providence, Rhode Island [the most Catholic state] and San Francisco [the most homosexual large city]. ^

• The lowest percentages of self-identified Christians inhabited the following markets: San Francisco (68%), Portland, Oregon (71%), Portland, Maine (72%), Seattle (73%), Sacramento (73%), New York (73%), San Diego (75%), Los Angeles (75%), Boston (76%), Phoenix (78%), Miami (78%), Las Vegas (78%), and Denver (78%). Even in these cities, however, roughly three out of every four residents align with Christianity. ^

• The highest percentage of souls who tended toward being atheist or agnostic were in Portland, Maine (19%), Seattle (19%), Portland, Oregon (16%), Sacramento (16%), and Spokane (16%)

• Commitment to evangelism (agree strongly that a person has a responsibility to share their beliefs with others) saw the greatest percentage of endorsement by residents of Birmingham (64%) and Charlotte (54%), in contrast to residents of Providence (14%) and Boston (17%).

• (See HERE for a table of casual Religious-Political relations. And HERE for correlation between faith, ideology, politics, environment, money.) TOC

• 55% of evangelical converts from Catholicism cited dissatisfaction with Catholic teachings about the Bible was a reason for leaving Catholicism, with 46% saying the Catholic Church did not view the Bible literally enough. Pew forum, Faith in Flux (April 27, 2009) http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/fullreport.pdf

• 81% of all Protestant converts from Catholicism said they enjoyed the service and worship of Protestant faith as a reason for joining a Protestant denomination, with 62% of all Protestants and 74% Evangelicals also saying that they felt God's call to do so. ^

• 42% of those now unaffiliated stated they do not believe in God, or most religious teaching. ^

• 54% of “millennial generation” Catholics (born in 1982 or later) are Hispanics, while 39% are non-Hispanic whites. On the other hand, 76% of “pre-Vatican II generation” Catholics (born 1943 or earlier) are non-Hispanic whites, while 15% are Hispanics. Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University, September, 2010 . http://www.osv.com/tabid/7621/itemid/6850/Openers-More-evidence-of-the-browning-of-US-Cat.aspx

• 68% of all Latinos in the U.S. identify as Catholics. Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion http://pewforum.org/Changing-Faiths-Latinos-and-the-Transformation-of-American-Religion.aspx Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion - American Piety in the 21 Century – 9-2006 http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/33304.pdf

• Among Catholics under the age of 30, 47% are white, and 45% are Latino. In contrast, among Catholics over the age of 65, 82% are white (Pew Forum 2007, reported in http://publicreligion.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Catholics-and-LGBT-Issues-Survey-Report.pdf)

• Latinos comprised 32 percent of all U.S. Catholics in 2008, versus to 20 percent in 1990. However, Catholic identification has slipped from 66 percent in 1990 to 60 percent in 2008. There has also been a significant rise in the number of Latinos who do not adhere to a religion. The longer a Latino has lived in the United States, the less likely he or she is to be Catholic. Study of Secularism in Society and Culture at Trinity College, http://theamericano.com/2010/03/18/new-report-on-u-s-latino-religious-identification/

• 18% of all Latinos say they have either converted from one religion to another or to no religion at all. http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/75.4.pdf

• 1,000 Mexicans left the Catholic Church every day between 2000 and 2010, a decline that has continued uninterrupted over the past 60 years, from 98.21 of the population to 83.9 percent today. Latin American Herald Tribune, March 10, 2011, based upon census data and study by sociologist and historian Roberto Blancarte of Colegio de Mexico and the National Autonomous University of Mexico

• The percentage of of Protestants and Evangelicals rose from 1.28% in 1950 to close to 8% of the total population in 2010, (excluding so-called Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons). 5.2 million say they profess no religion. ^

• This decline is seen as extending across the region (Catholics represent between 55% to 73% in Central America, 70% in Brazil, 50% in Cuba and Uruguay).^

• Brazil’s National Statistics Institute reported that the number of evangelical Christians in Brazil (the world’s largest Catholic country) has risen from 15% of the population in 2000 to to 22% of the population in 2010, and 4% 40 years ago, while the proportion of Catholic Brazilians fell from 93.% of Brazilians 40 years ago, and 74% of the population in 2000 to to 65% in 2010. http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/29/ratio-of-evangelicals-in-brazil-jumps-44-in-10-years/

