Why Do Fewer Catholics Attend Mass?

[JillianRose]

I don’t have the numbers to back this up (or anything to rival that flow chart) but my guess is that fewer people are attending religious services of any type (Protestant, Jewish or any other religion). I think that it is simply a reflection of the everybody does his own thing society that we live in.

True. They want God to bend for them. God is God.

 

[Exorcist]

Me too!

Quite candidly, in speaking with fallen Catholics, the answers seem generally consistent. The draws of the secular world are much stronger these days. Consequently, the church is no longer the center of the community as it once was, particularly as it was following great waves of immigration. Further, there is a sense of being socially stigmatized as a Catholic in today’s society, as a consequence of the scandals we have endured (and the poor manner in which many believe they were handled).

Respectfully, very few of the fallen of my generation (now married with kids) even mention the EF/OF or Vatican II. They were born into the post Vatican II era, raised in Catholic families, and many attended Catholic schools. Yet, they have fallen. This generation grew up with the OF, so it is the Church they know from that standpoint. They rarely if ever mention the form of worship. They do tend to focus on perceived hypocracy in Catholic worship and among worshippers, again reflecting the criticisms of secular society at large.

Bottom line = its hard to be a Catholic in modern society without some sense of being out of step.

The Pope rightly focuses of modernism and secularization. The Year of Faith & New Evangelization movement are meant to establish a foundation for renewal of faith among practicing Catholics and outreach to the fallen.

Good points. I think the allure of the secular world is tremendous. Then again it always has been, probably to a lessor degree.

I have to ask though, how come in so many communities, Catholic parishes and Mainline Protestant parishes are dying while Fundamentalist/Evangelical Protestant parishes are booming? They too face the challenges of the secular world…

The Church should act in part as a sanctuary from the secular world. I would suggest it has largely failed in this responsibility in many communities over the past 50 or so years.

 

[JillianRose]

Time to watch this become a it is because of Vatican II and we no longer have the Latin mass thread. Yes blame it on the words and ignore the REAL reasons.

ahhahahahaha… yes people will be saying last our last real pope was back was Servant of God Paul VI. I woder if people will be happy if we just start having mass in Aramaic?

 

[JillianRose]

Church attendance for all denominations began to fall off in the '60s with the counter-culture phenomenon. The new Evangelical churches started, business like a cross between Amway and a tent revival and used TV to great advantage in gathering large flocks into huge churches for large profits.

This is not a “Catholic” issue; it is a cultural issue.

I agree with you Ms. Julia.

 

[TimothyH]

Most of the world, particularly Europe and the USA.

They have abandoned devotion to our Holy Mother.

Where devotion to Our Lady is strong, so are vocations, and growth is phenominal.

The Archdiocese of Atlanta is experiencing incredible growth. My parish has three Masses on weekdays.

-Tim-

 

[LightBound]

ahhahahahaha… yes people will be saying last our last real pope was back was Servant of God Paul VI. I woder if people will be happy if we just start having mass in Aramaic?

But those who think like that would shudder at the thought of Aramaic- if it’s not Latin, it’s a heresy

On a more somber note, there are people who think we haven’t had a valid pope since before Blessed John XX111 and that any Mass in a language other than Latin is invalid and blasphemous- they’re called sedevacantists and every once in a while, one will pop up here on CAF, trolling their propaganda

 

[wmw]

Good points. I think the allure of the secular world is tremendous. Then again it always has been, probably to a lessor degree.

I have to ask though, how come in so many communities, Catholic parishes and Mainline Protestant parishes are dying while Fundamentalist/Evangelical Protestant parishes are booming? They too face the challenges of the secular world…

The Church should act in part as a sanctuary from the secular world. I would suggest it has largely failed in this responsibility in many communities over the past 50 or so years.

There is a Fundamentalist backlash of people who reject the secularization of the Western world and find these churches in line with their thinking. Catholicism does attract some of this too, but I wouldn’t want to play to this. Sticking to our true core beliefs shall attract people for the correct reasons rather than “right” reasons.

 

[Exorcist]

The bishop of Trenton, NJ recently did a study on why people left the Church.

An article about it is here.

Reasons listed in the article include:

• The personal (“the pastor who crowned himself king and looks down on all”)
• The political (“eliminate the extreme conservative haranguing”)
• The doctrinal (“don’t spend so much time on issues like homosexuality and birth control”).
• They didn’t like the church’s handling of the clergy sex abuse scandal and were upset that divorced and remarried Catholics are unwelcome at Mass.
• About half offered negative comments about their parish priests, whom they described as “arrogant,” “distant” and “insensitive.”
• The respondents also called for better homilies, better music and more accountability of the church staff.

The results were presented at a Catholic University symposium on Lapsed Catholics. It would be interesting to track down the presentations.

Very interesting. One of the most obvious things is poor preaching at Mass. If one dare mention it there was always mountain of excuses for it. Only in the past 5-10 years (from my observation) have seminaries begun to address this problem and it seems they are making progress.

