Secularism

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Why is there such a rise in unbelief and agnosticism, the lack of vocations? Why in many (most) countries has church attendance fallen off so drastically since world war II? The Boston diocese is closing down 70 (seventy) churches. (Can this be correct?)

In Europe the three countries with the highest number of persons without religion: Belgium with 37%, France with 43%, and the Netherlands with 54%. (Cardinal Poupard).

In an article in ‘Elsevier’ entitled “Godless Netherlands” a number of reasons are quoted.

· “Christianity is losing its grip on the population. Many turn their back on the church. . . . Of those who continue to regard themselves as Christians, many no longer accept traditional teachings”. Perhaps, but why not?

· “Religion is too often associated with ‘church’. Every person has a need for ‘religion’, but this need can be satisfied in many ways; e.g. soccer”.

· Consumerism. “What people in the past hoped to receive in paradise, they now find in the supermarket”. Yet it does not seem to make people happy and Solomon found this out a long time ago (Solomon Eccl: 2: 7-11).

· “Society has become more aggressive and hedonistic”.

· “The decline of Christianity is progress. Religion has promoted the outlook on the hereafter, as a result of which people have postponed their whole lives”. Progress towards what?

· “Half the Ten Commandments are unsuited for modern society”. Which ones?. People have not changed that much over all these years. Many of the ills in ‘modern’ society can be ascribed to ignoring these commandments.

· “The tenet that you are not allowed to pray to other Gods is in conflict with the freedom of religion”. Uh??

The search for happiness is the common ground on which all human desires, all human ambitions, meet. The tragedy of man is not that he cannot find happiness, but that, he looks for it in the wrong places.

The media frequently imply that Christian churches - and especial the Catholic Church - loses many of its members because it sticks to ‘out of date’ or ‘old fashioned’ ideas and restrictions about celibacy, birth control, the experience of sexuality, etc. But what if the Church is right, and is truly guided by the Holy Spirit, as I believe? It does not want to lose members but it also does not want to lower the standards or negate the truth and allow public opinion to set the standards as part of a popular membership drive.

We must have sufficient faith to believe that God is still in charge, that he knows what he is doing or what he allows to happen. Christ obviously expected problems. (See Matt 16:18.)

We don’t know all the reasons. But more importantly, what can we, and must we, do about it? Surely we cannot just sit back and accept ‘the inevitable’ What can we do about it together? I would like your suggestions.

God bless

Ewald
 
  1. Pray.
  2. Be a good witness by the example of our lives.
  3. Be open to explaining the faith to people who want to understand it.
  4. Pray.
  5. Pray.
 
Why is there such a rise in unbelief and agnosticism, the lack of vocations? Why in many (most) countries has church attendance fallen off so drastically since world war II? The Boston diocese is closing down 70 (seventy) churches. (Can this be correct?)
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Individualism, brought on by Protestantism and religious indifference. It is a very short intellectual journey from “All religions are equal” to “all religions are equally false”
· Consumerism. “What people in the past hoped to receive in paradise, they now find in the supermarket”. Yet it does not seem to make people happy and Solomon found this out a long time ago (Solomon Eccl: 2: 7-11).
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Started with the “Enlightenments” rejection of theology and philsophy and complete reliance on positivism - no knowledge is certain unless it is grounded in empirical evidence.
This leads inexorably to Marxist thought which is now dominate in Europe and all over the West. The central tenet of Marxism is materialism.
The search for happiness is the common ground on which all human desires, all human ambitions, meet.The tragedy of man is not that he cannot find happiness, but that, he looks for it in the wrong places.
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Utilitarian morality - J. S. Mills and Jeremy Bentham - the primary test of right or wrong is whether is the action makes you happy.
The media frequently imply that Christian churches - and especial the Catholic Church - loses many of its members because it sticks to ‘out of date’ or ‘old fashioned’ ideas and restrictions about celibacy, birth control, the experience of sexuality, etc. But what if the Church is right, and is truly guided by the Holy Spirit, as I believe? It does not want to lose members but it also does not want to lower the standards or negate the truth and allow public opinion to set the standards as part of a popular membership drive.
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Liberalism, the political idealogy that comes from these economic and philosophical schools rejects tradition and authority.

The patterns are quite easy to see when you study history.
 
I wish to thank T.A. Stobie for the web-sites he mentioned. I found a great deal of information and help, particularly from his direction towards ‘Christifideles Laici’. by John Paul II.

Does anyone know of a source for e-mail based Spiritual Direction. Because of domestic circumstances it is the only form I can contemplate.

God bless

Ewald
 
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Scapular:
What is the disease? How do we combat secularism?
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Secularism appeals to the baser nature of man, to his lust foir pleasure and to his selfishness to the extent of ignoring the needs and rights of others. The Culture of Hedonism & Death advocates it strongly through the media, through many organizations (such as planned parenthood and unfortunately many public schools).

We combat it by advocating strong Christian values in our lives, our society, our families, our workplace, our media, etc. We have to appeal to the godly side of man, the part of him that yearns to be united with God, to seek to love his fellow man.
 
Yes T.A. Stobie, it is as though man is rebelling against God. We just don’t know or refuse to accept that our existence and ultimate happiness depends on Him. I am not proud of where we are going as a people, its as though we have an apathy and indifference that is spreading as an epidemic. And it saddens and frightens me deeply as to what the future may hold for us all.😦

If anyone is old enough to remember, up to 40 years ago almost every Church in America was full each Sunday. And then through the 60s 70s and 80s, Mass attendance and vocations steadily declined, which was our experience in our parish and diocese during that time. And only in the last few years has the trend began to reverse itself in some parishes, though I must say not in all.
 
The way I see it (simply put) is that too many people who have fallen away from the church are not teaching their children about God. Even in my darkest days, I always knew that I had to bring my dd to church or else. Or else? Or else she would grow up to be a “heathen”! I thank my parents for this because they made me feel like I had to attend church for their sakes when it was really for my own salvation.Puppy
 
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