Why are so many cradle Catholics leaving the Church?

[HappyPerson]

Several generations of American children have been leaving the Catholic Church, now, when they get older, and many who are staying don’t know their faith. Something SEEMS to be seriously wrong with the way the message of Jesus Christ and His Church is being portrayed to the children, by the Church. I started this poll to get ideas of what we can do, as a Church to keep people here, and NOT to criticize the Church. CONSTRUCTIVE feedback would be grately appreciated.

 

[mrs_abbott]

I think it’s a lack of teaching once they leave mom and dad’s nest. Think about it, besides RCIA, what other programs are there in the CC that help adults in their faith?
Now this is just my personal opinion but most of the homilies I hear during Mass don’t really teach us anything. Some are funny stories about the priest and his encounters with people/family/friends, etc. but nothing really in depth. I know that the time alotted for the homily is not near long enough to effectively teach really anything.
Catholics have questions and priests aren’t always available for answers due to their schedules and such. There needs to be another way to teach folks who have questions and want to learn more about their faith. Reading the Catechism doesn’t always help either, especially if the reader disagrees with what is written. Some people need interpretters and someone to talk to about their concerns.
Does that make sense?

 

[stbruno]

I think it’s a lack of teaching once they leave mom and dad’s nest. Think about it, besides RCIA, what other programs are there in the CC that help adults in their faith?
Now this is just my personal opinion but most of the homilies I hear during Mass don’t really teach us anything. Some are funny stories about the priest and his encounters with people/family/friends, etc. but nothing really in depth. I know that the time alotted for the homily is not near long enough to effectively teach really anything.
Catholics have questions and priests aren’t always available for answers due to their schedules and such. There needs to be another way to teach folks who have questions and want to learn more about their faith. Reading the Catechism doesn’t always help either, especially if the reader disagrees with what is written. Some people need interpretters and someone to talk to about their concerns.
Does that make sense?

As one who does baptism and marriage prep for young adults, this is a great time to impart some vital information to them. We also have Theology on Tap for 20-30’s somethings every summer, not to mention Catholic radio in our diocese. And while we do have those who leave the church, surveys show that many still believe in Jesus, they just have gotten so lazy, that they have bought into the secular culture’s message…but I think deep down some good seeds have been planted, and we the faithful need to pray that they will finally be open to the truth by our good example. More reasons to pray for sure…but even when Jesus walked the earth, people did not get the message right away. But all things are possible with God. And He’s still in charge.

 

[Carjack1]

A lot of it also has to do with at home. Sometimes parents make the Church sound like a “downer” to their children. Something that has to be tolerated. So when the children leave they sort of feel the same way.

 

[mrs_abbott]

As one who does baptism and marriage prep for young adults, this is a great time to impart some vital information to them. We also have Theology on Tap for 20-30’s somethings every summer, not to mention Catholic radio in our diocese. And while we do have those who leave the church, surveys show that many still believe in Jesus, they just have gotten so lazy, that they have bought into the secular culture’s message…but I think deep down some good seeds have been planted, and we the faithful need to pray that they will finally be open to the truth by our good example. More reasons to pray for sure…but even when Jesus walked the earth, people did not get the message right away. But all things are possible with God. And He’s still in charge.

You have a very blessed church because that stuff isn’t offered in my area.

 

[Belgarion]

Lack of education.

They live in a world where everyone thinks the Church is wrong.

They are too easily influenced by those parties BECAUSE that’s all they learn from.

I was in public school for 7 1/2 years and although I was an OK Catholic, I never had a real CARE for my faith. After I left school to be home schooled, I began to learn more and more about it. This was because I didn’t have negative influences and because of the curriculum.
Only after that transition did I begin to care more for my faith.

How many cradle Catholics go without that?

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Says WHO?

Prove to me that ‘so many cradle Catholics are leaving the Church.’

 

[estesbob]

First you have to prove your premise, that is that cradle Catholics are leaving the church. I haven’t seen anything to indicate that
.

 

[a_cermak]

The Pew Forum recently had a survey out that showed that people in the US switched churches/religions often and that the biggest loser of its adherents was the Catholic Church (it gained them back via immigrants so overall held steady). Even if Catholics weren’t leaving the fold, the fact that only 30 odd percent of them bother to show up for services any given weekend seems to indicate a less than ideal state, though possibly not with the Catholic church per se, but with religion across the board. The younger the group, the less religiously involved as well.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

The Pew Forum recently had a survey out that showed that people in the US switched churches/religions often and that the biggest loser of its adherents was the Catholic Church (it gained them back via immigrants so overall held steady). Even if Catholics weren’t leaving the fold, the fact that only 30 odd percent of them bother to show up for services any given weekend seems to indicate a less than ideal state, though possibly not with the Catholic church per se, but with religion across the board. The younger the group, the less religiously involved as well.

What the heck is the Pew Forum and why should anyone believe them?

 

[HappyPerson]

First you have to prove your premise, that is that cradle Catholics are leaving the church. I haven’t seen anything to indicate that
.

Not sure your age, or Sailor’s age, so you may not notice, but as a 32 year old, I certainly don’t see my generation at Church. If you are looking for statistics, I don’t have them. My premise is so painfully obvious, though, from the perspective of the remaining few of my generation, that first-hand observation should be enough to validate the premise.

