Evangelicals Becoming Catholic, why?

CatholicConvert.com ^ | May 10, 2011 | Steve Ray

[Salvation]

Evangelicals Becoming Catholic, why?

by Steve Ray on May 10, 2011

 

Below is an interesting YouTube video (really audio) of an Evangelical Radio show in which two Evangelicals discuss why so many Evangelical Protestants are leaving to join the Catholic Church.

The host and guest are trying to be honest in the show entitled  “Why Evangelicals are Returning to Rome.” Although towards the end of the video they are making some statements that are historically inaccurate (about Luther and the Popes); nevertheless, their questioning tries to be honest. It is interesting that they are taking note of a large exodus. I am one of those who Crossed the Tiber to Rome.

Furthermore, this was coming from a Protestant network that is decidedly anti-Catholic.  They are willing to discuss openly what has been happening for years now (the exodus of Evangelical ordained ministers to Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches).  They also mention briefly EWTN, the program Journey Home and the moderator Marcus Grodi, a convert from Evangelical Christianity. It is obvious this is all new to them since they didn’t even know how to pronounce Marcus Grodi’s name.

The moderator Ingrid Slater asked Pastor Bob DeWay; “Let’s talk about the problem; what do you think is the seed bed (this is sort of a rhetorical question; everybody knows what a mess Evangelicalism is as a whole today doctrinally speaking).  What is setting people up for this disenchantment and the willingness to look to Roman Catholicism?”

Here are some of the Problems that Bob Deway lists, though they really have no explanation since they are blind to the real problems within Protestantism, which are things that cannot be fixed. If they were fixed they would be Catholics.
(1) The Seeker Movement took the Bible out of churches.
(2) People are not steeped in solid Bible teaching (yeah, but according to whose interpretation?).
(3) Big churches that don’t preach the Bible (who decides what should be taught??).
(4) The influx of mystical practices, contemplative prayer, the labyrinths.
(5) Seminaries that are training therapeutic practitioners rather than theologians.
(6) The idea that we have to have to justify our practices and beliefs from Scripture – according to what Luther and the other reformers – which has now been overlooked.

The moderator then mentioned a book saying, “Coming Home by Fr Peter [Eastern Rite] (I am not even going to use the term father). . . He used to head up Campus Crusade here in the Midwest” Evidently he is now heading up an organization helping Evangelical ministers come into the Eastern rite Churches.  If you want to know why he made his move from Evangelical Protestantism you can listen to the video.

For years you’d hear Evangelicals boast of the fact that their churches were filled [with] ex-Catholics.  But in too many cases the Evangelical churches are just the exit ramp that eventually leaves them disillusioned and abandoning the faith altogether. Now the tide is changing.  Some Evangelicals seem to be oblivious to the fact of this large exodus of Evangelical ministers and lay people.

A year ago, Karl Keating of Catholic Answers Live said he believed there were now more Evangelicals or Fundamentalists leaving Protestantism to become Catholic than the other way around. Even Evangelicals admit that there are notable Protestants becoming Catholics but no notable Catholics becoming Protestants.

I could take exception to several of Pastor Bob’s statements and argue decisively against them, but that is not the point of my posting this video.

[kearnyirish2]

“Lots of Catholics leave the RCs to join Protestant churches, too.”

You’re right, especially when they want to move on to the second husband/wife.

[The KG9 Kid]

Pageantry.

I've seen enough great Cathedrals in Europe to understand that inspiring awe has quite a lot to do with attracting followers to your religion.

[Salvation]

Good advice on the going to church.

We never know who will step into our path that can help us with something.

Or we never know what the priest will say that will set our world aright again.

[kearnyirish2]

“the Catholic church always seemed to have a sense of holiness that protestants lacked.”

That might stem from the fact that we believe Christ is present in the Eucharist, while others often say it is a symbol or reminder.

[Scoutdad]

This, my friend, is a load of crap. I have attended a few very conservative Evangelical/Baptist/unaffiliated churches over 40+ years. In that time I would guess that up to 10% of the congregation originally came from a Catholic background. Many went through Catholic school and their local parish and ultimately found something lacking. They subsequently found Christ elsewhere. With the pablum that many of the mainline Protestant denominations push the inverse is also happening.

Lest you think so, I am not a Catholic basher. While I can find a number of things that I will not agree with the Catholic Church about, I still have a great deal of respect for the Church. It has frequently stood in the gap where many of the Protestant denominations have not. Even though I do not acknowledge the Pope as THE Vicar of Christ, he is a true model for all believers and a great man. This Pope especially. In these difficult times I believe that believing Christians of all stripes should prepare for tribulation. At the same time I believe that there will be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on both Catholic and Protestant believers alike.

I would suggest that believers on both sides quit trying to run down the other and recognize that there’s “rotten timber” who have little to do with Christ on both sides of the fence.

[Salvation]

Any comments on people who are coming back to the church?

Catholic Ping!

[Salvation]

You mentioned 40 plus years.

This is occurring now. Large First Communion Classes. Large RCIA classes. We have 15 adults in our Catholics Can Come Home class this year.

I appreciate your kind words about Pope Benedict XVI. He is a very good man, please pray for him.

Did you think the author was slamming evangelicals? I didn’t. I have some good evangelical friends, and although I disagree with their conepts, they are good people doing good things.