• Almost 20% of all Latino American Catholics have left the Roman Catholicism, with 23 percent of second-generation Latino Americans doing so. http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/33304.pdf

• 54% of Hispanic Catholics describe themselves as charismatic Christians. http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=75

• 51% of Hispanic Evangelicals are converts, and 43% are former Catholics. ^

• 82% of Hispanics cite the desire for a more direct, personal experience with God as the main reason for adopting a new faith. Among those who have become evangelicals, 90% say it was a spiritual search for a more direct, personal experience with God was the main reason that drove their conversion. Negative views of Catholicism do not appear to be a major reason for their conversion. ^More

[stpio]

Sounds like anti-Catholic Tim Tebow’s father taking his
version of Protestantism to Roman Catholic Philippines, please tell me why?

Break Our Lord’s Heart even more, with disbelief, the regulars here are aware of the Church Father’s quotes and devotion to the Eucharist. Read of Our Lord’s agony. An excerpt and read of what the seer, Latin American Light of Mary has been shown.

``` ``` ```

March 2012

message to Light of Mary

He, who is the Man of Sorrows, having previously transcended my humanity, begins giving me the following to contemplate.

My bleeding Christ says to me: “My Passion is rejected by the majority of humanity, they see it as something that happened and is no more, they present Me as the one who suffered and now sits at the Right Hand of the Father and does not feel the pain this degeneration causes Me, this human madness that despises the gift of life, destroys Creation, poisons itself and the Earth. How I hurt, even more because MY OWN CHURCH does not make known that actual presence of My suffering! My Passion is present, I am King and I hurt for those who are Mine, for their misfortunes and disobedience, for their remoteness and for their scorn, for not remembering Me, for the disrespect with which I am treated. And I hurt also for My Mother, the Full of Grace who suffered and was one with Me in each step that I took on Earth, and that although distant on occasions physically on My pilgrimage, was the one who participated with Me in offering to My Father each instant of Her existence remaining untied in spirit and in the Divine Will. I hurt for My Mother who is despised and seen from afar by man, mocked and forgotten.

Remaining on the Cross of Love, while I suffer… I have seen heartrending scenes, that not because they seem to form part of a fantasy series, are on the contrary, a stark reality that is coming, and that is denied, but that continues to be true.

“The elements purify man,” Christ Our Lord tells me; the water has been contaminated and will be more. For this reason, when man uses it he will feel that it burns his body and his skin will develop sores. He will be thirsty and will not be able to drink that precious liquid that he spilled without measure and even despised, besides that the Sun will have largely evaporated the seas and water sources. The seas will be stirred by some earthquakes and the cities, invaded by the waters, will suffer greatly. I have seen the United States: San Francisco, among other cities, is invaded by the ocean and its inhabitants shake with fear. And Christ Our Lord says to me: “they do not understand that the unbridled acting of the flesh will be a purifier by itself.”

Meanwhile, fire has descended from Heaven, fire that without being fire suffocates to the bones, the vegetation will burn and food will dwindle, also because of the plagues that will come. And Christ Our Lord tells me: “here it is necessary that man bring out from within himself that spirituality with which he has coexisted during his existence, because he will cry out and I will hear, I will be a fountain of crystalline waters and will give food to My People. As Manna was food of those who are Mine so again My People will know that yesterday it was Manna and today My Body and My Blood will be, within each child, his or her food, the one who received duly, consciously. That love with which each being accompanied Me in the long hours that I remained in the solitude of a Tabernacle, those prayers and that life in which he or she fought to be a mirror of My Love giving himself or herself for his or her neighbors and overcoming his or her humanity to not grieve My Spirit, all of that will be converted into food for the soul and the body. The air is contaminated by man, above all by the radioactivity caused by the manipulation of nuclear energy and used to nefarious ends. I see how breathing is impossible, instead the act of breathing comes to be a martyrdom for man, since in each breath he destroys his organs.

I see how man’s unmeasured desire has come to dig his own grave. My bleeding Christ has shown me Japan destroyed, Italy invaded and destroyed and the temples in ruins, the Vatican dark without the Divine Light, Spain scourged and England mortally wounded.

I have seen thousands of people running consumed by desperation in the face of a bombing in New York. He has presented to me a group of leaders gathered planning a surprise attack against a country that is their ally. These acts are among others the nails of my Christ Jesus, the ones that go through His Sacred Hands and make Him tremble.