I am so terribly tired of priests reminding us that our attention spans are something like 2-6 minutes and that’s the reason they preach so briefly. What they are telling me is they don’t put enough work into their homilies. I could listen to someone like Cardinal Dolan preach for an hour with focused attention.

I also think though things need to go a bit deeper. You say they are “upset that divorced and remarried Catholics are unwelcome at Mass.” That’s not true of course, but they cannot receive Holy Communion. I think this goes back to catechesis and pastoral leadership for example.

Anyway, thanks again.

 

[ByzCathCantor]

I have to ask though, how come in so many communities, Catholic parishes and Mainline Protestant parishes are dying while Fundamentalist/Evangelical Protestant parishes are booming? They too face the challenges of the secular world…

It seems they do a very effective job of maintaining that sense of community, which supports and reinforces the strong sense of identity normally assciated with participation in those denominational settings. I have a number of Evangelical friends who would probably phrase it differently, but fundamentally (pun unintended) agree.

 

[grannymh]

One sentence – The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the meaning(s) of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are not being preached once a month at some point during the homily.

Yes, there are some exceptions here and there.

Yes, I know that the homily is supposed to be related to the readings. I wager that a Priest could pick any 10 Sundays and I could give him a lead-in to either a short three minute reference to the Eucharist or an outline for a homily.

Yes, I know this would be like preaching to the choir. But who is going to spread the word that God is really present, if not the choir?

 

[coachdennis]

Hey Everyone:

Here is my thought. I think it is plain and simple. I think as in any church, it is up to the Priest/Pastor. It is basic psychology. People get away with only what they are allowed to get away with. We have 4,000 members in our Church. We have 4 masses. The Priest does not allow “Lax” Catholics. Here is how are church is ran:

1. Fr. says that we are to turn in our church envelopes EVERY Sunday. He does not care what is in the envelopes, he care that you attend. He told us just last week, he take the salvation of our souls very seriously.
2. The Children of our Catholic School (we are a parish) have to get a form signed after church every week and turn it into their teachers on Monday.
3. Parents sign a covenant. The church/school can do only so much. You need to plant the seed at home. If we stop being Catholic we are told to leave the parish. He does not let our Catholic School be used as a private school
4. When you join out Catholic Church you have to sign up for one of our ministries.
5. Father is understanding if you have a reason, like Sick, handicap, or Dying. Unless you have a reasonable excuse, their is no excuse.
6. All you have to do is hear one of Fathers Homilies and you will understand why we are packed!! youtube.com/watch?v=ltTd81XpDnc

I am sick of hearing this nonsense about pre-Vatican II. You are either in line with the churches teachings or your not. It is not up to laity or any priest, to decide what is magisterial or not. That is why we have a Vicar of Christ. If you are not in line with the the Church there is a name for that -Heresy.

Thanks for reading my post. Please get a chance to listen to Fr. Homily. It just might make you want to move to Indiana!! LOL

Good nite… Its time for our family Bible study.

I have no desire to move to Indiana

 

[grannymh]

One sentence – The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the meaning(s) of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are not being preached once a month at some point during the homily.

Yes, there are some exceptions here and there.

Yes, I know that the homily is supposed to be related to the readings. I wager that a Priest could pick any 10 Sundays and I could give him a lead-in to either a short three minute reference to the Eucharist or an outline for a homily.

Yes, I know this would be like preaching to the choir. But who is going to spread the word that God is really present, if not the choir?

 

[JillianRose]

But those who think like that would shudder at the thought of Aramaic- if it’s not Latin, it’s a heresy

On a more somber note, there are people who think we haven’t had a valid pope since before Blessed John XX111 and that any Mass in a language other than Latin is invalid and blasphemous- they’re called sedevacantists and every once in a while, one will pop up here on CAF, trolling their propaganda

I am starting a new type of Catholic. Its called a “hard core” Catholic. We start the Catechism in 1st grade, teach our children the Bible and to respect and enjoy other sects of the Catholic faith. We love our mass. We love our priest. Our School is ran by the Franciscans. I Love them. The children do the living rosary everyday, Mass twice a week, have a Catechism Bowl. Thats how you keep kids Catholic. Immerse them. Make religion 1st. Let them marinate in the Faith when they are little so they are prepared to be in the secular world. We need to stop crippling our children by telling them to be tolerant of non- tolerate people. We need to love and respect each other but NOT bow down to their secular ways or to their false Gods. We can make a difference. I can with my babies. Being a Catholic is wonderful and you can make learning the faith fun. Jesus said at the end of times his church would not be the biggest but it would not get swallowed up by the devil.

 

[grannymh]

One sentence – The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the meaning(s) of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are not being preached once a month at some point during the homily.

Yes, there are some exceptions here and there.

