Catholicism’s Man-Sized Crisis

Matthew James Christoff is, in some ways, like a modern-day St. John the Baptist, an urgent voice crying out in the wilderness. Christoff wants the world to know the Catholic Church has a man problem. Actually, not just a problem, but a crisis. The Catholic convert from Minnesota’s Twin Cities founded an apostolate called the New Emangelization Project to help men learn and fully live their faith. Nothing less than the future of the Catholic Church is at stake, he says.

The father of four’s journey into the Catholic men’s movement began with a cancer diagnosis and a “very long search for God.” A spark lit in him during and after his illness that led him to an encounter with Jesus Christ. He entered the Catholic Church in 2006. He soon discovered what he calls the “man crisis”: millions of American men have left the faith or drifted into a mediocre spiritual life. Catholic World Report spoke with Christoff about his research and his plans to combat the crisis.

For more on the emerging Catholic men’s movement, see CWR’s feature on the subject, “Created for Greatness.”

CWR: What first got you interested in the issue of the “man crisis” in the Catholic Church?

Christoff: About a year or two after my conversion, I was blessed to have a number of very strong, courageous Catholic men take me under their wings. We started to have these men’s nights where we’d light a fire and smoke some cigars (they would, at least), drink some Scotch, grill some meat, and then talk about Christ. This kind of morphed into a meeting with Bishop Lee Piché [auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis]. We said, “Bishop, why are there so many casual Catholic men?” His Excellency said, “It’s because they don’t know Jesus.’”

About five years ago, a group of priests and laymen started Catholic Man Night. It’s a pretty simple model, based on Acts 2:42 (“and they held steadfastly to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers”). We really focus on catechesis on Jesus and we have developed 35 different topics that help men meet Jesus (with more being developed). The topics are rigorously researched, with many references to Scripture and the Catechism. Ultimately we need each man to be able to make the clear case for why he follows Jesus Christ.

Christoff: Some 11-15 million adult men in the United States were raised Catholic but left the faith. Men are under-represented in the Church versus the general population and men are only about one-third of weekly Mass attenders. Up to 90 percent of catechesis activities are led by women, so the face of the Church in the average parish has become more feminine. Some 60 percent of Catholic men are “casual Catholics”; they don’t know the faith and don’t practice the faith. The trouble is that men are becoming less passionate about being Catholic.

Twenty-five years ago, about 50 percent of men said they would never leave the Church. Today, only 40 percent say they would never leave the Church. Four of 10 men don’t believe Catholicism has any more truth than any other religion. Catholic men are dramatically less passionate about their faith than our Evangelical Christian brothers. So it’s not that Christianity is not appealing to men—there is something missing from how the Catholic Church is evangelizing men. If we wish to have a New Evangelization, there must be a New Emangelization, creating generations of Catholic men who are on fire for Jesus Christ and Holy Mother Church.

Christoff: If you look at the 70-plus interviews I’ve done on our website, every single person has confirmed that there is a Catholic “man crisis.” At the Twin Cities Catholic men’s conference this past weekend, I asked 1,300 men to raise their hands if they think there is a Catholic man crisis. Ninety-five percent of the men raised their hands. The Church, from the Pope to the parish, needs to come to grips with the Catholic man crisis and begin more aggressively to evangelize men. Ultimately the crisis has a huge negative impact on the Church, on women, on children, and on greater society. You’ve got to make the case that the man crisis exists, you’ve got to make the case for why it’s important, and you’ve got to make the case that there are some clear and simple things we can do about it.

Christoff: Catholic men are failing to pass along the faith to their children. The single biggest influence on if the children remain in the faith is the faith of the father. A father who practices his faith and lovingly professes his faith to his children influences the children to remain in the faith. So if your father is not active in the faith, chances are you won’t be active. The faith lives of women are very important and women have been doing a heroic job, but it is not enough, as the results show. Men are essential for the successful passing on the Catholic faith and, sadly, many Catholic men are failing.

If you look at 18- to 29-year-old Catholics, 25 years ago if you would have asked them, “Are you certain you’re going to stay Catholic?” about 40 percent said yes. That’s bad news, because 60 percent said they wouldn’t stay Catholic. Twenty-five years later, the number is only 18 percent. This is a massive disaster. It’s one that’s going to play out in the coming decades. This die is cast in some sense, without a really dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

CWR: You have written that the Synod on the Family that met in Rome last October had some shocking omissions. Why?

