What can be done to bring more young people into the church?

[Norseman82]

Yes, it seems to be the same in my area. The local Newman Center has the only Sunday night Mass in the area, and I hardly see young people at the other Masses, including Saturday Vigil Masses. If I were a little younger, I would probably go to the Newman Center, too. I am a shift worker and Saturdays can get pretty hectic.

Also, having a variety of weekend Mass times is something the Catholic Church does much, much better than most Protestant churches, at least in my area. I am very thankful that I am not limited to Sunday mornings. There were many years in my career when I had to work every Sunday. The same is probably true for many young people. I think this is a huge advantage for the Church

To address the issue of having Sunday Mass available to accommodate those who may have to work on weekends:

In urban areas, parishes should get together in groupings and team up to “scatter” their Mass times so that you don’t have every vigil Mass at 4:30 and every Sunday Mass at 9 and noon. One parish should have a vigil Mass early at 4PM, one late at 6 or 7PM, one volunteer to have the “early” Sunday Mass, and one volunteer to have the “last chance Mass” at 8 or 9PM.

 

[Magnanimity]

when someone asks “Why should I belong to a religion that imposes so many inconvenient and bigoted rules, is riddled with abuse and scandal, is hypocritical, when I could just ‘be a good person’ on my own” and/or belong to a religion that lets me do what I want" - how are you going to respond?

It’s a good (albeit loaded) question. And when you present the religion that way, who would want to be a part of such a group? You’ve merely articulated the negative.

The primary reason for anyone to align herself with a particular religion is that she believes that it helps her encounter the Absolute/God. If the religion in question does not do this, it has lost its purpose.

Additionally, whatever truth/goodness/beauty/relationality that a given religion belongs into the world must appeal to the conscience of the believer. It can be no other way. A religion making fantastical claims that come out of nowhere and correspond to nothing within me has no ability to “sell” itself in this competition you speak of. As the CCC affirms, “His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.” (CCC 1776) “Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ.” (CCC 1778, JH Newman).

All the goodness and beauty that Catholicism puts into the world, all its various truth-claims, all the ways in which it relationally engages the world—every bit of this must correspond to one’s internal sense of the good, the true, the beautiful and the relational. Right?

Truth-claims that seemingly come out of nowhere or seem unreasonable will be rejected. As will bad behavior (scandals of the church). So too being poor at the relational aspect (Evangelicals excel at welcoming the stranger, Catholics…not so much).

There’s plenty of work to be done for the church to be appealing, to correspond to what Jo or Jill knows that a good religion ought to be. Unless/until all that work is done, the Catholic Church is going nowhere fast, especially with young people. The church merely looks like an ancient and weird relic in their fast evolving world.

 

[Norseman82]

It’s a good (albeit loaded) question. And when you present the religion that way, who would want to be a part of such a group? You’ve merely articulated the negative.

The primary reason for anyone to align herself with a particular religion is that she believes that it helps her encounter the Absolute/God. If the religion in question does not do this, it has lost its purpose.

Additionally, whatever truth/goodness/beauty/relationality that a given religion belongs into the world must appeal to the conscience of the believer. It can be no other way. A religion making fantastical claims that come out of nowhere and correspond to nothing within me has no ability to “sell” itself in this competition you speak of. As the CCC affirms, “His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.” (CCC 1776) “Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ.” (CCC 1778, JH Newman).

All the goodness and beauty that Catholicism puts into the world, all its various truth-claims, all the ways in which it relationally engages the world—every bit of this must correspond to one’s internal sense of the good, the true, the beautiful and the relational. Right?

Truth-claims that seemingly come out of nowhere or seem unreasonable will be rejected. As will bad behavior (scandals of the church). So too being poor at the relational aspect (Evangelicals excel at welcoming the stranger, Catholics…not so much).

There’s plenty of work to be done for the church to be appealing, to correspond to what Jo or Jill knows that a good religion ought to be. Unless/until all that work is done, the Catholic Church is going nowhere fast, especially with young people. The church merely looks like an ancient and weird relic in their fast evolving world.

When dealing with atheists / “nones”, why should they care about the “Absolute/God”? What will motivate them? And are their consciences properly formed?

How to break through?

You are arguing “marketing strategy”, and fair enough. But one must not forget “product”. Again, what do we have that other religions don’t?