Why are Catholics so immoral?

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Interesting question, interesting answers. It can be a bit like asking “When did you stop beating your wife?”, assuming that the premise of the question is correct.

But let’s just pretend it IS true…now why might that be?

Because Catholics don’t philosophically buy into the secular world’s values, they might not want to raise their kids with that secular awareness so they withhold information that might otherwise protect them. In other words, if I teach my kids the Ten Commandments, do I have to teach them all of the ways that the secular world has found to break a commandment or can I expect my child to just follow the law? The truth is that it is good to warn children but you don’t want to tell them too much and “hand them the keys” to vice. Meanwhile Catholics don’t isolate their kids from the world so there they are, stuck in the middle of the big circus. So perhaps Catholics err on the side of less details with their children and that might create more naivete. Fostering naivete can be inviting immorality in this crazy world.

Or how about Catholics have less actual denial about our human nature and therefore are tempted more readily. We don’t live on a commune or an island. We interact in a more pluralistic world and are more prone to temptations?

Or how about Catholics know more what is moral than others so they are more aware of when they are immoral than others? Was it Pius X who said The greatest sin of our generation is that we have no awareness of sin?(paraphrase) If I don’t have morals I can mess up the world and act superior in my perfection. If I can identify right and wrong, I might more readily recognize it in myself.

Could Catholics be more humble and therefore more able to admit to sin?

There are simply more Catholics and therefore more Catholic sinners?

And, yeah, the devil knows who is more fun to weaken or disengage. I don’t think anyone scores great evil points by bringing a pagan or atheist to sin…what? will they lose their faith?

Just a few possibilities.
 
Some may seem like that, but God knows what is in their hearts, many peoples deeds are underhand, all white-wash on the outside but inside filthy !

Luke 18:11
The Pharisee standing, prayed thus with himself: O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican.
 
I was raised in the Church of Christ denomination, and I was always led to believe that Catholics were all hypocrites that did what they wanted and then went to Confession.

When I converted to marry my wife, I finally breathed a sigh of relief that maybe it was possible for me to actually get to Heaven someday. I learned a great deal about myself, my sin, and my faith in God and His forgiveness. I also met some of the holiest, most dedicated and faithful people I ever had the pleasure to know.

To me, the Sacrament of Reconciliation opens a door to faith itself and reassures me that it’s not a hopeless exercise in futility. Some people take advantadge of it, but that’s true in all religions.

As for knowledge of scripture, I agree with other posts here, that the cycle of readings in the Mass are comprehensive , and there are very many Bible Studies that are attracting a renewed interest outside of Mass, but the Mass itself and just about everything we do is found in Scripture. Not trying to be obnoxious, but we don’t just quote Scripture, we live it.
 
Kount C said:

“We use the front door to the liquor store also, rather then the rear door.”

Very funny!
 
Actually, in MY experience, it is the Protestants who engage in more premarital sex than Catholics. I have never found the need to generalize based on my limited scope of friends and experiences. If I just use my subset of experience the numbers are skewed in the Catholic favor.

I never found it fruitful to make accusations, in that it generally makes people you are talking to annoyed and not want to discuss with you. Again, just my experience 😉
 
ronpines77 said:
So, I’m Agnostic, but I am a moral person. I even believe in saving sex for marriage, which me and my wife have done. I have noticed that many Protestants also do this. Obviously not all, but quite a lot. Catholics, however, don’t seem to as often. I actually spoke with a few who were heavily involved in their church. I asked, “Why do so many Catholics have premarital sex?” And I always got the same answer. “Well”, they said, “sexual sin is some of the hardest to overcome, and that’s why so many people fall victim to it”. I never got a straight answer to my question.

On a side note, I have also noticed that many Catholics don’t even know anything about the Bible or their religion. While almost every Protestant I meet knows a lot about the Bible. Kind of weird. Oh, and FYI, I’m not trying to generalize. Obviously not EVERY Catholic is immoral or has premarital sex, it just seems like a lot do, at least compared to Protestants. Also, I’m not trying to say that people who save it for marriage are above anyone else. Even though I saved it, I have done other stuff that was really wrong. I used to be a thief. Even now I struggle with the temptation to steal.
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Catholics far out member any other religion so in absolute terms they would seem to be more involved in sexual sin. 5% of a large pool of people may work out to 10,000. 5% of a small pool of people may work out to 100. So when looking at the two groups one would say that one group had 10,000 sinners and they were everywhere whereas the smaller group only had a few sinners that was not noticeable.