Seeing His Mother he reviews His life on earth and makes Himself one with Her. Her Son looks at Her and gives Her this time and then this instant, and I see the Mother traverse the Earth like a faithful disciple of Her Son, gathering children and guiding them towards Her Son’s Love. During this Sacred Passion, in each pain, in each offering, in each groan and in the commitment for love…. Is the Mother.

Nails that wound and that at the same time Jesus love, yes He loves them. He loves the hands that Consecrate Him and do not truly love Him, He loves those that raise Him up and do not truly do it. I see those who are spiritually hungry ask for a word to guide them to the good path, but time does not allow them to be guided by their shepherds. Time, who can define time? And in the midst of this coming and going, I see some priests sunken in society… and my Christ’s sheep are taken to another flock.

I see the blessing when it comes down from Heaven, sending the Divine Word so that man changes and is no longer a slave of his senses. I see the Divine Hand that comes out to meet humanity allowing it to see itself. In this act God presents to it a renewed life committed to its brothers and sisters for the salvation of more and more souls. And Christ tells me: “only a transformed man, with an elevated conscience that moves him to put My Word into practice, will overcome the trials and will be strengthened in Me.

The one who acts in favor of his brothers and sisters, being a testimony of My presence in the World, only this one will overcome what is coming. The Divine Feet bloodied by Love, those that walked towards the Mother, now remain pierced. And Christ says to me: “the way is short and shorter when the person does not know about Me.”

Everyone must be an evangelizer of My People, disseminator of My Love, testimony of My Presence in each human being and amid moans, pains and love my Christ says: “the Purification is not because I do not love man, but because I have an excess of Love for him… and I want him beside Me.”

Christ agonizes and does not exhale His Divine Breath until crying out and begging for the last time for His Church so that it is purified.

http://www.revelacionesmarianas.com/

[Rashputin]

Poor widdle sing, lots of numbers that show how much American Catholics have become just like their Protestant neighbors accompanied by the pretense that the more conservative neighbors are correct just because they're mildly different in some statistical ways.

Let me make this really, really simple. The nifty neat "Evangelical Christian" crowd blather on about infant baptism and point out, "there's no example in the New Testament of an infant being baptized. Fine, now we apply the exact same criteria the the question ignored in that long list intended to change the subject away from my basic point. Where in the New Testament is there an example of any Christian using contraception?

You see, it's always the same. Either change the subject or apply a completly different standard to others than to yourself. Thanks for the statistics about how much American Catholics have become exactly like the rest of American society, though, it helps prove exactly the points I've made and does not one thing to prove anything the "Evangelical" crowd says is correct.

It does show that your typical Protestant will do anything they can to try and avoid the basic fact that their behavior is not based on the Bible but instead is based on what sells to their target market. It's always funny to see how people end up talking about how horrible Americans in general and a significant percentage of American Catholics are after someone starts a thread about, "Rome, Rome, Rome". Avoiding what The Church teaches and focusing on the behavior of Americans is exactly that, a way to avoid the fundamental questions.

The only way the Truth the Catholic Church has been teaching for two thousand years can be countered is by changing the subject, applying a different standard for yourself than you apply to what the Church teaches, or falling back on the Protestant favorite, "that's what the Bible says but that's not what it means". In the US, Brazil, and everywhere else Western "culture" gets a grip people put more value on an unencumbered sex life than on the lives of infants which means they're instantly attracted to the Protestant groups who all approve of contraception. Evangelicals target one market segment, other Protestants another segment, but none of them are anything other than vaguely or sometimes partially teaching Christianity. They're teaching the gospel of how to be a guilt free American hedonist. As I've said before, SBC churches are more likely to be struggling against going down the same road as everyone else, but they still don't teach the entire Truth as does The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Thanks again for the statistics, but I'm really looking forward to that verse I asked about, the New Testament example of a Christian using contraception. I'd also like one that shows Christ or the Apostles explaining why portions of the Septuagint are just fine for the next fifteen hundred years but should be thrown out by Luther, but that's another example of the double standard for another time.

[marshmallow]

And as shown, RCs overall and like institutionalized Protestants are more liberal than their evangelical counterparts, which hold Scripture as supreme as the wholly inspired Word of God,....

So what's the evangelical position on the morality of artificial contraception?

