I have never known a practicing Catholic who left the Church for "nondenominational" (there is no such thing) services.
I have known quite a few nominal, non-practicing Catholics who have left the Church for "nondenominational" services - and it has been for one reason: they starting dating or got married to men or women who were devout, churchgoing members of those congregations.
The abuse scandal is a convenient excuse for those who haven't darkened a parish door in decades to suddenly wax self-righteous about their neglect of the Third Commandment.
I know lots who have left the church over theological differences which had nothing to do with marriage and dating.
Those people saw the difference between what the Catholic church claims and what Scripture teaches and threw their lot in with God and Scripture.
Not to mention, since Catholic divorce, aka annulment is so readily available, there's no incentive to leave for that reason.
All a practicing Catholic has to do is get the church to annul the marriage and they are free to remarry without (allegedly) the strain of sin. So claiming that Catholics leave for reasons of morality falls flat.
The abuse scandal is a convenient excuse for those who haven't darkened a parish door in decades to suddenly wax self-righteous about their neglect of the Third Commandment.
Better to leave for that reason than stay and defend by excusing said sex abuse and cover-ups.
And since Catholics are all concerned about breaking the Ten Commandments, what about the not bowing down to graven images? They sure don't have any problem disobeying THAT commandment.
51% of Protestants from a different Protestant denomination cite a lack of spiritual fulfillment as a reason for leaving their childhood faith. 85% say they joined their current denominational faith because they enjoy the services and style of worship. Only 15% left say they left because they stopped believing in its teachings. ^ Pew forum, Faith in Flux (April 27, 2009) http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/fullreport.pdf
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. ^
Over 75% of those who left Catholicism attended Mass at least once a week as children, versus 86% having done so who remain Catholics today.^
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 converts from Catholicism to Protestant faith said that their spiritual needs were not being met in Catholicism, with 78% of Evangelical Protestants in particular concurring, versus 43% of those now unaffiliated. ^
50% of all Protestants converts from Catholicism said they stopped 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. ^