Which religion is grabbing the most Catholics?

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jkb13 said:
Dear Serafin:

Do you see the Pentecostal movement in Latin America lasting – or is it a passing fad? Is it possible that people in Latin America are also turning towards their indigeneous religions and traditions. In Canada – the native peoples are returning en masse to native spirituality and want nothing to do with Christianity.
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Hi:

I don’t know the answer to that, but it does seem to be on the upswing! In Guatemala where the popular Catholicism is very influenced by native religion there are more pacticing Evangelicals than RC’s. Charismatic Evangelicalism of the brand common in South America is very opposed to syncretism as well as “native” pre Christian religious traditions and offers “free” access to God, his forgiveness and the power of the Holy Spirit…it certainly will give native religion a run for its money…time will tell!

Blessings

Serafin
 
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Flower_Charity:
Binky, i wouldn’t put to much weight into the quality of education you got from the paulists and jesuits…Also, you couldn’t have put that much rational thought into your decision because we’re the fullness of truth.
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**Pretty much underscores my point about “sophmoric” and “triumphalist” attitudes, doesn’t it? **
**Fortunately, the Jesuits taught the proper usage of “too”, vs. “to”. They also taught that use of the first person singular pronoun, subjective case (“I”), as well as the first letter of proper nouns (“Paulists”; “Jesuits”) require capitalization. **
**Res ipse loquitur as to comments about the “quality” of another’s education, even at the hand of certain Catholic religious… 😉 **
 
that is how i feel, i always find myself learning about the faith more on a daily basis, does anyone else learn more about the catholic faith on a daily basis
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jkb13:
I think that there is no religion grabbing Catholics. I think most Catholics have fallen away from going to church altogether.
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I would have to say the LDS or mormons would be grabbing more Catholics. As the young men go on missions for 2 years to go door to door the tell people about thier church.

In the Peace of Christ
KatMaria
 
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Catechist:
For our youth I would say . .

chruch of the blessed basketball
or
church of the sacred soccerball.
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I would add the adult version - church of the worldly time-schedule.

In one of his recent homilies, our priest asked the rhetorical question “Why are the pews in this church not packed?”
When we got home and discussed it, my sister offered her wisdom: “No time”.

Although I know some Catholics who have gone over to Bible Protestantism, I know more who simply don’t practice their faith due to skewed priorities.
 
Our secular society has taken heart out of many people from our Catholic faith. Pope JP II rails against materialism and secularism, but by and large he is ignored by most Catholics
  1. Most Catholics do not go to confession when they need it.
  2. Most Catholics do not subscribe to Catholic religious publications, they get their news (even church info) from the secular for-profit media. When it is incorrectly reported, most Catholics do not have the presence of mind to realize it, or they don’t care.
  3. Most Catholics do not fast on Fridays, NOR do they perform some act of charity or devotion on Fridays in lieu of fasting.
  4. Most Catholics of child bearing years use some kind of artificial birth control.
  5. Many prople who claim to be Catholic have not been in church in months (perhaps years), they recite a religious affiliation just like we recite our blood type when asked as if it is something we are born with. When they finally find Christ it is often outside the church and we get upset that they have “left the faith”. We didn’t get upset before the fact when they weren’t interested in the faith.
  6. Most Catholics who attend Mass (or Divine Lirurgy) do not volunteer for anything. They come in, and they go out, actually they rush out, especially if the next Mass is starting soon and they don’t want to be stuck in that parking lot traffic jam.
  7. Some families are deeply divided over the religion, with one parent reluctantly attending the Mass with one who cares. The children know all of this and see the hypocisy of attending as a family, they form the opinion that faith is something that can be opted for, or opted out of.
  8. Most collection envelopes never get returned, this should not be a surpise to anyone.
  9. Most Catholics do not pray together as a family.
We are losing the people to a “worldliness” that has robbed them of their faith. But we want to play this numbers game and see that baptisms and conversions are keeping pace. Much of that is empty, meaningless information when viewed against the number of unrecorded dropouts.

