Posted on 12/30/2013 9:35:20 AM PST by RnMomof7
......"The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life has put hard numbers on the anecdotal evidence: One out of every 10 Americans is an ex-Catholic. If they were a separate denomination, they would be the third-largest denomination in the United States, after Catholics and Baptists. One of three people who were raised Catholic no longer identifies as Catholic.........
"Thankfully, although the U.S. bishops have not supported research on people who have left the church, the Pew Center has.
Pew’s data shows that those leaving the church are not homogenous. They can be divided into two major groups: those who become unaffiliated and those who become Protestant. Almost half of those leaving the church become unaffiliated and almost half become Protestant. Only about 10 percent of ex-Catholics join non-Christian religions.
This article will focus on Catholics who have become Protestant. I am not saying that those who become unaffiliated are not important; I am leaving that discussion to another time."................
"Nor are the people becoming Protestants lazy or lax Christians. In fact, they attend worship services at a higher rate than those who remain Catholic. While 42 percent of Catholics who stay attend services weekly, 63 percent of Catholics who become Protestants go to church every week. That is a 21 percentage-point difference.
" Seventy-one percent say their faith is “very strong,” while only 35 percent and 22 percent reported that their faith was very strong when they were children and teenagers, respectively. On the other hand, only 46 percent of those who are still Catholic report their faith as “very strong” today as an adult.
(Excerpt) Read more at ncronline.org ...
Interesting article
“Almost half of those leaving the church become unaffiliated and almost half become Protestant.”
Well, we can be thankful that half those who leave have found a strong faith in Christ.
In my experience, I’ve observed that former catholics who come to saving faith in Christ become committed Christians. Starting on third base (for which they should be thankful to Rome), when they round home, they are on fire.
Priests like Reese and their “social justice” agenda have something to do with this phenomenon IMHO.
This does not compare to the losses the Catholic Church is experiencing underground in Latin America to so-called Evangelical groups that often have voodoo and cult elements. Not being a Catholic, I can only offer the advice that the church needs to rethink its strategy.
God works in wondrous ways ...
There are still some protestant denominations and many individual Churches that have not yet sold out to international Marxism. The Catholic church is completely infested with them, from top to bottom. Marxism is just another guise of Satan. Many former Catholics have seen this and just cannot take it anymore. Many current Catholics see it too, just just can’t bring themselves to believe it. At least that is my opinion.
Sort of depends on your reason for leaving IMO. Some people leave the Church due to sincere differences with key pieces of Church teaching or practice (the need for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, don’t accept the full-on opposition to all birth control, disgust at the mishandling of pedophile priests, etc.)
Others leave for more cynical/selfish reasons (did not like a particular priest or bishop, were not allowed to have an outdoor wedding, felt they got too much grief when they sought an annulment, etc.)
I doubt many in that latter group become productive or passionate members of any other church.
My wife was very active as a Catholic. She became protestant a few years before we met. This would have been her late 30’s.
And one of my former friends, a former deacon in a rather large AG church, at about age 42 dumped his wife and married a Catholic lady. He’s now catholic. At least, so he says.
Looks to me like the Catholic population is growing.
Catholic population (The Official Catholic Directory)
1965 - 45.6m
1975 - 48.7m
1985 - 52.3m
1995 - 57.4m
2000 - 59.9m
2005 - 64.8m
2013 - 66.8m
If you count my 2 kids, my wife, and me, we have 20 years of Jesuit education under our belts.
This article is just about what one would expect from a Jesuit former editor of America.
IMHO, the Society of Jesus has been at the forefront of undermining Catholicism since Vatican 2.
The “best” by whose standards? Does weekly mass attendance make you best? Catholics who leave the church because they are more spiritually fulfilled by protestant services are ignorant of the beauty of the Church.
The catholic church is the original church founded by Christ and carried forward by Peter. All other denominations are offshoots. Where do protestants think the bible came from?
It is the responsibility of each parish priest and lay leader and parent to ensure that each generation understands the beauty of all the sacraments and the richness of catholic tradition. It is astounding that many catholics think an inspiring talk is of more value than the physical and spiritual consumption of our Lord. It is a failure of religious education ( one that I have seen personally) that children and teenagers don’t know the tenants of their own faith. Are these people asleep at mass? Biblical scripture is read at every mass and dissected and digested by the priests during their homilies and yet as catholics we do not stand up to the charges that we do not know our bible… ridiculous! We know our bible…what we don’t recognize is Christ’s real presence before us at mass. What a tragic failure!
Quoting from the Fishwrap again, I see. LOL!
There is no other way to Salvation, not infant baptism in any denomination not adult baptism in any denomination but by calling on the name of Jesus!
John 14:6; Romans 5:8; Romans 8:38-39; Romans 8:1-3; John 8:36.
People are looking for love and acceptance, not more demands and condemnation for falling short. Jesus Christ is who people are looking for because He bore the full judgement for all of our shortcomings so that through Him we are cleansed, healed, made whole and free.
Anytime someone comes to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, I say hallelujah!
One aspect of this that we often don't think about is the more that leave the RCC the more that are inclined to be conservatives. The USA will be lost to the left if conservatism doesn't grow.
Ex-Catholics are mostly gays and what are known as “Cafeteria Catholics” They are willing to rejoin on “their” terms.
The National Catholic Reporter. Talk about false advertising. There is nothing Catholic about this newspaper which has refused to remove the word Catholic from its name. It is a left wing rag. Kind of like reading Pravda in the old days before the fall of the USSR.
“Ex-Catholics are mostly gays and what are known as “Cafeteria Catholics” They are willing to rejoin on “their” terms.”
Wow! Who Jew there were so many gay Catholics being produced at parishes! And Catholics in the food service industry! Gay and Flay!
Go ahead and post your documentation of that, to support your claim. Can’t wait to read it. Others would probably be fascinated by your documentation too.
Jew = new
Autocorrect strikes!
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