You can't go to Scripture. There's nothing there.

[wmfights]

It is not so Protestant churches that are growing overall, but evangelical ones, which separation is due to the Protestant mainliners becoming institutionalized and liberal like Rome, and these overall are dying, and both attack evangelical conservative churches.

Also, it is this same conservative Evangelical Christian movement that is sharing The Gospel with the lost in Brazil and seeing their numbers grow. I believe the attempt to associate these Bible believing Christians with the old state churches of the Reformation is just an attempt to confuse the issue and try to make the Roman Catholic Church look conservative.

[Rashputin]

Brazilians have a strong traditional inclination to religion. Protestants arrive and preach that contraception isn't murder right in step with the American "culture" of instant gratification and thinking with ones glands and emotions rather than their brain. Ergo, Brazilians who put more importance on an unencumbered sex life than on human life are attracted to being part of a group tells that assures them there's no need to feel guilty over murdering their children in the name of a good time in bed.

It's as simple as that.

American culture is garbage and wherever it establishes itself Protestantism grows in lock step because Protestantism always digests and rationalizes whichever portions of the garbage it needs to keep drawing in the wallets.

None of these "good Christian" Protestant churches are ever going to start focusing on what they know will send their members elsewhere no matter how clearly it's evil and a sin. There won't be a series of sermons by any of the "Evangelical Christian" self-appointed "pastors" focused on the fact that contraception is abortion and abortion is murder. All the self-appointed shepherds know their crowds and membership would dwindle to nothing the same way membership in Fundamentalist churches that hung on to preaching against rock n' roll, dancing, and drinking beer, a bit too long dwindled to nothing.

The only real doctrine the vast majority of Protestants outside of the SBC have is, "go along to get along".

[wmfights]

Catholic Latinos, overwhelmingly identify as Democratic, 57 percent to 15 percent. Religion and the 2008 Election: ^

Latino Evangelicals are 50% more likely than those who are Catholics to identify with the Republican Party, and are significantly more conservative than Catholics on social issues, foreign policy issues and even in their attitudes toward the plight of the poor. http://pewforum.org/surveys/hispanic

Latinos comprised 32 percent of all U.S. Catholics in 2008, versus to 20 percent in 1990. However, Catholic identification has slipped from 66 percent in 1990 to 60 percent in 2008. There has also been a significant rise in the number of Latinos who do not adhere to a religion. The longer a Latino has lived in the United States, the less likely he or she is to be Catholic. Study of Secularism in Society and Culture at Trinity College, http://theamericano.com/2010/03/18/new-report-on-u-s-latino-religious-identification/

• The percentage of of Protestants and Evangelicals rose from 1.28% in 1950 to close to 8% of the total population in 2010, (excluding so-called Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons). 5.2 million say they profess no religion. ^

• This decline is seen as extending across the region (Catholics represent between 55% to 73% in Central America, 70% in Brazil, 50% in Cuba and Uruguay).^

51% of Hispanic Evangelicals are converts, and 43% are former Catholics. ^

Thank you so much for posting facts for us to talk about.

A couple things jump out at me. Hispanics are increasing in their % of the RCC congregation in the USA, but even as they do this the % as a whole who identify with the RCC is declining. Hispanics who are Evangelical Christians are more conservative and are increasing in numbers. In Central and South America Hispanics are increasingly becoming Evangelical Christians which should lead to a growth in conservatism there. Also, as Hispanics in the USA become Evangelical Christians the dominance of the Rats in getting their votes should continue to decrease.

I know a lot of people don't want to face facts, but there they are. It seems pretty obvious that if the RCC were as conservative as its members claim you wouldn't see an increase in consrvatism among those who leave.

[wmfights]

71% of Evangelicals, 35% of Protestants and 25% of Catholics said that a candidates position on abortion would have a lot of influence on their decision of who to vote for in 2012. Likewise 63% of evangelicals, 35% of Protestants and 19% of Catholics and said a candidates position on homosexual marriage would have a lot of influence on their decision. Barna, April, 2011 http://www.barna.org/transformation-articles/482-voters-most-interested-in-issues-concerning-security-and-comfort-least-interested-in-moral-issues

R: None of these "good Christian" Protestant churches are ever going to start focusing on what they know will send their members elsewhere no matter how clearly it's evil and a sin.

Talk is cheap and that is part of the problem Evangelical Christians have with the hypocrisy of the RCC and it's members. The RCC talks a great game, but when push comes to shove RC's vote for baby killers and RC apologists attempt to obfuscate the issue by claiming they really are conservative. RC's were one of the key voting blocs that gave us this tyranny from obama and the left. Lets see how RC's vote this time around.