We live in a sceptical society, some would say a selfish, materialistic (and hedonistic) society. It is a meaningless society and people are searching for meaning. They feel an emptiness, and they want to be “filled up” with something spiritual but they don’t know where to find it or how to ask for it.

Our biggest problem is that most “Catholics” are unchurched.

Michael
 
Over a year ago, our 32 year old son left the Catholic Church when he married a young woman who was/is Pentacostal. Not only is she of that religious persuasion but her faith is distinguished by a very strong anti-Catholic bias. Rather than stay a Catholic and attempt to soften her view of the Church, he decided to leave the Church. He has since said that he would never be Catholic and that he never was so nurtured as a Catholic as he has been since becoming a Pentacostal. He has on more than occasion stated that he will never come back to the Catholic Church. Looking back over his life I can see that following his confirmation his catechization vitually ended with the exception of participation in a diocesan Search experience in which he took an active part at the time. However, during his college years he stopped the active practice of the faith and upon entering the professional world of work, he proceeded to indulge himself in various worldly pursuits. We pray daily that he and his two younger brothers will come back, come home to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

G. K. Chesterton addressed the matter of faith well when he said: The Catholic Faith has not been tried and found wanting but rather it has been found difficult and left untried.
 
As a Hispanic from an area where Mexican-Americans are the majority (85%-right on the border) this is what I’ve noted with family, friends, and in the community:
  1. Traditional Mexican-Americans seem to be lured by the conservative churches with lots of rules and regulations (i.e. pentecostal, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.). Maybe they miss the guidance.
  2. The youth and often those who are less traditional (many who have left home to go off to college) seem to be attracted to the simplicity of the “all you have to do is proclaim your faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior” philosophy.
 
From what I see, it’s the non-denominational churches that are grabbing most of the Catholics. My sister-in-law invited me to go with her when she was checking out a non-denom because her brother had joined, and they had tons of anti-Catholic propaganda going on - booklets in the back of the church and some Catholic Bashing during the sermon. They seem to prey on people who don’t want to follow all of the rules of the Catholic Church. Whenever I speak with someone who is a member of one of these churches, my first point to them is always that if they want to belong to their own church, that’s fine. However, constantly putting down any other church doesn’t seem particularly Christian to me. Sometimes I feel as if they all like to simply get together and complain about all the things they dislike about Catholicism.

(Fortunately, my sister-in-law remained an active Catholic!).
 
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Jessica:
I see the most young Catholics coverting to a “nondenominational” religion. (These are not necessarily “Bible” Churches.) It seems that these converts go to Mass less and less, succumb to the American attitude that one religion is equal to another, and then decide that morals and beliefs (contraception, homosexual marriages, etc.) vary according to the individual. When I talk to these people, they tend not to like the word sin and say that something which would be a sin to one person would not be a sin for another person. Gradually, I have seen former Catholics begin to attend nondenominational Churches who espouse the beliefs that everything you do is ok, just as long as you believe in Jesus. Their Church amounts to nothing more than a group of people who rent out a movie theater and sing Christian rock songs for an hour, all the while telling people that whatever lifestyle they choose is ok, just as long as they know Jesus. Church is a warm fuzzy to them; something which affirms their lifestyles and assures them they’re saved. There is nothing wrong with singing songs of praise to Jesus for an hour, but Jesus loves us too much to stop there. He gave us the Church, and the highest form of worship possible- the Mass. Praise Jesus! It seems to me that many young people leave because of moral relativism and a desire for an easier Christianity that is confined to Sunday only.
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Very well said. As a Lutheran I can say the exact same thing is happening to our church. We are doing a poor job of catechizing our young and teaching our adults at times. Ulitmately the non-Christian secular society takes it toll and sin is justified through in the minds of people leaving the church.

Down here in Texas there are Non-Denoms all over the place. Their only creed is “no creed!” And what the pastor teaches depends on the book he read the week before.

When you criticize what they are doing they typically point to the big building as proof that God is with them. If God loved your church as much as ours it would be this big. All of you theology and dogma aren’t saving anyone, we save 100 people each Sunday at the altar call. So whom does God love more?
 