[Cronos]

I wish them luck and, selfishly, pray that they are conservatives coming to reinvigorate God’s Church

[Jvette]

I attended Mass for eight years waiting for my husband to agree to having our marriage blessed in the Church. It’s hard to go and not receive the Eucharist, but I knew the Lord would open my husband’s heart eventually.

Everyone is welcome at Mass.

[Jvette]

Yep, we’ve seen that in our parish too.

My own kids were 13 and 10 when they were baptized and received 1st Communion.

[MarkBsnr]

Any comments on people who are coming back to the church?

To my shame, I am one of them.

[ansel12]

Just look at the vote to see what is what, Evangelicals voting pro-life, anti homosexual agenda, anti-Obama, the Catholics voting the opposite, voting is a good measure of reality.

[MarkBsnr]

I attended Mass for eight years waiting for my husband to agree to having our marriage blessed in the Church. It’s hard to go and not receive the Eucharist, but I knew the Lord would open my husband’s heart eventually.

My heart goes out to you. I know of what you speak.

[Salvation]

I think many of them are very conservative.

[daniel1212]

I've had this for awhile. Time to post it.

I heard this hype years ago (though some more likely leave now due to the present compromise in evangelical churches, which Rome has as well) but I have had this for a while also, which has actual stats from many known sources. See more and notes here. Before you cry bias. The reality is that Roman Catholic churches covet evangelical converts in order enliven there overall dead pewsl My old priests used to exhorts us, “sing like Protestants.”

• The Catholic population of the United States had fallen by nearly 400,000 in 2007, and suffered a slight membership loss in 2009 but increased 1.49 percent in 2010. [U.S. population growth rate in 2008 was 0.9 percent, and 0.57 percent in 2011.]. From 2007 to 2008 Roman Catholics grew from 17.33 percent of the global population to 17.4 percent in 2008. http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5753 http://www.ncccusa.org/news/100204yearbook2010.html; http://www.ncccusa.org/news/110210yearbook2011.html

• 2002 Statistics compiled by the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs reported that 71 percent of the U.S. Catholic population growth since 1960 was due to Hispanics. The statistics are taken from U.S. Census reports and recent surveys of Hispanics. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_15_36/ai_59607715/pg_3/

• 68% of those raised Roman Catholic still are Catholic (comparable with or better than the retention rates of other religious groups). 15% are now Protestant (9% evangelical); 14% are unaffiliated. Pew forum, Faith in Flux (April 27, 2009) http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/fullreport.pdf

• 80% of adults who were raised Protestant are still Protestant. ^

• Those who have left Catholicism outnumber those who have joined the Catholic Church by nearly a four-to-one margin. 10.1% have left the Catholic Church after having been raised Catholic, while only 2.6% of adults have become Catholic after having been raised in a different faith. ^

• 4% of Americans raised Catholic are now unaffiliated; 5% are now Protestant. ^

• Regarding reasons for leaving Catholicism, less than 30% of former Catholics agreed that the clergy sexual abuse scandal played a role in their departure. ^

• 71% of Protestants converts from Catholicism said that their spiritual needs were not being met in Catholicism, with 78% of Evangelical Protestants concurring, versus 43% of those now unaffiliated. ^

• 50% of all Protestants converts from Catholicism said they stooped believing in Catholicism's teachings overall. Only 23% (20% now evangelical) were unhappy about Catholicism's teachings on abortion/homosexuality (versus 46% of those now unaffiliated); 23% also expressed disagreement with teaching on divorce/remarriage; 16% (12% now evangelical) were dissatisfied with teachings on birth control, 70% said they found a religion the liked more in Protestantism.

• 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.

• 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

• 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).^

• 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

• 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. ^

• 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

• 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% ^

• 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

• 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%

[ansel12]

While Catholic immigration is massive, many of them become Evangelicals or at least Protestant and as a result, switch to voting for life and traditional marriage, the pro-life movement does pretty good with them and gets about 50% of the vote of Hispanics that become Protestants.

[Scoutdad]

The reply originated because of the insinuation that the individuals moving toward the Protestant side were of the timber of Pelosi, Biden and Sibelius. The people that I know that have come from the Catholic side were nothing like them. What you are seeing is a movement of people toward Christ and away from phony spiritualism. This has become more pronounced in the Protestant churches in the last 20 or so years. Where it used to be mainly in the mainline denominations, it has now crept into hitherto Evangelical type organizations as well. Guys like Benny Hinn and Joel Osteen, among others, don’t reflect well on this side of the fence. People are looking for something better and many are drawn to Christ where He is preached. I’ve seen it here and you’re seeing it there as well.

[daniel1212]

That is hardly the case, and you should know it. The reality is that while the vast majority of western RCs are liberal, and become conservative if they join evangelical churches.

Meanwhile, the fastest growing faith in America is actually Islam (39% by immigration), and Mormonism, and “Nones.”

[annalex]

Independent of Protestant professional mind-shapers reading of the Holy Scripture ALONE will lead anyone to either the Catholic Church or an Eastern Orthodox one. It is therefore inevitable that serious seekers of the company of Our Savior Jesus Christ shall leave the error of Protestantism precisely if they take the Bible seriously.

[Salvation]

**The reply originated because of the insinuation that the individuals moving toward the Protestant side were of the timber of Pelosi, Biden and Sibelius.**

That was my statement. I apologize — I didn’t mean all Catholics or all evangelicals are like them. I think they are in a genre of their own.