Personally, I think it will be more of the same from RC's. However, long term I see hope because so many Hispanics are hearing The Gospel, being saved and becoming Evangelical Christians.

[Rashputin]

"Thank you so much for posting facts for us to talk about."

LOL, now we know. Politics is the real religion and all else is simply window dressing. The real issue and the real fact is that whenever people fall hard for the lifestyle the American media sells Protestantism grows because Protestantism preaches not the Bible or the Word of God, but the heresy of, "I'm OK, You're OK". The heresy of Core expanded to include an emphasis on the lie that no matter what sort of hedonism and even murder the Protestant crowd thrives on, it's all OK.

I guess when it's a fact that a given country has always been seventy percent or more Protestant and the majority of the people in that country clearly live immoral lives, Protestants have to focus on politics or anything but living a Christian life in order to keep on pretending they're teaching Christianity. It also helps to beat up on the Catholics in an attempt to obscure the fact that the Catholic Church still stands for Christian morality and always has. Sure, a lot of Catholics in a predominately Protestant country drift away in order to join in on the hedonism. That proves that sheep are easily led and want to avoid feeling guilty while joining the party, not that the sheep hear the voice of the true Shepherd.

Focus on anything but the facts and pretend you're "back to the facts" when you toss out one smoke screen after another. Otherwise people might notice the obvious fact that at least this Protestant society has not become increasingly moral but in fact become increasingly immoral while at the same time Protestants brag about the spread of their beliefs. Well, the beliefs spread and immorality spreads in lock step. That's the fact, not the politics and numbers people want to pretend are somehow part of Christian teaching when they're not even a reflection of true Christian teaching.

Protestants have wriggled from one absurd set of distortions to the next, doctrinal breakthroughs, and new sets of catchy phrases, for over fifty years now trying to make excuses for the growing immorality in the face of there efforts. The only thing that will stop the rot is realizing that once people abandon Christianity as embodied in The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church Jesus Christ Himself founded they're no longer Christian but are in fact collections of individuals groping their way through the darkness. A few, a very few, will find a sufficient portion of Christianity to be spared. The overwhelming majority are on the broad and smooth highway that leads to destruction.

have a nice day

[daniel1212]

As shown, more Catholics obtain abortions, and support acceptance of homosexuality, etc. etc., which should be are readily perceived as evil, and thus you must major on contraceptives, and which use to prevent childbirth is wrong, though its acceptance is much due to ignorance, while the majority of RCs have or do use them.

If you were really against contraceptives due to it often resulting in abortion (among other reasons) then you should be providing various studies that confirm it, ,which i would welcome.I myself will look into the matter, but focusing on that will not overcome the fact that Rome has overall fostered more liberal views and practices than evangelical faith has, while as said, both are in decline overall.

[Rashputin]

FACT - This has always been a Protestant nation.
FACT - Protestants have always made up at a minimum 70% of the population.
FACT - To this day Protestants like to brag about the number of Catholics who have left the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church to become part of the heresy of Core.
While Protestantism bragged about attracting Catholics away from Catholicism and huge increases in the number of "Fundamentalists" and then "Evangelicals" who had left "mainline" Protestant churches, the country descended into pure hedonism.
Ergo, increasing the number of Protestants while decreasing the number of Catholics is directly responsible for the political and moral state this nation is in.

Protestantism is finally blossoming into the imitation of Eve it was always destined to become. It's now obvious to anyone who actually cares about their immortal soul that Protestantism is nothing but the heresy of Core embellished with a daub of enthroning the individual as his own god and garnished with magic words salvation. Each and every day it adopts ever more immorality as acceptable behavior without batting an eye.

No on believes the hokum about how horrible the Catholic Church is when compared Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ much less when compared to Protestants in this country. What Protestants don't cater to the increasing immorality by endorsing murder by contraception? What Protestants don't ignore the very same behaviors they preached against thirty or fewer years ago? What Protestants don't ignore the fact that while claiming they base everything on Scripture don't base the majority of what they teach on what they can best market rather than Scripture? Maybe some of the dolts who have to routinely be assured that they're forgiven in advance for the premeditated murder of their own children believe Catholics are wrong and not solid Christians, but no one who honestly prays for guidance from the Holy Spirit rather than from the master of "I'm Ok, You're Ok" believes it. It's finally just too obvious that Protestantism is not Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ. The people who like to pass their time with anti-Catholic rants know they're not trying to spread Christianity so they imitate the fascists and socialists they claim to hate and preach hatred of someone else to divert attention from themselves.