Yes, I know that the homily is supposed to be related to the readings. I wager that a Priest could pick the readings for any 10 Sundays and I could give him a lead-in to either a short three minute reference to the Eucharist or an outline for a homily.

Yes, I know this would be like preaching to the choir. But who is going to spread the word that God is really present, if not the choir?

 

[JillianRose]

Me too!

Quite candidly, in speaking with fallen Catholics, the answers seem generally consistent. The draws of the secular world are much stronger these days. Consequently, the church is no longer the center of the community as it once was, particularly as it was following great waves of immigration. Further, there is a sense of being socially stigmatized as a Catholic in today’s society, as a consequence of the scandals we have endured (and the poor manner in which many believe they were handled).

Respectfully, very few of the fallen of my generation (now married with kids) even mention the EF/OF or Vatican II. They were born into the post Vatican II era, raised in Catholic families, and many attended Catholic schools. Yet, they have fallen. This generation grew up with the OF, so it is the Church they know from that standpoint. They rarely if ever mention the form of worship. They do tend to focus on perceived hypocrisy in Catholic worship and among worshipers, again reflecting the criticisms of secular society at large.

Bottom line = its hard to be a Catholic in modern society without some sense of being out of step.

The Pope rightly focuses of modernism and secularization. The Year of Faith & New Evangelizing movement are meant to establish a foundation for renewal of faith among practicing Catholics and outreach to the fallen.

I am 33 and most of the people I went to Catholic school aren’t even catholic. They are so consumed with “things” then the soul. To them church is for “old” people. They don’t have time for God because they want everything that took their parents their whole life to get RIGHT NOW. I live in a small condo, so I can afford Catholic School. I could have a bigger house for the 600 dollars a month I spend on Catholic School. To me I value a religious education and do not care about what I drive or where I live. I refuse to believe life end with a short ride in a Hearst. I am investing in my childs heart. I know what I am planting in them at home is being reiterated at school.

 

[LightBound]

I am starting a new type of Catholic. Its called a “hard core” Catholic. We start the Catechism in 1st grade, teach our children the Bible and to respect and enjoy other sects of the Catholic faith. We love our mass. We love our priest. Our School is ran by the Franciscans. I Love them. The children do the living rosary everyday, Mass twice a week, have a Catechism Bowl. Thats how you keep kids Catholic. Immerse them. Make religion 1st. Let them marinate in the Faith when they are little so they are prepared to be in the secular world. We need to stop crippling our children by telling them to be tolerant of non- tolerate people. We need to love and respect each other but NOT bow down to their secular ways or to their false Gods. We can make a difference. I can with my babies. Being a Catholic is wonderful and you can make learning the faith fun. Jesus said at the end of times his church would not be the biggest but it would not get swallowed up by the devil.

From your priest’s video, it looks like you already have a good start with your parish and from your ideas, you have it firmly planted in your family. That’s we need today to keep the Church vibrant- hold on to the truths, make sure our children know them and we live them, but know we can’t go back to 1955 (we’re not Marty McFly and we don’t have time machines)

 

[JillianRose]

From your priest’s video, it looks like you already have a good start with your parish and from your ideas, you have it firmly planted in your family. That’s we need today to keep the Church vibrant- hold on to the truths, make sure our children know them and we live them, but know we can’t go back to 1955 (we’re not Marty McFly and we don’t have time machines)

Thank you. I wish we could go back.

 

[fastenatingguy]

Hey Everyone:

Here is my thought. I think it is plain and simple. I think as in any church, it is up to the Priest/Pastor. It is basic psychology. People get away with only what they are allowed to get away with. We have 4,000 members in our Church. We have 4 masses. The Priest does not allow “Lax” Catholics. Here is how are church is ran:

**I stopped by your Church a month ago was I was returning from Indianapolis. Actually my intention was to visit the Shrine. I had been listening to Relevant Radio and there was an advertisement. But when I got there at 5:00, the Shrine was closed.

But I saw this magnificent edifice to the west. Once I figured out how to get up there, I drove around. I will be back soon.

What a great homily from Fr. Maletta, although he crossed the line (which I admire).**

 

[coachkfan1]

They have abandoned devotion to our Holy Mother.

Where devotion to Our Lady is strong, so are vocations, and growth is phenominal.

The Archdiocese of Atlanta is experiencing incredible growth. My parish has three Masses on weekdays.

-Tim-

I agree here. Additionally, it has always been hard to be Christian/Catholic, because yes it is out of step with the rest of the world. ALWAYS has been. Finally, while it is not the only reason, I do not think that the child abuse scandals and the Church’s handling of them can be understated. It simply did not sit well with the laity, and in many cases it shouldn’t have sat well with anyone.

 

[LightBound]

Thank you. I wish we could go back.

Ahhh…going back to 1955- Cost of living- yes! Family values- yes! The way ethnic/racial minorites were treated then and how women were viewed- No! But I understand what you are saying. But I am derailing that great silverliner of a train with this