Catholicism steepest declining religion in US, Nones fastest growing

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Padres1969

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I didn’t quite know where to post this since it’s not exactly hot off the press news (article came out over 10 months ago). And we’ve all seen the basic report it highlights from Pew about the growing number of “Nones” in the US (those that lack any organized religion that they’re a member of (either a-religious or religious individuals). But tucked away in the report was something I hadn’t seen discussed in the many discussions about it since the report was first reported on, and that’s that Pew found that the Catholic Church is actually the steepest declining Christian group in the US.

So much so that for every 1 new member the Catholic Church is converting, it’s losing 6.5 members. This is the highest convert to loss ratio among any of the major religious categories in the US. Nones by comparison are gaining 4.2 “members” for every 1 they lose. Evangelical and Mainline Protestants sit in between with 1.2+/1- and 1+/1.7- ratio respectively. As a total the RCC has lost 3 million members in the 7 years between 2007 (54.3 million Catholics) and 2014 (when the report concludes with 50.9 million Catholics) and now accounts for only 20% of the population in the US population. Nones meanwhile have expanded to include 23% of the US. Only Evangelical Protestants as a group still outnumber the Nones as a group.

cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/12/pew-survey-percentage-of-us-catholics-drops-and-catholicism-is-losing-members-faster-than-any-denomination/
 
It’s probably much higher losses across the board with Christianity. Church statistics are notoriously unreliable
 
This is very unfortunate. Traditional American values are going away. Secular liberalism is rising. We are going the way of Europe. 23% of the population being irreligious is way too high. American values will soon be materialistic and left-wing. We need Christian values in this nation. They have kept us strong for over 200 years.
 
anon67074017 said:
This is very unfortunate. Traditional American values are going away. Secular liberalism is rising. We are going the way of Europe. 23% of the population being irreligious is way too high. American values will soon be materialistic and left-wing. We need Christian values in this nation. They have kept us strong for over 200 years.
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While I personally disagree with you on whether the country needs to support Christian values, I do believe we as Catholics and Christians need to do more in our part to evangelize, and walk the walk, and not cause further scandals.
 
adawgj said:
While I personally disagree with you on whether the country needs to support Christian values, I do believe we as Catholics and Christians need to do more in our part to evangelize, and walk the walk, and not cause further scandals.
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A conservative victory in the Presidential election would be the first step for a religious revival in America.
 
anon67074017 said:
A conservative victory in the Presidential election would be the first step for a religious revival in America.
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Possibly, as long as we don’t engage in a war, keep the economy up, bring back jobs, and not have a loud mouth as president, then I agree with you there.
 
I assume that most of the unaffiliated population are millennials. How do we get the Christian message out to millennials?
 
Well as a millennial, I would say using social media like YouTube, and other types of media. I would also say do not water down the faith, and be very inclusive, like Jesus.

Some millennials have already started evangelizing via YouTube.

Here is one that I really like and subscribe to.

youtube.com/channel/UCsKwXPRyjFpX6nWRLssluvA
 
Padres1969 said:
So much so that for every 1 new member the Catholic Church is converting, it’s losing 6.5 members.
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My observation is that it’s 1 in 10 Catholics (or any Christian, really) are truly committed to the faith, receive the sacraments regularly, attend Mass regularly, conform their lives to Church teachings, etc.

It is surprising that people are surprised by this. When the culture and media promote same-sex unions, abortions, euthanasia and other rot, the truly faithful will dig in their heels while the lukewarm will abandon the faith if need be.
 
thecolorsblend said:
It is surprising that people are surprised by this. When the culture and media promote same-sex unions, abortions, euthanasia and other rot, the truly faithful will dig in their heels while the lukewarm will abandon the faith if need be.
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Yeah really. Nothing new. I mean if someone has a problem with a teaching of Jesus they have to separate Jesus from His Church, the Catholic Church in order to ‘blame the Church’ so naturally they are going to look at protestantism which it’s very nature is separating Jesus from His Church,
 
I feel the “church” has left me, rather than the other way around. Because of a lot of pride and obsession with power, the Catholic Church has been restlessly changing its liturgy for the last 50 years. One priest prays the optional prayers of the Mass, at the next parish the priest weeds out all the optional prayers and uses the shortest Eucharistic prayers, etc.

One church has kneelers, the next church has none. some say there has been a strategy of making the Catholic liturgy more “Protestant” to attract more membership – I think that has failed and even backfired.

Priests and bishops have been involved in sexual abuse especially of minors, and this just undermines the credibility of the Church. as this sexual abuse scandal plays out, the Church is now promoting the “new evangelization” – which is trying to get Catholics back to the Church. My pastor does not even TALK about, much less do anything about it. In his homilies he sings songs from his younger years, the Moody Blues and John Denver, and reflects on these. We’re not being spiritually fed as we should be. For various reasons, I’m barely at the fringe of my parish. I’ve complained about nonsense that goes on in the parish at Mass time, and he is deaf to the complaints.