FACT - take up your contraceptives and murder your children is not in the Scriptures.
FACT - take up your cross and follow me is.
The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church Jesus Christ Himself founded teaches both of those facts. Protestantism teaches murder by contraception isn't murder and that bearing a cross is just silly since all your sins are forgiven as soon as you say the magic words.

have a nice day

[marshmallow]

Uh...what?

The Catholic teaching on artificial birth control is clear. HERE it is.

I'm asking if a) there is an evangelical position on this issue and b)if there is, how was it derived?

I take it from your answer that you believe artificial birth control to be wrong. Have I got that right?

[Rashputin]

LOL, this is soooo funny.

I should prove that contraception is murder? LOL.

Oh yeah, forget the fact that at least two infants are murdered by contraception for each abortion classified as an abortion, and "prove" that you care by playing numbers games instead of talking about Christianity.

Where in the New Testament is there an example of any Christian using contraception?

Try some other way to divert attention from Christianity and the Scriptures and onto the "figures don't lie but liars figure" farm.

[AmericanSamurai]

I find the prosperity gospel and ecumenical Roman Catholicism both repugnant. That’s why I am Reformed.

[daniel1212]

Again, all these words will not explain away the obvious, which is that what Rome overall effectually teaches and fosters is liberalism, which was the general subject, thus you must major on the single, if valid, issue of contraceptives, while Catholics also engage in this as well as having more abortions.

As for the apocrypha, Luther has scholarly company in Rome right into Trent, which finally provided the first indisputable canon, in the year Luther died: http://peacebyjesus.tripod.com//Ancients_on_Scripture.html#2

And which other FR RCs have tried to counter, such as here (with links to more) ,
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2891087/posts?page=974#974
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2891087/posts?page=990#990
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2901137/posts?page=126#126

[Rashputin]

Anathama.

[Rashputin]

Anathema.

[daniel1212]

Of course Rome says contraception is wrong, and i agree with that, and Rome says plenty of conservative things, but faith is shown by actions, and rather than making it very uncomfortable for Ted Kennedy types, and not even marking and excommunicating known notorious promoters of things as abortion, she does basically has done little to nothing overall, let alone the way she organizationally protected child molesters. All such are typically treated as members in life and in death. And by so doing, and by officially sanctioning liberal Biblical as views, she effectually promotes liberalism.

And the fact is that you have conservative schisms who also affirm these problems, while all you can do is focus on one fault, legit as it is, but which does not change the overall picture.

[LanaTurnerOverdrive]

Perhaps its all the underage, same-sex, forcible sodomy that has people leaving the Catholic church. Just sayin’.

[mdmathis6]

Yeah, just keep asserting what you’ve asserted in your reply...even you might begin to believe you own reply someday!

[mdmathis6]

Yeah, just keep asserting what you’ve asserted in your reply...even you might begin to believe you own reply someday!

[daniel1212]

Another vain try, but as can be more shown, the FACT is that the liberal Prots are those who, like Rome, do not stress Scripture as the supreme Word of God, or evangelical commitment, and morality, nor do they hold to historical exegeses, in contrast to their evangelical counterparts.

And the FACT is that the USA has been in decline by rejecting evangelical conservatism, as they are more like the majority of RCs, the FACT being they and mainline Prot denoms are the more liberal than their evang. counterparts, despite your desperate attempts to spin it otherwise, and focus on one issue.

[daniel1212]

You are avoiding the overall liberalism of Catholicism verses evangelical faith, which is a fact despite some exceptions, and yes, you should substantiate medical claims as a matter of course.

[Rashputin]

I'm still waiting for the Scripture that describes and approves of Christians using contraception from all the “Scripture Alone” folks. Obviously it's “Scripture Alone” until sex is involved and then whatever best puts wallets in the pews is the guiding principal.

Brag about attracting Catholics and others then claim that the huge growth in the membership of your cult is a rejection of your cult? That's incredibly lame for people who obviously can't comprehend what they read.

The increase in immorality exactly matches the growth of Evangelical, Fundamentalist, nondenominational, and other more recent flavors of the Protestant heresy of Core over the past fifty years. That is, recent as opposed to the older Protestants who already ordain women, queers, dogs, cats, and possums and are more than happy to marry any or all of those one to another.

