More Than 1,000 Mexicans Leave Catholic Church Daily, Expert Says

[Abyssinia]

More than 1,000 Mexicans left the Catholic Church every day over the last decade, adding up to some 4 million fallen-away Catholics between 2000 and 2010, sociologist and historian Roberto Blancarte told Efe.

One of the principal novelties is that 5.2 million say they profess no religion – to the question about their religious beliefs, they answered “no religion.”

“It would be a mistake to think that these 5 million are atheists – all it means is that they profess no particular belief but they might well believe in some form of divinity,” Blancarte told Efe.

In contrast, the number of Protestants and Evangelicals went from 1.28 percent in 1950 to almost 8 percent of the total population in 2010, without counting Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons.

laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=390745&CategoryId=14091

 

[Dale_M]

the article:

Blancarte, one of the nation’s outstanding specialists on religious subjects, said that one of the main conclusions to be drawn from the 2010 census is that Mexico is no longer a predominantly Catholic country and has become a nation of religious pluralism.

I dunno… 84% Catholic would seem to be predominantly Catholic, at least in my book.

The trend is worrisome. However, I am not sure about Blancarte’s prescription:
the article:

Blancarte said, “as long as the church continues with its boring liturgies, as long as its representatives remain unconnected to people’s needs and keep slamming the use of contraceptives and condoms and saying that sex education is bad, more and more people will leave.”

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

When the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on Earth?

 

[Pieman333272]

That’s very sad. i’m glad to know many of them aren’t leaving Christianity as a whole but…

 

[Sherry_G]

Not too much can be gleaned about him or his credentials online. I noted on a descriptor on U of AZ website that he ws to speak there. Buzz words that stood out to me were his focus on secularism, religion and “reproductive rights”. IOW, he is compiling research statistics from this perspective. I mistrust his figures as being some kind of an expert on the Catholic faith and wonder about how and when his research was conducted and on how many subjects. Could be he asked a few hundred folks in a particular area or in such a way that the answers were not valid anyway. I really don’t think the Mexicans are deserting the Catholic church at all but I do see some language barrier problems. Nothing that cannot be overcome, however. I know quite a few Mexicans who are faithful to the church, in fact some of the Mexican traditions they brought with them are much more reverent than those we have, for example relating to the sacrament of Baptism.

 

[Big_Dummy]

why do you think they are leaving?

 

[JaredM]

In contrast, the number of Protestants went from 1.28 percent in 1950 to almost 8 percent of the total population in 2010,

 

[Prague]

Wow! Big whoop! A great big 8%

 

[Windfish]

That’s quite a lot of Mexicans.

I don’t think it’s anything that can’t be helped through prayer and work. Catholics need to be evangelized, and what we need are people who are willing to do that. With the help of the Holy Spirit, it is not hard, just let God do the work, and you try to let Him speak the truth through you. Catholicism is awesome. Just present to people in a faithful way, and people cannot get enough of it.

 

[ANNE_2]

Bishops need to promote the reading and study of “CCC 2nd Ed” for everyone over age 15which is published in Spanish and many other languages.
Each Bishop has the authority to require Priests to do this in his own Diocese.

Without prayer and good catechesis, everyone is suseptable to secularism and relativism.

 

[chain]

Statistics can be deceiving. How many 18-22 year old’s leave the church every day - only to come back when it’s time to baptize their first child. It is very easy to become self focused when you leave your parents house and live for yourself on your own. It is much harder to do when you are responsible for your spouse and your children.

 

[Raskolnikov]

Statistics can be deceiving. How many 18-22 year old’s leave the church every day - only to come back when it’s time to baptize their first child. It is very easy to become self focused when you leave your parents house and live for yourself on your own. It is much harder to do when you are responsible for your spouse and your children.

True. We won’t really know whether or how much Catholicism has truly declined among a particular generation until that generation is at least middle-aged.

 

[The_Rock]

How to lie with statistics 101:

in 2000 the country was only 88 percent Catholic, and now that percentage is lower still at 83.9 percent.

This signifies that the last decade has seen a drop of more than 4 percentage points, equivalent to almost 4 million people or an average of 1,300 people a day leaving the Catholic Church.

This is a misleading statement.
According to his statistics the Catholic church in Mexico **added ** 7,7600,000 members during this period (2000-2010). (population grew by 14 million)
Notice that he does not say that 4 million actually left the church.(equivelant to)
The rest of the article gives us an idea of the motivation for his misleading statement.

 

[Tigg]

He said that the crisis in the church is obvious, and what is interesting is that not even the visits of Pope John Paul II to Latin America could halt the loss of believers, “so that Catholicism is destined to be abandoned.”

So much for all the statements made by representatives of the Church that Hispanics would revitalize Catholicism in America! l o l !!

**Newsflash: ** This is an age of heresy and even downright apostasy and ethnicity has absolutely no bearing on the global loss of faith. The remnant will become smaller, but remain faithful and be strengthened until the end.

 

[The_Rock]

So the Article could read (using his own statistics

Nearly 8 million Mexicans have been added to the Catholic church in the last decade, more than in any time in history.

He could then speculate as to why the unprecedented growth has taken place.
Perhaps because of the Divine nature of Her liturgies, her unwavering opposition to contraception etc…

 

[The_Rock]

In addition to the nearly 8 million additional Catholics in Mexico, there are millions of Mexico born Catholics in the USA.

 

[ManOnFire]

why do you think they are leaving?

People are addicted to feelgood entertainment. Other smart churches have caught on to the idea of riding the coattails of the entertainment industry’s goal of making the message fun and entertaining for people. It’s not a bad idea really. Ours sticks to the traditional format that is a parallel to forcing kids to go to school: “You need to learn this. It might be difficult. You’ll struggle, but it is good and necessary for you.” Both school and Church are correct, but now people have the free will and means to choose to be entertained instead. And many are choosing it. We need to hope that they become curious about the Truth behind “This is my body. Do this in memory of me.” Once they inquire about the history and truth behind this question, then they will reach a moment of Truth when they must choose.

 

[Pork_Roll]

Fruit of the interpretation of Vatican II. Give it a 100 years to straighten out.

 

[Dale_M]

Fruit of the interpretation of Vatican II. .

But the decline began in 1950, well before Vatican II.

 

[Pork_Roll]

But the decline began in 1950, well before Vatican II

I’m sure the church was declining before the 50’s as well. I bet that the magnitude of the decline picked up after Vatican II. There is no debate that the church has been in a serious crisis beginning shortly after the council. This is a fact and it can be directly correlated to the implementation of the council.