Christoff: There is only one sentence (in the synod report) that discusses the role of fathers/men specifically and it chastises men for not being good fathers. There’s no feedback on what men should be doing, to encourage them. The synod by and large focused on dysfunctional families, families that have been divorced or have left the faith, and those with same-sex attraction. There’s almost nothing on the family in the pew that is trying to be faithful, that remain married and were married in the Catholic Church, and nothing about the importance and role of Catholic men. These intact and faithful families make up 40 percent of families and there’s literally nothing of encouragement or help to them. If we don’t get our core and get them strong, there’s not going to be a core. And research is showing if you don’t get the men, you don’t get the children.

Christoff: There are three things I’ve done in the last year and a half. One is to assemble statistics about the Catholic man crisis where I could find them. The second is to interview 70-plus leaders to get very clear thoughts and feedback from experts who have been evangelizing men for a long time. The third piece of research was a 2,000-man survey of Catholic men. It’s perhaps the largest survey of Catholic men in recent memory. A thousand different ZIP codes in the United States. Large numbers of men from every age group. The survey was designed to get practicing Catholic men to tell how their priests can more effectively evangelize men.

Only one in five priests are rated as being highly effective at evangelizing men. That’s only 20 percent. Those priests that are rated as effective at evangelizing men have a powerful effect on the faith lives of their men. Their men pray more, they go to Mass more, they go to confession more, they are more active in the parish and they have more and deeper fellowships with other Catholic men. The exact opposite is true when priests are not rated effective. Men pray less, they go to confession less, they go to Mass less, and they’re less active in the parish.

Christoff: One of the key findings that really shocked me was the large numbers of practicing Catholic men who lack fraternity. Only about one in six practicing Catholic men feels like they have strong bonds of brotherhood in their parishes. That is shocking to me. The fact is that we haven’t cultivated a spirit of brotherhood and fraternity. Fraternity is critical, for when you have high levels of fraternity and brotherhood in parishes, men pray more, they go to confession more, they go to Mass more, and they’re more active in their parishes. There are large numbers of Catholic men who are hungry and will respond if their priest specifically and systematically evangelizes them. Many priests haven’t yet made the active evangelization and catechesis of men a personal priority.

Christoff: There are four kinds of Catholic men. One in three baptized Catholic men have left the faith—they are the Catholic Quitters. Of those who remain in the faith, 50 to 60 percent of Catholic men are Casual Catholics; they don’t know the faith and they don’t practice the faith. There are practicing Catholics, who make up some 30 to 40 percent of Catholic men. They kind of know the faith and they’re showing up pretty regularly. But they don’t really have a deep enough knowledge and conversion experience in Christ to say, “I’m going to be passionate about evangelization.” The last group are “Committed Catholic Men,” who make up about 10 percent of Catholic men. They know the faith, they practice the faith, and they have had a conversion in Christ to the point they are passionate about evangelization. Evangelization, that’s the acid test.

Christoff: Most Catholic men don’t know what it means to be Catholic and they don’t know what it means to be a man. Catholic men have not been challenged to be committed to some basic practices of the faith, to be Committed Catholic Men. Men respond to challenge and Catholic men need to be challenged to step up to the vocation of Catholic manhood.

We need to start with the basics of Catholic manhood. There are some basic practices of a Committed Catholic Man. They’re simple. They’re daily, weekly, and monthly practices.

Daily, a Committed Catholic Man needs to pray, including with his family, and needs to have an examination of conscience at the end of the day. On a weekly basis, a Committed Catholic Man needs to lead his family to Mass and keep the Sabbath. A Committed Catholic Man reads Scripture with family and performs acts of mercy. Monthly at a minimum, a Committed Catholic Man goes to confession. Confession is key. Only 2 percent of Catholic men go to confession on a monthly basis. Seventy-five percent of Catholic men rarely if ever go to confession. Lastly, Committed Catholic Men gather with other Catholic men in their parish at least monthly to build those critical bonds of brotherhood. Catholic fraternity is key; as Proverbs says, “Iron sharpens iron.” CWR: Tell us about your efforts to evangelize men using the Mass.

Christoff: The New Emangelization interviews and other research confirm that large numbers of men don’t understand the Mass. About 50 percent of Catholic men don’t think they get anything out of the Mass and are bored.

The Mass is a great miracle and blessing that has been given us by Our King Jesus Christ. The Mass has profound masculine aspects that can have a transforming effect on men. We need to return to the basics: the Mass and men. Bishops and priests need to call and challenge all Catholic men to develop a new and profound understanding of the Mass. When this occurs, men will be prepared to accept an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and there will be a powerful gains in the New Evangelization. The Church, women, children and our broken culture need enlivened Catholic men.

Christoff: Our research shows that priests can have a powerful impact on the faith lives of Catholic men. Priests need to lead, but priests can’t do it alone. Priests need to make a firm commitment to evangelize men in their parishes by calling a group of 12 Committed Catholic Men together to pray and lead the evangelization of every man in the parish. It is not complicated. What’s needed is for the priest to have a parish routine of gathering men together on at least a monthly basis, modeled on Acts 2:42—to pray, to receive the sacraments, to meet Jesus and understand the faith, and for fellowship and the sacraments.