There's no way around it, the primary appeal of Protestant cults in the US is their approval of putting more value on an unrestrained sex life than on the life of the children murdered in the womb thorugh contraception along with assurances that they're forgiven in advance for murdering their children.

As usual, the dogs return to their vomit.

[steve86]

Neither one of your doubled comments makes the slightest bit of sense, from any theological or logical point of view. But feel free to continue. There is a wing of our hospital where they let people babble on the entire day.

[boatbums]

Where in the New Testament is there an example of any Christian using contraception?

Where in the Bible anywhere is contraception mentioned? What are the "Apostolic" traditions about birth control and where are they found? Why is there NO pro-abortion plank in the Republican platform and why are Conservatives the ones who have ALWAYS rejected sex education, pro-homosexual orientation and birth control in schools? Why is it that Conservative Republicans have been the ones to fight against the legalization of abortion and gay marriage? You talk like America is mostly "Protestant" and Catholics are a minority yet we know that America today is made up of many religious and ethnic sorts. At one time America was said to be a "Christian" nation, but I've never heard of it called a Protestant one. It seems like you are piling on all the problems of the world on the backs of "Protestants" yet leave out that the ENTIRE world is heading for the toilet INCLUDING predominately Catholic countries (yeah, and actually CALLED that). Is Protestantism to blame for all that too?

Try some other way to divert attention from Christianity and the Scriptures and onto the "figures don't lie but liars figure" farm.

Try to come to grips with reality here. Genuine Christians - Catholic OR non-Catholic have within them a nature that rejects evil and by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit we are capable of knowing right from wrong. On the other hand, there are numerous people that CLAIM to be Roman Catholic that are directly responsible for the degradation Liberalism has imprinted on our nation (i.e., Pelosi, Kerry, the Kennedys, et al).

All this foofaraw about "Core" again makes little sense as any kind of explanation for the trouble you seem to want to unload on all "Protestants". Daniel1212's statistics demonstrate over and over that when the heart is changed the outward life is also changed. Only a genuine faith response to Jesus Christ can make that happen. All the church-goin' in the world can't do it no matter what the sign says on the outside of the building.

[boatbums]

So what's the evangelical position on the morality of artificial contraception?

You can't go to Scripture. There's nothing there.

Sure we can. "You shall not murder." (Ex. 20:13), (Matt. 5:21) and (Romans 13:9). Any action that causes murder of an innocent human life is wrong. Most artificial means of contraception on the market today (pills, IUDs, implants) have as a back up mechanism the prevention of a fertilized egg from implanting - which is, in essence, abortion. For many years, this fact was left out of instructions and information given to women. Hopefully, this is not now still the case. We also have from Scripture instructions concerning sexual acts restricted to a married man and woman only. So, I believe we have more than ample Scripture to guide us. God has not left us without His word of truth and we do not need to solely rely upon fallible men to tell us what is right and wrong.

[boatbums]

Talk is cheap and that is part of the problem Evangelical Christians have with the hypocrisy of the RCC and it's members. The RCC talks a great game, but when push comes to shove RC's vote for baby killers and RC apologists attempt to obfuscate the issue by claiming they really are conservative. RC's were one of the key voting blocs that gave us this tyranny from obama and the left. Lets see how RC's vote this time around.

I sincerely hope that those who voted for the Liberal, Socialist Left that are turning our country into the old USSR have had their spiritual eyes opened this time. I watched the first Matrix movie again a few nights ago. Morpheus told Neo, "There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." Let's pray more people start walking the right path.

[boatbums]

Talk is cheap and that is part of the problem Evangelical Christians have with the hypocrisy of the RCC and it's members. The RCC talks a great game, but when push comes to shove RC's vote for baby killers and RC apologists attempt to obfuscate the issue by claiming they really are conservative. RC's were one of the key voting blocs that gave us this tyranny from obama and the left. Lets see how RC's vote this time around.

I sincerely hope that those who voted for the Liberal, Socialist Left that are turning our country into the old USSR have had their spiritual eyes opened this time. I watched the first Matrix movie again a few nights ago. Morpheus told Neo, "There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." Let's pray more people start walking the right path.

[wmfights]

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." Let's pray more people start walking the right path.

Amen!!!!!