Cradle Catholics don't think!

[NoelFitz]

I have been looking at the contributions of Catholic thinkers and intellectuals to Catholicism and note very many seem to be converts. Also in Catholic discussion groups on the www very many of the most enthusiastic contributors seem to be converts. Observation goes so far as to give the impression that Cradle Catholics are lazy, uncommitted and careless.
Are these perceptions shared by others? Why?
I would love to hear from contributors here, converts or not. Thanks!

 

[Catholic1954]

I have been looking at the contributions of Catholic thinkers and intellectuals to Catholicism and note very many seem to be converts. Also in Catholic discussion groups on the www very many of the most enthusiastic contributors seem to be converts. Observation goes so far as to give the impression that Cradle Catholics are lazy, uncommitted and careless.
Are these perceptions shared by others? Why?
I would love to hear from contributors here, converts or not. Thanks!

As a “lazy, uncommitted, and careless” cradle Catholic of over half a century, I have no response to this.

 

[tuscany]

… Observation goes so far as to give the impression that Cradle Catholics are lazy, uncommitted and careless.

Gee, I’d answer your question… but since I’m a Cradle Catholic,
I’m too unthinking, lazy, uncommitted and careless to do so.

 

[Faxero]

:yup:

Catholic Converts seem more zealous than Cradle Catholics because of their protestant backgrounds.

Unlike us Catholics, the protestants view the bible as the sole rule of faith. They are also more outgoing in their faith. These attributes compel them to devote all their energy to scripture and charismatic evangelizing.

We Catholics express our zeal in more meditative, or quiet ways. Hence why some may see us as lukewarm or not zealous.

A Catholic with a protestant background retains the more outgoing zeal he had as a protestant, and so he may seem more aflame than cradle Catholics.

It’s all about perception. This particular perception is of course false.

 

[JerryZ]

The truth may be a little more subtle than that, our Holy father has many time repeated that we all have to undergo a daily conversion to Jesus, contrary to many protestants who think that conversion was an event that happened in 2001 at 11:00am on sunday when they recited the altar call of their particular denomination.

Jesus said, if you truly love me, pick your cross and follow me. Now Jesus’s cross went to calvary to a gruesome death, HE may or may not demand we shed our blood for him, but certainly we need to pick our cross every day.

Also not all Christians are at the same level of preparation as it pertains to the process of becoming saints, we all are hoping to make it to the reward one day and each take a different path accordingly.

Also I doubt that any Catholic craddle or converted from a protestant denomination view sacred scripture as the sole rule of faith. That would automatically make them NON Catholics Would it not?

I will agree with you that converts from protestantism have more affinity to go out and evangelize and again as our Holy father has encouraged us all to is to try to be more open to share our faith.
As is that not what the priest or deacon exhorts us all to do at the end of mass?

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[kevlarkyogre]

The two teachers I had who helped convert me were both cradle Catholics and very very outspoken about their faith the sort of guys who would be getting very uncomfortable if anyone were to say anything theologically incorrect

When I was an atheist I was very outspoken about it myself, and we used to have very loud “enthusiastic” quarrels over the matter till someone conceded :hypno:

You also have to consider priests, who are very well read in philosophy of religion and theology!

 

[Faxero]

Also I doubt that any Catholic craddle or converted from a protestant denomination view sacred scripture as the sole rule of faith. That would automatically make them NON Catholics Would it not?

I will agree with you that converts from protestantism have more affinity to go out and evangelize and again as our Holy father has encouraged us all to is to try to be more open to share our faith.
As is that not what the priest or deacon exhorts us all to do at the end of mass?

---

Wait… are you talking to me?? I didn’t mean to say that Catholic converts who were formally protestants continue to view scripture as the sole rule of faith. My apologizes for giving such an impression.

 

[Isca]

If you’re born and brought up in the faith, it’s always been part of your life, it’s part of whom you’ve always been. If (like me) you come to it later in life after a great deal of thought, you may well spend more time thinking about it, reading about it and wanting to learn about it as an adult.

Both types of people take their faith seriously, but possibly the later converts seem to have more outward zeal that the cradle Catholics, because it’s a new departure for them. For me in my 50s, I’m having to learn prayers that are completely new to me, for instance and ‘unlearn’ half a century of the CofE’s way of doing things!

 

[kevlarkyogre]

Hmmm… I’m not a cradle catholic myself but I still find this a hard thing to accept as true from what other people have said. Although it’s true that cradle Catholics “grow up” with the faith and it’s always there for them it’s certainly not true that they go their whole lives not questioning it or looking into it. Everybody reaches their own personal age of reasoning and questioning eventually, sometimes as teens and sometimes older. Cradle Catholics will eventually reach a point in their lives where they wonder more about what they believe and why, they do their own research and find out for themselves. If they are satisfied, they continue happily with their faith and if not sadly they leave. The ones that leave are not, as they so often like to think, one of the “unique” few who stopped to think rationally for a second and decided it was rubbish. Cradle Catholics may take their own time but everyone gets to a point where they have doubts and look for answers even when they’ve grown up with faith, humans are naturally skeptic creatures.

What we say about cradle Catholics here to explain away why they are seemingly lazy, uncaring and not so well read perhaps on debatable topics should be revised as explaining why it seems that way to those who do see it that way, and why SOME of the Catholics that perhaps we know of seem that way. But it’s certainly not true that they are all this way, and we cannot be certain about in what proportion it is true. Instead if anyone really wants to know the quality of the “Cradle Catholic” I think you ought to go out of your way to look for them, and see for yourself.

 

[coachdennis]

I have been looking at the contributions of Catholic thinkers and intellectuals to Catholicism and note very many seem to be converts. Also in Catholic discussion groups on the www very many of the most enthusiastic contributors seem to be converts. Observation goes so far as to give the impression that Cradle Catholics are lazy, uncommitted and careless.
Are these perceptions shared by others? Why?
I would love to hear from contributors here, converts or not. Thanks!

As if there wasn’t enough division in the church let’s pile on one more … yeah, that will really help build up the body of Christ!

I could write more, but this lazy, uncommitted, and careless cradle Catholic chooses not to contribute to such stereotyping. I’ll leave it to the energetic, committed, and careful converts to save the Church since we are such an embarrassment!

 

[Mr_Clean]

I disagree with your assumptions.

 

[NoelFitz]

Thanks for all your replies. I certainly (think) I set the cat among the pigeons!

But as a cradle Catholic I am not too “lazy, uncommitted and careless” to reply. But I think I did have a point that very many of the most zealous Catholics seem to be converts.

Here in Ireland the most committed often seem to be what we call “non-nationals”, mainly Indiasn and Filipinos. I am told if the States if ‘lapsed Catholics’ were a religion it would be one of the largest in the country.

Should we Cradle Catholics pull up our socks, or relax in our laissez-faire state?

 

[benotagoat]

Hmmm… I’m not a cradle catholic myself but I still find this a hard thing to accept as true from what other people have said. Although it’s true that cradle Catholics “grow up” with the faith and it’s always there for them it’s certainly not true that they go their whole lives not questioning it or looking into it. Everybody reaches their own personal age of reasoning and questioning eventually, sometimes as teens and sometimes older. Cradle Catholics will eventually reach a point in their lives where they wonder more about what they believe and why, they do their own research and find out for themselves. If they are satisfied, they continue happily with their faith and if not sadly they leave. The ones that leave are not, as they so often like to think, one of the “unique” few who stopped to think rationally for a second and decided it was rubbish. Cradle Catholics may take their own time but everyone gets to a point where they have doubts and look for answers even when they’ve grown up with faith, humans are naturally skeptic creatures.

What we say about cradle Catholics here to explain away why they are seemingly lazy, uncaring and not so well read perhaps on debatable topics should be revised as explaining why it seems that way to those who do see it that way, and why SOME of the Catholics that perhaps we know of seem that way. But it’s certainly not true that they are all this way, and we cannot be certain about in what proportion it is true. Instead if anyone really wants to know the quality of the “Cradle Catholic” I think you ought to go out of your way to look for them, and see for yourself.

Very well put by someone who was allowed to develop their spiritual path and can ‘see’ more wisely .(widely)

 

[sallybutler]

I have been looking at the contributions of Catholic thinkers and intellectuals to Catholicism and note very many seem to be converts. Also in Catholic discussion groups on the www very many of the most enthusiastic contributors seem to be converts. Observation goes so far as to give the impression that Cradle Catholics are lazy, uncommitted and careless.
Are these perceptions shared by others? Why?
I would love to hear from contributors here, converts or not. Thanks!

1. I guess it would depend on who you consider to be Catholic thinkers and intellectuals.
2. My mother pointed this theory to me over 40 years ago. Many people, when they convert to anything, are much more vocal and emotional. They may a more vested interest in ‘proving’ the rightness of their position. Those who have been there all their lives think it is so obvious that they don’t realize that others didn’t know it
3. Some of us have leaned that arguing doesn’t convince anyone.

 

[kevlarkyogre]

Very well put by someone who was allowed to develop their spiritual path and can ‘see’ more wisely .(widely)

? I never said I could see more wisely… I can’t tell if you think I was trying to be rude? I was trying to defend people who grew up with the faith I certainly don’t think anything the original poster said was true, I’m sorry if I gave off a vibe like I know better than people born in the faith or something! :S

 

[kevlarkyogre]

1. I guess it would depend on who you consider to be Catholic thinkers and intellectuals.
2. My mother pointed this theory to me over 40 years ago. Many people, when they convert to anything, are much more vocal and emotional. They may a more vested interest in ‘proving’ the rightness of their position. Those who have been there all their lives think it is so obvious that they don’t realize that others didn’t know it
3. Some of us have leaned that arguing doesn’t convince anyone.

Good point! I suppose us converts must look like we’re making a fuss about all the obvious things that others have always known haha

 

[DrTaffy]

I don’t have a strong opinion in this. But just to toss out a quote that seems relevant, from this article:

Here are some not so fun facts about Catholicism in contemporary Britain: 1) Two out of every five cradle Catholics now no longer identify as Catholic; 2) A Catholic upbringing is a stronger predictor of having “no religion” in adulthood than it is of being a once-a-month-or-more church-goer; and 3) For every one convert the Church attracts, 10 Catholic children grow up to regard themselves as non-Catholic adults.

 

[agnes_therese]

I have been looking at the contributions of Catholic thinkers and intellectuals to Catholicism and note very many seem to be converts. Also in Catholic discussion groups on the www very many of the most enthusiastic contributors seem to be converts. Observation goes so far as to give the impression that Cradle Catholics are lazy, uncommitted and careless.
Are these perceptions shared by others? Why?
I would love to hear from contributors here, converts or not. Thanks!

As a convert myself, I think that characterization of cradle catholics is unjust and downright rude.

 

[GaryTaylor]

Stereotype

 

[Giggly_Giraffe]

No, I disagree. My biggest personal catholic hero’s are cradle Catholics. The first is my RCIA director. She often mentioned how she had a slight jealousy at the glow the new catecumins had at Easter. She worked in the Missionaries of Charity directly with St Teresa of Callcutta (another cradle catholic). Idk why she didn’t take her vows, but I thank God often she was brought into my life. In conjunction with her was the dear Priest who was also part of my reversion (also a cradle catholic). He was just out of the seminary And still seemed to blind us with the Holy Spirit. I often think of him as my baby brother along as the deAr Priest who gave me my sacraments. Next is my current religious education director. She is amazing and such a good help to us all. She has four children ( 25 boy, 23 boy, 20 girl, & 17 boy). She probably knows more than Scott Hann (convert catholic professor, writer, and TV shows). Her children have grown up cradle catholic. The 25 boy just cme back from a ministry to a university in Connecticut. The girl who is 20 followed in her brothers footsteps to somewhere else. The boy who is 23 is an angel enthusiast and works the hardest on sucessfully converting his fallen away aunts and uncles. The boy who is 17 has mentioned a few times he is interested in the priesthood (we are praying 4 him). Now there is my family that I have married into. They are all cradle Catholics. Now my MIL & BIL seem to be catholic only in association (not practicing) but my FIL and husband have a deep reverence and devotion to the faith. I remember watching an EWTN special about the movie “the Hobit” and how they describe the Hobit as a good practicing catholic. This is how I see my family’s devotion - they are like Hobits who are devout, faithful, prayerful, but uncomfortable with journeys.

So, no, I do not witness cradle Catholics as lazy/slothy. They are the saints who have included me to the great feast of our lord and savior despite the malodorous smell from my wrechod sins. They cleaned me up and it took a team to get this done. Till good lord to be clean!!!