Catholicism in the 1970's-1980's....

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I’m only 34 but I was wondering, why did a lot of Catholics leave the Church to go to those fundamentalist churches/cults back then???

And last I heard, most Catholic are comming home… or going to no church at all now=non-practicing…

What do you all think?
 
jason3477 said:
I’m only 34 but I was wondering, why did a lot of Catholics leave the Church to go to those fundamentalist churches/cults back then???

And last I heard, most Catholic are comming home… or going to no church at all now=non-practicing…

What do you all think?
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Whew! I think there were many factors and reasons. The problem that I encounter today is the belief, God needs to conform to us when actually it is vice versa. Many leave because these other churches provide what they “personally” need,it is not so much about worship and praise of God. This is no joke my friend and his entire family left the CC for a fundamentalist church. And why? Because it is more…fun! :ehh:
 
I think it was a logical progression in the United States stemming from things that were said during Vatican 2.

The catch phrase in the 1960s was that the Church planned to “open the windows and let in fresh air,” This was understood to mean that the Church was going to become open to outside influences.

In the United States, what was outside? Protestantism, of course, which in the 1970s and early 1980s still seemed to most Catholics as a monolithic structure.

Hence, many Catholics felt free to depart for the sects, since the drift was “we’re all Christians.” It was also welcome to many to be free of the anti birth control message of the Church, which was the one discordant note in the whole “open the windows” theme.
 
Many of us raised in the 1940’s and 1950’s were taught that the Church was not only Eternal, but Unchanging. We were taught that the use of Latin in the Mass meant we could attend Mass anywhere in the world and it would be the same. You did not have to know the local language to worship because the Mass was identically said all over the world.
Then, overnight seemingly in the 1960’s and 1970’s the church DID CHANGE and it made everything we were taught before seem questionable. The fault would lie in our clergy who not only did not adequately explain the changes in the litergy, but became “creative” themselves with regards to their professions of the faith.
The changes in the churches themselves, no altar rails, the ridding of statuary in some churches, the removal of the tabernacle to side chapels, and the change in the priests vestments added to this.
And the “spin” associated with the reforms did not help, in fact the “spin” hurt.
Add to all of this the blatent espousal of the political and social liberalism of the 1970’s and
'80’s whereas before the church had been politically and socially conservative…it is no wonder Mother church lost members in the USA.
It is only in recent years, due to more conservative Bishops being appointed by JP II and our current Pontif that the Church in the US has begun to “bounce back”.
 
George_Stegmeir said:
It is only in recent years, due to more conservative Bishops being appointed by JP II and our current Pontif that the Church in the US has begun to “bounce back”.
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According to the 2011 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, the Catholic Church is not “bouncing back.” Growth rate is less than 1% per year for the third consecutive year. Growth under Benedict XVI has slowed compared to prior to his tenure. The growth is less than the growth rate of the US population, and is attributed primarily to the increasing ratio of the Hispanic population to the general population.
 
There was a definite movement inside the catholic church in the late 1960’s to discredit the pope. Many inside the church desparately wanted approval for contraception. It did not happen, and for good reason. Their approach was to discredit the pope and displace his authority with “follow your own conscience.”

It worked! About 80% of women of childbearing age and older and that claim to be catholic today use, or did use contraception. This had two effects. The sin caused a loss of charity and state of grace. The discrediting of the pope fractured the church unity. Both effects resulted in less reasoon for those affected to stay in the church.

A few did stay however. Have you noticed some churches are more liberal than others. Some of these rebellious catholics have morphed into the “creative liturgist”, among other titles.

Fortunately, many in this crowd are passing away now. Changes are taking place already. The younger generation is much more full of the authentic spirit of the catholic church. Hurray!
 
jason3477 said:
I’m only 34 but I was wondering, why did a lot of Catholics leave the Church to go to those fundamentalist churches/cults back then???

And last I heard, most Catholic are comming home… or going to no church at all now=non-practicing…

What do you all think?
Click to expand...
IMHO
Many “late” (baby) boomers like myself did not relate to our older siblings when it came to politics, social issues, and spiritualality. They were excited at what they percieved as a “liberal” turn in the Church in the “spirit of Vatican 2” While they were excited about throwing off the ‘shackles’ of tradition and morals. We were taking a second look at what they threw into the religious dumpster. Thier religion seemed phony, only to serve a ‘position’ in the community. While they ‘found’ what they wanted by throwing out the values our parents gave us, we were searching for those values. trying to reclaim them.
But with poor catechisis (touchy feely ‘religion’ classes at our Catholic schools at the time) we soon lost faith in the Church of our fathers. While priests and nuns were trying to look “cool” to our liberally minded older siblings, we were looking elsewhere for authority.
Some found it in atheism, others (like myself) began to be drawn to evangelical and fundamentalist churches that at least gave the appearance of a solid foundation.
Youth can be drawn easily to what LOOKS like the truth, but it led to even more confusion as I got older.
As age and wisdom caught up with me, I realized I needed more authority than a self-appointed “pope with a Bible”.
God is faithful and patient. through the prayers of my family I returned to the Church five years ago.
When you’re seven years old and you run away from home, it’s a lot of fun at 12 noon. But by 6pm it’s not fun anymore, you want to return home.
 
I talked to my old priest about this in the mid 80’s and he said the loss of faith was essentially caused by everything going on in society.

There were devotions and issues in religious congregations that needed change. There was this excessive separation between the priesthood and laity. Also there was this great sexual revolution that had a force of its own that led to the acceptance of abortion. This also had an alleged effect on the clergy as sex abuse happened during those times as well.

The Church seemed old and outdated. Pop psychology came in helping people get over their hang up’s and find their true selves within…it destroyed the Immaculate Heart sisters in L.A.

I cannot stand listening to music in the late 60s because it brings back all the craziness my generation fell into. My parents called me every weekend at college to help me stay on straight and narrow plus those little pictures of men who represented the 7 deadly sins…so I held on to those in my mind to avoid mortal sin.

Then the lay people turned inward…but many times brought power, cliques, and the spirit of the world into the Church, particularly in the American church…alot of problems in the American Church are now pretty much resolved except ‘Catholic’ public officials who are contradicting our Catholic faith.

We have to pray for our bishops to be strong in the face of the world, especially in America…There is normalization happening now…and many lay people have taken the place of those religious who have left. I find married Catholics the strongest of faith in bringing Christ to others.
 
Well, not devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus like some liberals still think. It is actually being renewed.

I don’t know the names of them…but they overstressed introspection, focus on one’s sins; some cultures practiced public or private devotions dealing with the shedding of their blood. They affected the wholesomeness of people’s personalities…considered unhealthy. I was a young teen when they were being removed.

In religious congregations, some of their administration needed restructuring. There was also the call by JPII for all religious congregations to go further in their renewal by returning to the original charism of their founders.
 
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