CAF vs general population

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How does your experience with types of people on CAF compare with people you know In Real World (IRL)? This will vary a lot according to where you live.

Obviously people on CAF are much more interested in discussing Catholicism than IRL.
I live in what was a heavily Catholic area. IRL, I know a much higher percentage of former Catholics than I find on CAF. Most IRL tend to be liberal/secular now. Christianity seems mostly irrelevant to them now. They may applaud Pope Francis, but they show no inclination towards reverting to Catholic. These people come on CAF with much less frequency than IRL.

On CAF, especially the Non Catholic subforum, I have met (to my pleasure) many types of people I rarely (knowingly) meet IRL; for instance, continuum Anglicans, or ACNA members, or Lutherans.

The Protestants I know - who often talk about their religion - tend to be Baptists or Pentecostals. Half of them are former Catholics. I rarely have found them on CAF.

I have “met”, on CAF, a much higher percentage of people who are committed to the TLM; only a few IRL, those few are surprisingly young. I meet on CAF many, quite vocal, present or former SSPX attendees or supporters. I don’t know of any IRL, though I can’t be sure. (There is a SSPX chapel, but it seems isolated from Catholic activities in our area. I think they may support an independent prolife group; if I met one, they must have been shy not to identify as such).

On CAF I meet lots and LOTS of moderate conservative, “orthodox” Catholics like myself. (The best kind of people), more so than I meet IRL.
IRL, and much more so on CAF, I meet a small group of hard core strong conservative Catholics.

I have not known anyone I knew to be Eastern Orthodox IRL, though they are certainly present on CAF. Eastern Catholics are present, a small minority, both on CAF and IRL. I have known lots more Catholic Charismatics IRL than I see on CAF.

On CAF I have “met” more supporters of Fatima than I see nowadays IRL, though actually Fatima was much bigger when I was a child IRL say 1960 or so, in terms of people talking about it.

Episcopalians come on CAF a lot more than I meet IRL.

Obviously I do not know the religion of everyone I happen to work with or meet, but usually if you get to know them they mention something, especially if I am heavily interested in religious activities, and they put stuff on facebook.
 
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Where l live is secular so it’s chalk and cheese for me.
 
commenter said:
How does your experience with types of people on CAF compare with people you know In Real World (IRL)? This will vary a lot according to where you live.
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They’re nothing akin to people I meet IRL.
For one thing, people here are genuinely interested in discussing religion, and most of them discuss in a respectful way.
I know a tiny handful of people outside of CAF who fit in that category.
Tiny.

Most people think religion is responsible for all the world’s ills, and that the Catholic Church is either (a) doctrinally wrong, (b) focused on money, (c) a haven for pedophiles or (d) all of the above. Many people I meet can’t even get past the “if there is a loving God then why does he allow little children to suffer” hurdle.

I spend most of my time around people for whom religion (any religion) is not a driving focus of their daily lives, or if it is, they don’t talk about it, so that skews my response somewhat.
 
I don’t talk religion with the general population or at work. Just have some small pictures of Jesus, Mary, and saints taped in my work corner. No one is bothered, nor is anyone curious who the bearded men are (I assume they can recognize Jesus and Mary).
 
I don’t know any devout Catholics (rather than casual or cultural) in my life besides a few priests and some of our local former catechism teachers and my mom. To my former classmates who know me and went to church with me, I’m a basket case.

One of my (kind of distant now) friends is Protestant, I think she was Church of Christ. All I remember is going to a few youth group gatherings with her when I was younger and they made me remember bible verses.

I know a lot of conservative, though slightly religious people. Mostly just hard core conservative.

Most of those I’ve seen on CAF are people I haven’t encountered in real life. For one, people here actually like to discuss religion, whereas where I live I’m usually met with blank stares…
 
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The general population in my university are modernists so I befriend them but keep my distance.

There is Thank God a Catholic Student Association and I have attended but prefer being alone. My facebook friends are Catholic and we all discuss the Faith all the time
 
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I know a much higher percentage of former Catholics than I find on CAF
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Unless they are considering reversion or have a very angry bone to pick, why would a former Catholic want to spend time on Catholic forums?

This and similar Catholic forums will attract only a small subset of people.
 
Its not just CAF, but in the entire internet, people have a lot more tendency to embrace more extreme points of view and sometimes get somewhat more angry and militant.

IRL, people tend to be a lot more moderate and attack a lot less.

When I bought my first computer 20 some years ago from Gateway, they included a brochure about “netiquette” and I think they should re-distribute it.
 
Where I live Catholics are marginal to non-existant. I know one lady IRL and of course my boyfriend, but he doesn’t live right here. Known two Orthodox friends my entire life. Never set foot in the Catholic church in town ever, and I’ve lived here for 30 years.

I started reading CAF because I had questions that needed hashing through, and for now staying bc of the interesting discussions.

What is intriguing is that in formulating my own faith, it glows clearer to me. As if I always knew this, but not until putting it in words in refuting or explaining (again, patiently, rephrasing) does it become active living words.

Oh, two things. This is - compared to the US - a very liberal and scientifically minded place. Which is the way I like it and wouldn’t want it any other way. It carries different challanges for your faith.
And religious convictions are intensely private. Public religion is a major no-no. It’s considered incredibly rude to ask, comment or even imply about the religious life of other people. This is, as far as I understand it, for historical reasons and religious oppression. It’s still a fact.
I have a bookshelf, a set of religious statues/saints at home, and I wear our ’rosary’/prayer beads, but I don’t talk about it unless asked.
 
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It’s difficult to honestly discuss religion with most people in real life. It’s a safe haven. I’m a little shocked by how right leaning people on this forum are. I’m more liberal well that’s because I live in a liberal state. I’m surprised how serious some people are about the Bible. Outside my young adult group in college, I haven’t met that many strong Catholics.
 
I think it’s best to think of people as Catholic or not Catholic rather than liberal or conservative. Liberal Catholics are basically faking it to make it. They want to be in the bosom of the Catholic Church but they don’t want to believe what it teaches in its entirety. So for instance, they will practice artificial contraception or be in favour of same-sex marriage. If that’s the case, they are not Catholic in my view, but rather Protestant posing as a Catholic.

Conservative Catholics are people who believe what the Church teaches.

I don’t meet too many Catholics in real life.
 
I’m a “liberal” Catholic. I don’t think voting Republican makes someone a more devout Catholic.
 
In Australia we don’t have all these labels. CAF seems to exist in a culture that would like to box people into different camps, in order to understand them. It’s an interesting comment on catholicculture in USA.
 
It’s a group of “like-minded” people, in that they care about strengthening their faith in the catholic church. They understand labels of “persecution”; matters of scrupulosity, and looking for informed answers to any religious issues. It helps guide my spiritual direction, and hopefully give some to the members.
 
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