Article on people changing religions in the United States

[KathleenElsie]

I think that along with the discussion on what is happening demographically, it might be constructive to consider some areas where the Church can improve.

Here is a list of things that I think will help with “retention” among those raised in Catholic households.

1. It starts in the family. A strong Catholic upbringing with an insistence on good solid cathecesis as well as a good example by the parents is essential. Children have to see that the faith is important to their parents or it will not be important to them. :yup:
2. Youth organizations. Every parish should work to have a vibrant active youth group that is alive with the joy of Christ, but does fun things like intramural sports, pizza parties, etc. as well as service projects that let the youth put their faith into practice. I haven’t been to one, but have heard that the Stuebenville confernces are phenominal and are highlighted by Eucharistic Adoration. It would also help if the priests make an occaisional appearance at youth activities and interact with the children. We cannot expect young men to recognize, much less answer a call to the priesthood if the only interaction they have with a priest is watching him celebrate the Mass on Sunday.:yup:
3. CCE. Most Catholic families either cannot or choose not to pay for Catholic Schools. For the children of these families, it is essential that the parish have a solid CCE program that focuses on the truths of the Catholic Church, and in the upper grades (high school) exposes the students to some of the major heresies of protestantism along with solid explanations of why these heresies are wrong. Homeschooling is now more common due to the lack of Catholic in Catholic Schools. The CCE should not stop at First Holy Communion. But, it needs to teach the truths of our faith and not the “sappy happy” watered down information that many of our children receive.
4. Eucharistic Adoration. If young people learn to adore Christ in the Eucharist and recognize is real presence in the same, it will be nearly impossible for them to leave the Catholic Church. :yup:
5. PRAY. Especially, pray the Rosary for your own children and for all children. Heck, we might even try praying the Rosary with our children . Once again, if they learn to love the BVM, this will further ground them in the Catholic Church as any other “church” will force them to give up this devotion.

I hope and pray that the Lord will use us to reverse the trend of Catholics falling away from the Church.

Ask the average Catholic, adult or child, what the Church actually teaches and what they believe and IMHO most will not be able to tell you correctly.

 

[MelanieAnne]

One of the comments made here is that if someone doesn’t formally “leave” the church, they’re still counted as members, so the numbers reported may be inflated.

Not to excuse deliberate inflation of numbers, but it would also go against the very nature of a church, no doubt any church, to drop members from their rolls. I don’t see this as some sort of device to deliberately inflate membership numbers. I see it as more about hope.

In addition, I have no doubt that other churches do exactly the same thing, so I’m not sure there is any reason to be concerned about the possibility of overstated membership numbers.

 

[Rolltide]

One of the comments made here is that if someone doesn’t formally “leave” the church, they’re still counted as members, so the numbers reported may be inflated.

Not to excuse deliberate inflation of numbers, but it would also go against the very nature of a church, no doubt any church, to drop members from their rolls. I don’t see this as some sort of device to deliberately inflate membership numbers. I see it as more about hope.

In addition, I have no doubt that other churches do exactly the same thing, so I’m not sure there is any reason to be concerned about the possibility of overstated membership numbers.

I’m actually glad that you pointed this out, because it’s one of the things that makes the Pew Report more accurate. It is not using church roll records, but surveying people. The numbers reflect actual personal affiliation, as opposed to what denominations have simply written down.

 

[Nohome]

Ask the average Catholic, adult or child, what the Church actually teaches and what they believe and IMHO most will not be able to tell you correctly.

I don’t know if “most” would, but at least “many”.

As a former Catholic, I can attest to this. Once I sat down and studied what the Church truly believes, I realized that I could not honestly call myself Catholic.

Nohome