[HitmanLV]

Sorry, the exercise is not to use opinions to weed out membership, but to measure opinions in the membership.

I agree with you - there are many folks who are nominally Catholic but don't take their faith seriously at all. Personally, I don't consider them catholic.

But they do. It's not up to me to decide church membership. I think it's a fair exercise to see what self-identifying Catholics think. I think its less fair to see what they think to identify if they are catholic or not.

[patent]

Sorry, the exercise is not to use opinions to weed out membership, but to measure opinions in the membership.

Then why is that exactly what you are doing? The pollee is giving the pollster their opinion that the pollee thinks he is Catholic. You are in fact relying on that opinion. And then you are trying to chastise me for relying on opinions, when in fact I’m relying on conduct -- e.g., whether they actually GO to Church.

It's not up to me to decide church membership.

its also not up to a pollster or the pollee who is not, in fact, a member. Call me. I’ll claim to be in the Elks. Am I actually a member? No.

I think it's a fair exercise to see what self-identifying Catholics think.

That’s fine, and I find that interesting, but as I think you agree, the modifier “self-identifying Catholics” is far different than what you put in your original statement.

patent

[B Knotts]

Personally, I don't consider them catholic.

But they do. It's not up to me to decide church membership.

Sure they do. That said, I could consider myself the King of Jutland, but it wouldn't necessarily make it so.

At some point, a reasonable judgment of the nature of a thing is called for.