CWR: With so many challenges facing men in the Church, are you still optimistic?

Christoff: I am absolutely optimistic and have great hope in Christ; our King is the Victor. The truth of Jesus Christ, if it is preached, always has an impact. We know that when we preach it and evangelize men, tremendous things will happen.

Some 11-15 million adult men in the United States were raised Catholic but left the faith. Men are under-represented in the Church versus the general population and men are only about one-third of weekly Mass attenders. Up to 90 percent of catechesis activities are led by women, so the face of the Church in the average parish has become more feminine. Some 60 percent of Catholic men are “casual Catholics”; they don’t know the faith and don’t practice the faith. The trouble is that men are becoming less passionate about being Catholic.

Twenty-five years ago, about 50 percent of men said they would never leave the Church. Today, only 40 percent say they would never leave the Church. Four of 10 men don’t believe Catholicism has any more truth than any other religion. Catholic men are dramatically less passionate about their faith than our Evangelical Christian brothers. So it’s not that Christianity is not appealing to men—there is something missing from how the Catholic Church is evangelizing men....If you look at 18- to 29-year-old Catholics, 25 years ago if you would have asked them, “Are you certain you’re going to stay Catholic?” about 40 percent said yes. That’s bad news, because 60 percent said they wouldn’t stay Catholic. Twenty-five years later, the number is only 18 percent. This is a massive disaster. It’s one that’s going to play out in the coming decades....

....Only one in five priests are rated as being highly effective at evangelizing men. That’s only 20 percent. Those priests that are rated as effective at evangelizing men have a powerful effect on the faith lives of their men. Their men pray more, they go to Mass more, they go to confession more, they are more active in the parish and they have more and deeper fellowships with other Catholic men. The exact opposite is true when priests are not rated effective. Men pray less, they go to confession less, they go to Mass less, and they’re less active in the parish....

....There are four kinds of Catholic men. One in three baptized Catholic men have left the faith—they are the Catholic Quitters. Of those who remain in the faith, 50 to 60 percent of Catholic men are Casual Catholics; they don’t know the faith and they don’t practice the faith. There are practicing Catholics, who make up some 30 to 40 percent of Catholic men. They kind of know the faith and they’re showing up pretty regularly. But they don’t really have a deep enough knowledge and conversion experience in Christ to say, “I’m going to be passionate about evangelization.” The last group are “Committed Catholic Men,” who make up about 10 percent of Catholic men. They know the faith, they practice the faith, and they have had a conversion in Christ to the point they are passionate about evangelization. Evangelization, that’s the acid test....

Ex-Catholics. Solid for the Democrats. Cultural conservatives have no chance

I wonder if this is really true?!!

Likely if they remain RC or become unaffiliated, versus becomes evangelical, though they also are sliding overall South as per the prophesied end time declension. 42% of those now unaffiliated stated they do not believe in God, or most religious teaching

Research shows liberals and even proabortion/sodomite/Muslim souls seem to be rather comfortable being RC, with liberals being the majority. And which Rome treats as members in life and in death, and which testifies to what Rome really believes in part.

And most RCs leave due to the overall spiritual deadness of Rome. And they do leave, usually for better pasture, or none at all. Sources below are in small italics, and the up arrow ^ refers to the last referenced source above.

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. Pew forum, Faith in Flux (April 27, 2009) http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/fullreport.pdf
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. ^
Only 23% (20% now evangelical) of all Protestants converts from Catholicism said they 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. ^
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. ^
The same could be said by NT souls who came to Christ, to the glory of God.
Latino evangelicals are more than 20 percentage points more likely than Catholics to say that abortion should be illegal in most or all circumstances. http://www.nhclc.org/news/latino-religion-us-demographic-shifts-and-trend
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.
Catholics [2012] report the lowest proportion of strongly affiliated followers among major American religious traditions, with a considerable divergence between evangelical Protestants on the one hand and Catholics and mainline Protestants on the other. There was an abrupt decline in strength of affiliation among Catholics starting in 1984 and ending in 1989. Thus may be due to the growing number of Latino Catholics responding to the survey. Previous research has shown Latino Catholics were less likely to report a strong religious affiliation compared with other Catholics. Also, the percentage of Americans who say they adhere to no religion climbed from about 6 percent in the 1970s and 1980s to 16 percent in 2010. http://www.science20.com/news_articles/religion_america_evangelicals_surge_catholics_wane-97244
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
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 just and 7% of Evangelical Churches, who instead 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
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% of 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
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%. ^
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
Much more by God's grace.

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