The hidden exodus: Catholics becoming Protestants

NCR ^ | Apr. 18, 2011 | Thomas Reese

[Country Gal]

I have to completely disagree with you. I have a LOT of friends who are former Catholics, and they did not leave because of marriage. Almost all of them say that they started reading their Bibles and realized that the Catholic church did not adhere to its teachings.

I believe that in Mexico particularly, the Catholic church is losing a lot of members.

I am not Catholic, but do respect the Catholic church and its faith, if that’s where its members find Christ. But I know on this board the fruit of the Spirit is seldom ever in the responses from the Catholics, and it’s very sad. Often, sarcasm and put downs are the modus operendi.

You can only fix a problem if you dare see it for what it really is.

Because of Christ and Him alone!

[SaraJohnson]

There is healing in churches that focus on the Lord's truth, joy and love and saving, living spirit.

There is death in the churches that are overcome with power struggles and unbelief. The churches leftists took over will die out for a lack of spirit in their rejection of God like the Europeans. They will make future atheists.

The Catholics are hurt by the leftists and pagan female goddess Mary worshipers in all their organizations constantly making an fool out of that which is holy, loving and good in the church - JESUS. Sometimes I think the Catholic church is doomed unless it starts over from scratch with true believers in the Spirit and truth of Christ and lets the nonbelievers to go their way and leave the church. The spirit of darkness is so entrenched within the organizations and they tell the young people there is no truth nor saving grace in Jesus which is very dispiriting.

Evangelicals are up the creek if they don't turn away from the worship of materialism. Sugar Daddy god has run it's course. The Gospel of Jesus is much more than abundance in material.

[count-your-change]

“First, those who are leaving the church for Protestant churches are more interested in spiritual nourishment than doctrinal issues.”

Quite so. Spiritual hunger, a desire to be taught and fed from the Scriptures, is basically the reason ex-Catholics have told me they are no longer Catholics.

Doctrinal teachings do matter but that comes later and these ex-Catholics have said they would not return for those reasons.

[Jeff Chandler]

Some reasons Catholics leave the faith.

[cuban leaf]

They’re mainly people who didn’t believe anything anyway, but were just on the Church’s rolls because that’s what their family did, 1, 2, or maybe even 3 generations ago.

---

According to this from the article, the opposite appears to be true: “Thus, both as believers and as worshipers, Catholics who become Protestants are statistically better Christians than those who stay Catholic. We are losing the best, not the worst.”

My wife is ex-catholic. What caused her to leave was her growing understanding of the bible and what it teaches.

[cuban leaf]

The ones who split to evangelical churches have many reasons.

---

Exactly. In the world stats are important. In Christianity, every single person is a unique entity. Attacking the situation by lumping people into statistical groups is the way of the world, not Christianity. Each person leaving, or coming to the church has their own personal and very nuanced reasons.

[CTrent1564]

the invisible hand

Stay out of this thread, it is a repeat thread of an article by the Jesuit Reese from over 1 year ago. Most Catholics who leave the Church [half go to agnosticism or atheistism] of those that to various forms of protestantism and to various ecclesial communities, it varies many go to mainline liberal protestantism, some to pentecostal types and some of fundammentalism, some to various evangelical stripes and as other studies have shown, you will find most of those Catholics who go to Protestantism will not make 1 change, it will be repeated several times throughout their lives which in a sense is suggest that many of these Catholics go to the ecclesial community of what is happening now.

I don’t most much here any more and will not get involved in these thread as it has many of the “usual suspects”.

[Quix]

THANKS FOR THE PING.

Will send you an email if I can find your current one.

LUB

[daniel1212]

Confirmed: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2885062/posts?page=35#35

[daniel1212]

That is absurd. As in MA, most RCs are liberal, which every study i have seen confirms, and i have seen a lot: http://www.peacebyjesus.com/RC-Stats_vs._Evang.html, and it is the evangelicals that they fear the most.

[Zionist Conspirator]

Second, thanks to Pope Pius XII, Catholic scripture scholars have had decades to produce the best thinking on scripture in the world.

You mean, like Raymond Brown?

That Catholics are leaving to join evangelical churches because of the church teaching on the Bible is a disgrace.

What the Catholic Church has taught about the Bible for the past century is a disgrace.

Too few homilists explain the scriptures to their people. Few Catholics read the Bible.

Oh my goodness. Catholics are becoming Protestants and the stupid author (and many like him) think the problem will be solved by spending more time telling Catholics that the Bible is a fairy tale.

This is Cloud Cuckooland.

[daniel1212]

See actual stats from many known sources: here. 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%

[daniel1212]

While Islam is the fastest growing, and Nones more so than Christians: http://peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org/RevealingStatistics.html#Sec2

[RitaOK]

If by the “church” means the building and the priest, then Catholics are probably not broadly well fed, when they attend only weekly on Sundays. If they were poorly catechized growing up then yes, they are probably found spiritually wanting today.

Sundays in the evangelical churches are rousing, spiritually experiential, with soaring senses, so a poorly fed Catholic ex is comforted there in his own relationship with his God.

On the other hand, for all her flaws and spiritless priests giving boring homilies, there she is, still standing. Christ’s Church. He is there within her, in His tabernacle to be consumed, transferred from the hands of the hands, of the hands of the Apostles themselves to my lips. Beating that? Just impossible, IMHO.

e

[Campion]

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, they want a church service that entertains them, because they go to church to be entertained, because, really, you know, it's all about them, and if it's not fun, they aren't interested.

As someone said above, it's called "apostasy," and it was prophesied long ago.

[ansel12]

In other words, they want a church service that entertains them, because they go to church to be entertained, because, really, you know, it's all about them, and if it's not fun, they aren't interested.

That sure is a way to ignore the truth, nobody believes that, most of these people are looking for a deeper more Christian involvement, with more conservative parishioners and preachers, and preaching.

[Salvation]

I thought we always had to have a live source for a post/story. It appears you don’t have one. Hmmm

I’ve been told the mods like to check on the validy of a thread that way.

Perhaps I’m wrong, but I don’t think so.

[A.A. Cunningham]

most of these people are looking for a deeper more Christian involvement,

You could air that out and fertilize the garden with it. Most of these people either want to contracept, abort their children, divorce and remarry, ordain women, or engage in aberrant sexual behavior. These people want God on their terms, not His.