I don’t want to sound holier than thou but I had a Baptist friend about 25 unmarried. He always preached against the Catholics and how they were always sinning. Yet he was constantly in sexual relations with women, including women as old as his mother.
 
ronpines77 said:
So, I’m Agnostic, but I am a moral person. I even believe in saving sex for marriage, which me and my wife have done. I have noticed that many Protestants also do this. Obviously not all, but quite a lot. Catholics, however, don’t seem to as often. I actually spoke with a few who were heavily involved in their church. I asked, “Why do so many Catholics have premarital sex?” And I always got the same answer. “Well”, they said, “sexual sin is some of the hardest to overcome, and that’s why so many people fall victim to it”. I never got a straight answer to my question.

On a side note, I have also noticed that many Catholics don’t even know anything about the Bible or their religion. While almost every Protestant I meet knows a lot about the Bible. Kind of weird. Oh, and FYI, I’m not trying to generalize. Obviously not EVERY Catholic is immoral or has premarital sex, it just seems like a lot do, at least compared to Protestants. Also, I’m not trying to say that people who save it for marriage are above anyone else. Even though I saved it, I have done other stuff that was really wrong. I used to be a thief. Even now I struggle with the temptation to steal.
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We Christians know from our faith, and verified by the world around us that human corruption is inevitable. We are fallible , ignorant, self-centered, proud, sensual, thieves, liars, murderers, obstinant, disobedient, lazy, jealous, envious, impatient, self-righteous etc. In short we are all sinners. We follow our feelings many times instead the dictates of our conscience. or we are ignorant as to how we should act. This human condition is the very reason that we believe Jesus Christ appeared over 2000 years ago. We recognize Him as Our Savior to lead us, redeem us , and bring us to our eternal destiny. So to point the finger at any person , religion, or culture that one does this, and the other does that, is a failure to recognize the Human condition that needs redemption. It is a fact that immorality of all sorts is inevitable, it is universal. Also many Catholics are not really converted. You see conversion in the first stage is to turn from sin, and turn to Christ, The grace is there but the co-operation with grace is not This can be said of many Churches.
 
Not giving in to your sexual desire is one of the harding things to do. As for why more Catholics have premarital sex more than Protestants I have no idea. I know I would never be able to hold off until marriage, if I even get married that is.
 
I cannot speak to Catholics being more permissive of fornication, because I do not know it to be true or not. However, I can say that from my research- both from talking to older Catholics and reading documents pre- and post- Vatican II, that the church, although it did not change her teachings, significantly changed her stance on those teachings-primarily in “Loving God” vs. “Hell”.

It seems that the consequence of Hell was more frequently talked about and emphasized before. Sometime after Vatican II, for some reason, the readings about Hell subsided and more emphasis was put on God’s loving nature. The truth is, we need both. Jesus talked about both. Yes, God is loving, but we must be careful not to lose the way to him as a consequences of our sins.

I think Catholics are so very sure of God’s love and mercy, that we forget about the real possibility of Hell. It’s just not emphasized. I’ve known Catholic priests before- and sure, they warn you about sin, but Hell is just not much talked about. I think this may be an “over-correction” from older times. It’s like Catholics see the Father as a permissive one- so we go have sex outside of marriage and come back to confess and expect the Father to say "Oh, that’s okay son/daughter. We’re all sinners. You’re forgiven!, which is fine, except when it fosters an attitude of “it’s okay to sin because we can just confess and be okay” which is, in itself, a sin.

Older Catholics, please correct me in any of this if I’m wrong!

As for reading the Bible- I find it so ridiculous that Protestants swear on the Bible but “don’t get” that the Catholic church actually wrote some of it and put it all together! Nevertheless, it does seem that there is not a huge culture of Bible reading within Catholicism as there is in Christian denominations. I don’t understand this, either. It seems to be something in the culture. The protestants of course, claim that the church wants to keep its members ignorant of the Bible, which, to me makes no sense whatsoever.