Hello All:

I voted “mormonism” in the poll only because of a personal experience in my family. A close family member chose to leave the Catholic Church to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons).

I think his decision was poorly made. He should have studied more about his Catholic faith before making the decision to convert. But once he converted he really bought into it hook, line and sinker. I pray for him every day.

His decision did cause me to look deeper into the Church and as a result, I believe the experience has deepened my own faith and strengthened by belieft that the Catholic Church is the True Church founded by Jesus Christ on the Rock of St. Peter. I guess everything happens for a reason.

Tempus Fugit Memento Mori,
Robert in SD
 
I was actually told by a sociology professor that the church of satan is the fastest growing church here in America!!! Hmmm…makes me wonder if my esteemed professor wasn’t a practicing member himself…
 
From all the replies I’ve read, CatholicBob hit the nail on the head. 👍 Pride is the major source, fueled by an issue with Church teaching, and poor understanding of Catholic doctrine. Timeset, location, and high powered intellectuals are factors in which denomination is precisely there nursing their wounds at that given time. Any denomination can be the end result. The denomination is not the vehicle. Pride, anger, and ignorance, are major reasons Catholics leave the Church, and they do very well in hiding it. The reason I say this, is because my whole family left the church for various denominations. 😦
 
From all the replies I’ve read, CatholicBob hit the nail on the head. 👍 Pride is the major source, fueled by an issue with Church teaching, and poor understanding of Catholic doctrine. Timeset, location, and high powered intellectuals are factors in which denomination is precisely there nursing their wounds at that given time. Any denomination can be the end result. The denomination is not the vehicle. Pride, anger, and ignorance, are major reasons Catholics leave the Church, and they do very well in hiding it. The reason I say this, is because my whole family left the church for various denominations. 😦
 
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GeorgeCooney:
I believe that many Catholics have become disillusioned since the misapplication of Vatican II and the loss of firm dogma, doctrine, and rules to live by. The fundamentalists seem to provide a more disciplined, organized, and consistent teaching and system of religious practice. Those dissillusioned Catholics that have left the fold evidently did not have a firm and informed Faith, but I think many went looking for a religion that gave them direction like the Catholic bishops, priests, and religious used to do.

This is the shame and the scandal of the chaotic teaching of dogmatic errors and the loss of the appearance of the Oneness and Universality of the Church. I believe the hierarchy that contribute and/or allow this chaos to continue may have millions of souls for whom to answer.
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I agree with you 100%, I taught CCD for 20 years during the 70’s and 80’s and raised 7 kids then too. At that time, the Catholic schools were our worst enemy, but thank God things have improved a lot since then, at least in our area. I believe secularism and materialism have have done much damage to the faith of so many Catholics. Getting ahead and spending their money have taken the place of God in their lives. Homes are more like show homes than a place for families to live and grow. Sports take up a big part of their time, it goes on and on. Family life is in a CRISIS and we don’t seem to care, we’re indifferent to what is happening. Maybe other religions help us feel less quilty for what we are doing. Even tho many Catholics are not living their faith properly, the Catholic Church is still teaching the TRUTH and always will.
 
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Esperance:
Most Catholics I meet dont formally leave the Church. They are secularized Catholics. Attend Mass on some holidays and weddings, have not recieved Confession since grade school, ect…
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Yes thats true, they still call themselves Catholic but really know very little or care very little about their faith. And think of us that try to practice our Catholic faith as fanatics
 
I would say Catholics often become excatholics when they are secularized.This is especially true when they view their faith like a cafeteria plan - that is they can pick and choose the things they want to believe. When they realize their faith is not a cafeteria plan, they become disgruntled :banghead: and start looking for a church that has the cafeteria plan they want. Ours is the fullness of the faith not a faith where one picks and chooses what you want to believe.

The only way to combat an exodus of catholics is through intercessory prayer :angel1: and the power of the Holy Spirit.:amen:
 
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