I mean no offense to estesbob or sailor, but when the older generations deny that this problem exists, it is all the more off-putting to the younger generations who are living through it, and feel as if we are living our faith alone in our generation, and that our very valid concerns aren’t being addressed.

 

[bilop]

IMHO 2 main reasons

1. Poor Catechesis. Most Catholics don’t know what the Church believes or why.
2. The hyper sexualization of our culture. The secular world tells people that every form of sexual deviance is just great. The Church says NO! Many people prefer the easy path. (We know where that leads )

God Bless

 

[Sierrah]

The Catholic church seems to lack a family atmosphere present in some of the other christian denominations. I’ve been going to the same church for two years and the same mass yet not one person has said hello or welcomed me. Yes, I’ve tried to say hello an initiate something on my own end as well and met with a puzzled stare. Like why are you saying hello to me I don’t know you. I find this attitude prevelent in the catholic church.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

I still say prove it.

Sounds like the typical anti-Catholic swill the media bombards us with.

 

[Em_in_FL]

I have also noticed that several people my age are not active in their faith… but I don’t think it’s JUST this generation… our parents generation was at fault there too…

I think the lack of retention is primarily due to poor catechesis… and since PARENTS are the PRIMARY educators of the faith (or at least should be according to the catechism) then parents are primarily to blame. If church is seen as a “chore” or simply a “requirement” rather than a GIFT and a BLESSING then that lesson is passed on and the lack of appreciation is easy to see!

 

[howdytest]

I’ll share my personal story. For awhile in high school and college, i wasn’t a very active, or devout, Catholic. Church was always a chore when i grew up. As a little kid, you don’t grasp the importance of what goes on in Church, so it becomes an hour or sitting and standing. But in high school, i went to a Catholic prep school, my parents actually lost the faith. I don’t really know why, but we stopped going to church outside of school.

But the largest contributor to my lack of Catholic faith was just the nature of teenagerdom. Every teenager finds something to rebel against. In my experience, most adopt a “the rules are wrong” or “the rules don’t apply to me” mindset. It’s just a phase, but when religion plays such a role in one’s life, often enough it’s religion that a teenager rebels against. In high school, being a devout Catholic was instant social suicide. In college, not so much, but the mindset doesn’t change. It’s ingrained: Catholic = not cool.

I can’t say that the High School i went to did a good job explaining why Catholic’s believe what we do. They simply stated the fact and moved on. It wasn’t until college when i was presented with the fundamentalists that i dug into the Bible and found reasons behind our beliefs. In their attempt to convert me, they actually made me find my faith again…talk about being stubborn.

In regards to this thread, it doesn’t bother me that cradle Catholics are leaving the Church. This will give them the chance to explore what’s out there and hopefully realize where they went wrong. If nothing else, they will learn as i did why we believe what we do.

 

[HappyPerson]

The Catholic church seems to lack a family atmosphere present in some of the other christian denominations. I’ve been going to the same church for two years and the same mass yet not one person has said hello or welcomed me. Yes, I’ve tried to say hello an initiate something on my own end as well and met with a puzzled stare. Like why are you saying hello to me I don’t know you. I find this attitude prevelent in the catholic church.

This is a very valid issue that every one of us can make an effort to resolve within our own parishes, hopefully to create a chain reaction. I commend you for trying, and hope you keep up the good work, even when you don’t get the ideal responses. This may require stepping outside of our comfort zone, and may seem awkward at first, but I’d recommend that we all try this when we see someone new at our parish, or even to those who we’ve seen week after week, yet never really got a chance to know. Kind words from us can make an eternal difference.

This is a skill we can learn from our separated brethren, as they know how to make new people feel welcome at their services.

 

[pcd84]

As for the premise, it seems confirmed by common experience. In the last four years I have only seen one other person from my confirmation class of about 20 people attend Mass. Granted, that was about 10 years ago and many of them are probably not in town any longer, but still… They all dropped out of sight (and most were lukewarm to begin with). As for my family, my Catholic grandparents had 7 children, only two of them are still practicing. Of the 15 grandchildren, I am the only serious Catholic among them. In two generations it went from an all Catholic family to a mostly secular one. What am I supposed to make of this – when I see it all around me in my family and in others’ – than that Catholics are leaving the church?

On the other hand, my dad said that when he was young (1950s-60s) the majority of people at Mass were old; so he doesn’t really think it has changed much. Perhaps they float away at a certain age and return later…

 

[HappyPerson]

If church is seen as a “chore” or simply a “requirement” rather than a GIFT and a BLESSING then that lesson is passed on and the lack of appreciation is easy to see!

Very interesting. This is vital in Catechesis, too. When we present Church attendance as the crux of the Third Commandment, without the clear stress of how Church is a blessing, then it may come across as a burden. Even our terminology such as “Holy day of OBLIGATION” may not sound very positive. The term “obligation” has a connotation of being something we are required to do, yet don’t necessarily want to do.

On a deeper level, we need to send a message to children that ALL of God’s commandments are for our own good, even if we don’t understand why at the time. We need to stress that God made us and knows what is best for us, even more than we do.
While it is best when we can provide clearly understandable answers as to why we are commanded to do or not do something, we still need to send our children the message of Proverbs 3:5, to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

 

[Donna_Mc]

I believe the main reason is that they were not taught the faith
properly, they don’t understand what the church really teaches and why.