And then there is the cultural Catholic- who is Catholic only in name and tradition, but not really in faith, at least not strongly. And then there’s the lure of secularism- I can be Catholic, but the secular world comes first. I do have the sense that this is more prominent within Catholicism. I don’t know why, except to suggest that, for some reason, there are more cultural Catholics who behave this way than “Cultural Protestants.” It’s like the “echo” of Catholicism lasts a few generations longer, but of course there is no no more vigor left in that “faith”.

Catholics seem to be more “do it yourself”. There is a community, but you won’t be pushed into it. You need to make a strong effort to join it and be active in it. Nobody will be checking up on your Bible reading. You have to make the commitment yourself. You will be responsible for keeping up your Bible readings, not your priest or even Catholic friends. It really is a personal decision to become a Catholic. At any rate, I hope you do make that choice. We need more agnostics to come over to the faith, rather than fall prey to the destructive secularism and atheism out in the world now.
 
The Catholic Church has never made resisting evil, temptations that are sensual an easy matter. It has always warned us that it is a spiritual battle wage against us by spiritual forces greater than human power to resist. It refers to St. Paul who likens the Christian to a Roman warrior, with the Armor of Faith, and the Sword of truth, armed with the word of God. Satan, a reality no t spoken much of in homilies almost to the the extent of non-existence has done tremendous harm. The recent scandal concerning pediphile priests,etc. This again proves that God is with us inspite of human corruption. The truth is not out there in the media, and in churches. I do see hope though. Once we become Christio centric again, we will recover again. Each generation has to learn the truths of Christianity and Christ. Faith is not passed on, but the truths of the faith can be. Faith comes from Jesus Christ alone, it is a supernatural gift, the gift of Salvation. Deo Gratias!
 
Evangelization is needed world over, including in the Catholic Church. We somehow slip into a formal way of teaching, some call it Sacramentalizing. If we received the Sacraments then it was assumed that we were converted. It doesn’t work that way Many have received the Sacraments, and their actions showed they were not really converted, or utilizing the sacrament of reconciliation. Sacraments due confer grace, but there must be an encounter with Christ initially before that grace takes hold of a persons life. Holy Scripture states that the Holy Spirit was not given until Jesus was glorified. That took place at the Ascension when Jesus took His rightful place at the right hand of the Father, it was then that Jesus sent the promised Holy Spirit on Pentecost that gave the Apostles the power to evangelize. So to in the lives of every Christian this truth has to take place before the grace of the Sacraments take effect. St. Paul calls it the Pre-eminence of Jesus, He earned our salvation, we were made by Him, and for Him, He is to be acknowledged for who He is. As a matter of fact St.Paul refers to all other ways as dung compared to the knowledge of Jesus. The Catholic Church has always put Jesus first, this is revealed in her teachings, and even in her Sacraments, and adoration, but this doesn’t say that people in her administration have done this, Satan has worked his corruptive influence with some of them. This is evident with all the scandal the Church is suffering. The Church will always stand strong as history reveals, she suffers wounds in her members, and others suffer for them in the Mystical Body of Christ which is what the Church is, and will continue to do so with each generation. What goes around,comes around. But Jesus is the same always.
 
SecretCatholic said:
I cannot speak to Catholics being more permissive of fornication, because I do not know it to be true or not. However, I can say that from my research- both from talking to older Catholics and reading documents pre- and post- Vatican II, that the church, although it did not change her teachings, significantly changed her stance on those teachings-primarily in “Loving God” vs. “Hell”.

It seems that the consequence of Hell was more frequently talked about and emphasized before. Sometime after Vatican II, for some reason, the readings about Hell subsided and more emphasis was put on God’s loving nature. The truth is, we need both. Jesus talked about both. Yes, God is loving, but we must be careful not to lose the way to him as a consequences of our sins.

I think Catholics are so very sure of God’s love and mercy, that we forget about the real possibility of Hell. It’s just not emphasized. I’ve known Catholic priests before- and sure, they warn you about sin, but Hell is just not much talked about. I think this may be an “over-correction” from older times. It’s like Catholics see the Father as a permissive one- so we go have sex outside of marriage and come back to confess and expect the Father to say "Oh, that’s okay son/daughter. We’re all sinners. You’re forgiven!, which is fine, except when it fosters an attitude of “it’s okay to sin because we can just confess and be okay” which is, in itself, a sin.

Older Catholics, please correct me in any of this if I’m wrong!
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It wasn’t so much that people felt they could have sex and then confess… it was more the complete falling away from confession altogether. In my generation (I was a teenager in the 70s), the pill, abortion and the feminist movement combined to promote the idea of ‘choice’ as a virtue higher than chastity. Freedom was no longer tempered by responsibility and the choices were not beholden to natural consequences. I would say that the majority of girls that I went to school with were quickly converted to sexual freedom after leaving Catholic high school and entering adult life. To be honest, I never really detected this ‘Catholic guilt’ phenomenon amongst my contemporaries. I felt the stronger attitude was one of rebellion and that’s been passed into the next generation of Catholic girls.

That’s probably what non Catholics are referring to when they observe Catholics to be immoral. Because of the Catholic stance on sexual morality, those Catholics who rebel suppress their moral compass more completely than those who are simply rebelling against the male dominance and societal mores.
 
You stated an absolute truth when you said,it was more of a rebellion. The truth is that we were born rebels. When we are not in the state of grace, we rebel because we are in spiritual bondage, under the influence of our weakness, our pride, self-love and such. Satan is the chief of rebels’ and he is an angel, more powerful then any human. It was his works the Jesus came to destroy. Satan uses our weakness to his advantage. We are born with a strong inclination to sin because of original sin, when humanity lost the Holy Spirit. Our feelings often dictate our actions, especially with sex because it is pleasureful, and God made it so to perpetuate mankind, and as an expression of love. So rebellion is to be expected when not controlled by grace, which comes only from Jesus. Sin is rebellion against oneself, and God. All of this leads back to the truth that we all need to be evangelized, that Jesus is the ultimate and only redeemer of mankind, the Son of God, if you do not have Him, you are against Him, a rebel.
 
Ryan90 said:
Not giving in to your sexual desire is one of the harding things to do. As for why more Catholics have premarital sex more than Protestants I have no idea. I know I would never be able to hold off until marriage, if I even get married that is.
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Except I don’t think it’s true. As per all I’ve read and the numbers posted earlier in this thread, the numbers seem to be about the same.

I think much of what we’re seeing society at large coming to have more influence on people than their faith. All people, not just Catholics. There’s come to be a notion that faith and what Christianity teaches is somehow outdated, and being nice to each other is great and all, but that the Church isn’t living in ‘the real world’ if it actually expects chastity.

Again, this is a problem with all faiths, not just Catholics.
 
ronpines77 said:
Sorry, I don’t drink and have never been in a liquor store.
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I don’t drink myself either. But it is a religious joke, that a Methodist minister taught me.
That I pass over to my baptist friends I work with.
For anyone that wants to know, the rear door is jokingly called the " Baptist Door"
I was hoping someone would catch the joke, whom would be familiar with it; with out offending anyone. All in good humor,
Cheers!
 
Kount_C said:
I don’t drink myself either. But it is a religious joke, that a Methodist minister taught me.
That I pass over to my baptist friends I work with.
For anyone that wants to know, the rear door is jokingly called the " Baptist Door"
I was hoping someone would catch the joke, whom would be familiar with it; with out offending anyone. All in good humor,
Cheers!
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I posted this before but here it goes again.

Muslims do not recognise the divinity of Jesus
Catholics do not recognise Mohammed as a prophet
And Baptist do not recognise each other in a liquor store.
 
McCartney said:
I posted this before but here it goes again.

Muslims do not recognise the divinity of Jesus
Catholics do not recognise Mohammed as a prophet
And Baptist do not recognise each other in a liquor store.
Click to expand...
Since we are joking: A couple of hippies asked a street preacher if smoking would cause them to go to hell. the preacher said “I don’t really know, but it would sure make you smell like you’ve been there” 😃
 
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