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The principal reasons given by people who leave the church to become Protestant are that their “spiritual needs were not being met” in the Catholic church (71 percent) and they “found a religion they like more” (70 percent). Eighty-one percent of respondents say they joined their new church because they enjoy the religious service and style of worship of their new faith. In other words, the Catholic church has failed to deliver what people consider fundamental products of religion: spiritual sustenance and a good worship service.

Religion meets consumerism.

IOW, "the product" was more appealing, attractive, enjoyable.

Implicit in this concept, is the idea that we ought to somehow "tailor" or modify the product which we provide to meet customer demand.

I'd argue that this is at the very heart of our spiritual problems, today. When I say "our" I don't just mean Catholic. I mean the entire western world.

It's all about me.

As an aside, Phil Lawler has a nice little response to perpetual naysayer Reese. While Reese engages in some faux handwriniging over the number of Catholics who've left the Church, Phil wonders if he's similarly concerned with the drastic drop in members of Reese's own order, the Jesuits, who have declined in numbers by two-thirds since the '60s.

What's Resse's explanation for that, I wonder.

Religion meets consumerism.
IOW, "the product" was more appealing, attractive, enjoyable.
Implicit in this concept, is the idea that we ought to somehow "tailor" or modify the product which we provide to meet customer demand.

I'd argue that this is at the very heart of our spiritual problems, today. When I say "our" I don't just mean Catholic. I mean the entire western world.

Excellent observation. Neil Postman, in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death blames television for this approach to adapting the "product" to the market, and one of those "products" is religion. Adapting the religious message so that it is tailored, as you said, or otherwise made emotionally satisfying, is to change it to something different than the original. As he puts it, "I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether."