How often do you meet former catholics?

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almost2

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How often do you meet former catholics?

Every week I meet former catholics.

They leave this roman catholic church

1because of lack of spiritual growth
.2 lack of scripture teaching.
3And lack if fellowship

The belief system of the real presence does not chain them to the Catholic religion.

Nor does the the sacrament system.

They are led more by the holy spirit and the fellowship of community.

Do you meet many former catholics and asked them why they chose a different religious practice?
 
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I’ve met a lot of former Catholics, and it’s usually for none of the reasons you describe. May I ask why you’re still on these forums if you don’t wish to have an actual discussion and only wish to accuse and insult? Maybe you’d feel more welcome at CARM.
 
A lot of my friends are “former Catholics”.
They usually don’t have a big reason for quitting other than their parents made them go to church or Catholic school as kids and then as adults they just didn’t want to bother anymore and figured they could find God okay on their own. Some of them joined another church because they married someone from that other church. Some of them are doing things the Church would consider sinful and would want them to stop. Some of them are not necessarily sinning seriously, but are living lives that the average “church person” does not understand and it makes them feel alienated.

I’m not in a position to judge these people because I didn’t really practice my faith for years, as it seemed like a headache for a lot of reasons and during part of that time I was committing serious sins. I’d like for them to come back to church or if that’s not possible, for them and Jesus to find each other.
 
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Five of my siblings are former Catholics, with only the three of us youngest believing in the teaches (though I am worried about those other two at the moment). Mostly they have left because they simply haven’t found a conviction to stay. The faith has been watered down slightly, and they were also not given proper catechist.

Nothing to do with fellowship. Nothing to do with scripture reading (which we do at mass every Sunday anyway), and not necessarily spiritual growth because they did not seek it.

There is a major issue right now with how well young adults are being taught the faith and I can attest that it is being done rather poorly lately, according to the many reports I have heard and from my own experience.
 
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almost2 said:
How often do you meet former catholics?
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I guess, about once a month or so.
Every week I meet former catholics.

They leave this roman catholic church

1because of lack of spiritual growth
.2 lack of scripture teaching.
3And lack if fellowship

The belief system of the real presence does not chain them to the Catholic religion.

Nor does the the sacrament system.

They are led more by the holy spirit
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On the contrary, the Holy Spirit leads people into the Catholic Church.
and the fellowship of community.
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That’s because they put their own pleasure before the Will of God.
Do you meet many former catholics and asked them why they chose a different religious practice?
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Frequently. And except for the Holy Spirit, the other things you mentioned are true. You see, that is the deceiving spirit which made them reject the things of God. It is Satan who leads people of out the Catholic Church.
 
Some have left because they ‘weren’t fed’. I wonder if what they really mean is ‘entertained’.
 
Non practicing Catholics I don’t consider to be “former,” rather, they are temporarily asleep. 😴 I count some dear relatives in that category. Praying for them to wake up. 😉

I’ve met very few former Catholics who made an active decision to reject the church, to join another denomination or non Christian religion or a cult.

IMO they did not truly know what they had, or they would never have left. There are lots of things we could and should do better. Lots of ways we hurt each other. But we’re in this “boat” and Jesus is the Captain, He promised the Holy Spirit would steer us on course to the end of time. All aboard!
 
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Quite a lot sadly and many in other denominations. I think they never really got on board with Catholicism or they reached an age where they felt there wasn’t a place for them at church.

To be fair it would have been me if I hadn’t have met the people I did at 18. Catholic school left me unconvinced.
 
We are never former Catholics. We are either practising or not
 
I have honestly reminded an old friend of mine that many many times, she won’t budge. But I’m glad you and I have the same view of that. I guess where I live, it’s just easier to say former Catholic.
 
De_Maria said:
On the contrary, the Holy Spirit leads people into the Catholic Church.
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Agreed, they are lead more by their own feelings than by the Holy Spirit.
almost2 said:
and the fellowship of community.
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De_Maria said:
That’s because they put their own pleasure before the Will of God.
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That may be true, but I also think that we as Catholic’s could do more to foster a sense of community without watering down the faith.
 
egretps said:
Some have left because they ‘weren’t fed’. I wonder if what they really mean is ‘entertained’.
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There are definitely some people looking for church to be a social, entertaining, engaging experience, similar to an outing to a good restaurant or a show. Nothing boring or difficult. They’d pick whichever church had the best Yelp reviews.

I really hate the “not fed” analogy; once you are past childhood and not helpless, you are generally responsible for obtaining your own food, it is not someone else’s job to feed you and all you do is show up and eat and complain if you don’t like the menu. The same applies to your spiritual life.
 
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The area I live in is populated with many ‘store-front’ and ‘non-denominational’ with the loud praise and worship band. One had a billboard that showed a heavily tattooed arm holding a bible. I’ve run into several people who I used to see regularly at Mass, who now are inviting me to the large "non-denominational’. Er, no thanks.

My parish’s youth group leader wonders why we have so few kids joining. I told him look at the parents. They have to drive the kids, and if they don’t make ‘church’ priority in their own life, they aren’t going to be taking their kids. Kids are always watching what their parents value and do.

I suspect the vacuum will be filled with something. 😧
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
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egretps:
Some have left because they ‘weren’t fed’. I wonder if what they really mean is ‘entertained’.
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There are definitely some people looking for church to be a social, entertaining, engaging experience, similar to an outing to a good restaurant or a show. Nothing boring or difficult. They’d pick whichever church had the best Yelp reviews.

I really hate the “not fed” analogy; once you are past childhood and not helpless, you are generally responsible for obtaining your own food, it is not someone else’s job to feed you and all you do is show up and eat and complain if you don’t like the menu. The same applies to your spiritual life.
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This isn’t an old idea. The Catholic Church has been so successful at bringing people together on Sundays, that some credit it for being the seminal reason for Professional football in this country.

In other words, folks get together for Mass. The kids get together after Mass and play. They play gets organized. Decades later, we have an entire league based on the game which if you remember, was initially, only played on Sundays.
 
In my experience, 50% of people leave the Church because they refuse to conform morally, and another 50% of people leave because they are poorly catechized and don’t understand Church teaching.

In fact, I’ve never met an ex Catholic who didn’t leave because of one of these two reasons.
 
Non-denominational is a misnomer. They are in fact a Protestant denomination called “non-Denominational”.

Oh the irony.

In fact, the only Church which could accurately call itself non-Denominational is the Catholic Church.

de·nom·i·na·tion
dəˌnäməˈnāSH(ə)n/Submit
noun
noun: denomination; plural noun: denominations
1.
a recognized autonomous branch of the Christian Church.
synonyms: religious group, sect, cult, movement, body, branch, persuasion, order, school; church
“a Christian denomination”

The Catholic Church is not a branch of the Christian Church. It is THE Christian Church.

So in fact, the Catholic Church is the only true non-demoninational Church.

All the “non-Demoninational” churches you see, are in fact part of a Protestant denomination called “non-Denominational”.
 
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As @Spyridon mentioned, the two major lumps seem to be those. Some just fall away from indifference, some turn Anti-Catholic in a vain attempt to justify themselves.

Reminiscent of the Seed falling on ground parable.

I suspect many have misheard the Lord’s Prayer. It absolutely does not contain the phrase:

"Thy kingdom come, my will be done on earth, as Your’s is in heaven. "
 
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