There should be a plan for developing spirituality that is actually implemented.
 
sirach2v4 said:
I feel the “church” has left me, rather than the other way around. Because of a lot of pride and obsession with power, the Catholic Church has been restlessly changing its liturgy for the last 50 years. One priest prays the optional prayers of the Mass, at the next parish the priest weeds out all the optional prayers and uses the shortest Eucharistic prayers, etc.

One church has kneelers, the next church has none. some say there has been a strategy of making the Catholic liturgy more “Protestant” to attract more membership – I think that has failed and even backfired.

Priests and bishops have been involved in sexual abuse especially of minors, and this just undermines the credibility of the Church. as this sexual abuse scandal plays out, the Church is now promoting the “new evangelization” – which is trying to get Catholics back to the Church. My pastor does not even TALK about, much less do anything about it. In his homilies he sings songs from his younger years, the Moody Blues and John Denver, and reflects on these. We’re not being spiritually fed as we should be. For various reasons, I’m barely at the fringe of my parish. I’ve complained about nonsense that goes on in the parish at Mass time, and he is deaf to the complaints.

There should be a plan for developing spirituality that is actually implemented.
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Unless you live in a heavily non-Catholic area where there is no other church within an hour drive, change houses of worship. I did, for many of the same reasons as you (except it wasn’t the priests so much as the co-celebrants).
 
adawgj said:
Possibly, as long as we don’t engage in a war, keep the economy up, bring back jobs, and not have a loud mouth as president, then I agree with you there.
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Wars, if they are just wars, always cause a revival in conservative values.
 
Padres1969 said:
I didn’t quite know where to post this since it’s not exactly hot off the press news (article came out over 10 months ago). And we’ve all seen the basic report it highlights from Pew about the growing number of “Nones” in the US (those that lack any organized religion that they’re a member of (either a-religious or religious individuals). But tucked away in the report was something I hadn’t seen discussed in the many discussions about it since the report was first reported on, and that’s that Pew found that the Catholic Church is actually the steepest declining Christian group in the US.

So much so that for every 1 new member the Catholic Church is converting, it’s losing 6.5 members. This is the highest convert to loss ratio among any of the major religious categories in the US. Nones by comparison are gaining 4.2 “members” for every 1 they lose. Evangelical and Mainline Protestants sit in between with 1.2+/1- and 1+/1.7- ratio respectively. As a total the RCC has lost 3 million members in the 7 years between 2007 (54.3 million Catholics) and 2014 (when the report concludes with 50.9 million Catholics) and now accounts for only 20% of the population in the US population. Nones meanwhile have expanded to include 23% of the US. Only Evangelical Protestants as a group still outnumber the Nones as a group.

cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/12/pew-survey-percentage-of-us-catholics-drops-and-catholicism-is-losing-members-faster-than-any-denomination/
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Okay, serious question here.

If the Catholic Church is losing members like these numbers indicate, why does the Church continue with the tradition of only accepting converts one day per year? I mean, if someone wants to become a Baptist, he can go to a Baptist church on any Sunday, say he wants to convert, and voila–he’s a Baptist. If someone decides today that he wants to become a Catholic, his next opportunity is April, 2017. That doesn’t sound like a very welcoming faith to many people. I’m all for an RCIA program so people learn about what they are joining, but why not do it throughout the year?

(There is nothing in the New Testament where Jesus commanded the apostles to preach the Good News throughout the world, but only accept people into the Body of the Church on one day per year.) “Go forth and baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit” was commanded without limitations of timing.
 
anon67074017 said:
I assume that most of the unaffiliated population are millennials. How do we get the Christian message out to millennials?
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The Millenials love to think they are the best generation ever, and they prefer to look into the future ratherthan past. There should be conservative futurists, like Heinline, to attract their attention and capture imagination.
 
Living out Catholicism requires obedience and prayer. Selfishness and distractions, which are abundant today, are opposed to obedience and prayer respectively.
People are choosing to take what, to them, seems like an easier path to Jesus. Either Protestant or ‘none’.

“The Joy of Love” touches on people not understanding “the inherent value” of Church teaching regarding marriage. I think if people do not understand the value and meaning behind Church teachings they may continue to fall away. My parish is fortunate enough to have a couple of young, theological and pastoral priests who give homilies that speak to young and old alike about the realities of Church teaching and theology.
 
JWH123 said:
If someone decides today that he wants to become a Catholic, his next opportunity is April, 2017. That doesn’t sound like a very welcoming faith to many people. I’m all for an RCIA program so people learn about what they are joining, but why not do it throughout the year?
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RCIA takes up a little more than half the year. There are cases where some have read themselves into the Church and after a couple of sessions with a priests have been accepted into the Church sooner but usually a longer discernment is necessary.
 
opinion polls about faith issues are meaningless

i believe in the holy catholic church and will always do so

i can’t account for the opinions given in random telephone surveys
 
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