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Old Catholic myth debunked
Study of 3,000 teenagers puts to rest enduring theory of ‘Catholic guilt’
Misty Harris, Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, June 14, 2008
One of the most pervasive stereotypes of Roman Catholicism is being debunked in a new study that reveals “Catholic guilt,” at least among the faith’s teenage followers, doesn’t hold water.
The research, which draws from 3,290 people aged 13 to 17, finds Catholic youth are no more prone to guilt than other teens, that more observant Catholics are no likelier to feel guilty than less observant ones, and that guilt-causing behaviours don’t affect contemporary Catholics any more than fellow teens.
“It’s no longer the case, if it ever was the case, that Catholicism is turning out guilt-ridden young people who are wallowing in their sin and feeling bad about themselves,” says study co-author Christian Smith, a professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame.
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Font:****Although the study is based on a U.S. sample, a Canadian expert says findings are consistent with what he’s seeing in his national data on teenagers and religion.
“In Canada, more than 50 per cent of Catholic teens – including 75 per cent of Catholic young people in Quebec – say they base their moral views on personal factors, led by how they feel at the time; only about five per cent say they base their sense of right and wrong on their religion,” says University of Lethbridge sociologist Reginald Bibby, who is completing a survey of 4,000 teens and will be releasing his findings in The Emerging Millennials. Bibby describes the phenomenon of picking and choosing religious values as “morality a la carte.”
Notre Dame’s Smith saw evidence of this in his one-on-one interviews with teens, many of whom had an attitude of "not taking it all too seriously."
The only incidence in which Catholic teens diverged was in being more likely to view their faith as both a cause and a source of relief of their guilt.
Julie Godin, a 14-year-old from Blue Ridge, Alta., experienced the latter effect when she held hands with a boy she liked.
“I felt really guilty because not only was it something my parents didn’t want me to do, it was something the church didn’t want me to do,” says Godin, a devoted Catholic who attends mass every Sunday. But Godin doesn’t think she is any more burdened by guilt than other youth and credits the church with helping her keep negative feelings in check.
“Going to confession definitely helps because your sins get washed away,” she explains.
Canadian religious scholar David J. Goa says this healing act of Catholic reconciliation is made possible by the presence of guilt, which too often gets a bad rap.
"Guilt is really another word for the promptings of your own conscience," says Goa. "The problem isn’t sin. The problem is awaking to it quick enough to repair it and then being free to do things differently instead of repeating the pattern."
If the traction of guilt has weakened – and because there’s no previous data for comparison, they can’t be sure it has – Goa says it’s likely linked to “a shift in the ethos of the church” in which God’s love and forgiveness are now being emphasized over his wrath and judgment.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
Source: canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=266d604b-5122-4b81-9fd6-f6c98d6f38ab&k=70665
Old Catholic myth debunked
Study of 3,000 teenagers puts to rest enduring theory of ‘Catholic guilt’
Misty Harris, Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, June 14, 2008
One of the most pervasive stereotypes of Roman Catholicism is being debunked in a new study that reveals “Catholic guilt,” at least among the faith’s teenage followers, doesn’t hold water.
The research, which draws from 3,290 people aged 13 to 17, finds Catholic youth are no more prone to guilt than other teens, that more observant Catholics are no likelier to feel guilty than less observant ones, and that guilt-causing behaviours don’t affect contemporary Catholics any more than fellow teens.
“It’s no longer the case, if it ever was the case, that Catholicism is turning out guilt-ridden young people who are wallowing in their sin and feeling bad about themselves,” says study co-author Christian Smith, a professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame.
Email to a friend
Printer friendly
Font:****Although the study is based on a U.S. sample, a Canadian expert says findings are consistent with what he’s seeing in his national data on teenagers and religion.
“In Canada, more than 50 per cent of Catholic teens – including 75 per cent of Catholic young people in Quebec – say they base their moral views on personal factors, led by how they feel at the time; only about five per cent say they base their sense of right and wrong on their religion,” says University of Lethbridge sociologist Reginald Bibby, who is completing a survey of 4,000 teens and will be releasing his findings in The Emerging Millennials. Bibby describes the phenomenon of picking and choosing religious values as “morality a la carte.”
Notre Dame’s Smith saw evidence of this in his one-on-one interviews with teens, many of whom had an attitude of "not taking it all too seriously."
The only incidence in which Catholic teens diverged was in being more likely to view their faith as both a cause and a source of relief of their guilt.
Julie Godin, a 14-year-old from Blue Ridge, Alta., experienced the latter effect when she held hands with a boy she liked.
“I felt really guilty because not only was it something my parents didn’t want me to do, it was something the church didn’t want me to do,” says Godin, a devoted Catholic who attends mass every Sunday. But Godin doesn’t think she is any more burdened by guilt than other youth and credits the church with helping her keep negative feelings in check.
“Going to confession definitely helps because your sins get washed away,” she explains.
Canadian religious scholar David J. Goa says this healing act of Catholic reconciliation is made possible by the presence of guilt, which too often gets a bad rap.
"Guilt is really another word for the promptings of your own conscience," says Goa. "The problem isn’t sin. The problem is awaking to it quick enough to repair it and then being free to do things differently instead of repeating the pattern."
If the traction of guilt has weakened – and because there’s no previous data for comparison, they can’t be sure it has – Goa says it’s likely linked to “a shift in the ethos of the church” in which God’s love and forgiveness are now being emphasized over his wrath and judgment.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
Source: canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=266d604b-5122-4b81-9fd6-f6c98d6f38ab&k=70665