Your Top 3 Reasons for Drop in Mass Attendance?

[zab]

1. poor catechesis
2. laziness-doing the bare minimum like just going to Church on Sunday- failure to practice their Catholic Faith and participate in the sacraments of the Church.
3. perhaps eventually justifying some personal sin that is against Catholic teaching

When you don’t use it you lose it. If one does not pray or practice their Faith, it’s like a veil covers their eyes and they can no longer understand the little that they once knew.

I guess it depends on how you read the question. Our parish does not have a drop in the number of attendance because we have more comeing in every year. But there are still some of us devout parents who have adult children who are no longer practicing. And the reasons I gave pertained to that drop in attendance.

 

[Giuseppe_Gavino]

1. Indifference
2. Relativism
3. Secularism

 

[TimothyH]

My soul lives and breathes the North. I would shrivel up and die south of maybe Pennsylvania, like a plant pulled out of the soil.

Anyway, it’s not just population shifts; mass attendance really has declined as a percentage of total Catholics. I would guess that is true in the South as well, it’s just masked by mass migrations from places like the Northern states and Latin America, though that’s just intuition.

However it is happening, Catholic Churches all through the south are packed. That is the reality.

Worldwide or nationwide drops in Mass attendance may be acentuated on the upside or downside due to migration/immigration, but the reality is that people are sick of paying $14,000/year taxes for 50’x100’ piece of property and sick of having to explain to their ten year old daughters why what the teacher at school is telling them about lesbianism isn’t so.

Taxes for my 2400 square foot home are $1600 and the cops actually patrol the neighborhoods. There isn’t going to be a law about homosexual marriage on the book in Georgia any time soon and the former Governor of Georgia actually got on TV, called a press conference once, simply to aks the citizens of the state to pray. That’s all… nothing about taxes or legislation or policy but just asking everyone to pray.

-Tim-

-Tim-

 

[Mrs_Sally]

People stop attending Mass ahead of them not identifying as Catholic at all (although, strnagely, there are plenty of people who never go to Mass but who will tell you that they are Catholic).

Number one reason is confusion over the church’s moral teachings around contraception and divorce and remarriage.

And much of this confusion stemmed from deficiencies in pastoral teaching and counseling. Both priests who said nothing but “you’ll burn in hell” without any compassion or attempt at understanding or counseling. And priests who said “You’re OK” without any reference to the church’s unbroken teaching on these issues and *why *we have that teaching.

John Paul II’s Theology of the Body is an amazing gift to the church in this struggle and to me a sign of his holiness that he could hold to unchanging church truths in a loving and compassionate way that helps people really live up to the standard.

Edited to add: I doubt anyone really leaves over kooky hymns or felt banners. That’s just an excuse.

 

[zab]

Despite any poor catechesis, poor preaching, lack of reverence in Liturgies and so on, if a person maintains a prayer life they will be brought closer to God and the Church and not leave it.

 

[Bezant]

What do you think are the 3 main reasons for a drop in Mass attendance (if that’s indeed the case) over the past 40+ years in your diocese/parish. In mine I believe:

1.) Lack of reverence and solemnity. We now treat the sacred as if it were the ordinary.

2.) Increased compeitition – secular life, Protestantism, non-Christian beliefs, etc.

3.) Poor preaching.

The main reason I see…

Lack of community, “secular” (for lack of a better word) activities: e.g., volunteer projects, youth programmes, family nights, etc. It’s not enough to center the church’s functions solely around the service. But it’s also a struggle for many parishes in the neighbourhood to meet their basic needs, let alone run the programmes they had in the past. Still yet, sometimes it’s not a money issue, sometimes it’s just that parishioners are just too busy, or too lazy, to take leadership.

It’s a terrible shame because those programmes are badly needed. There’s loads of young people in our community with no positive outlet, so they join gangs, they make trouble, etc.

 

[ElToro]

There I fixed it for you.

If we were to demonstrate by our actions within the liturgy to show what the liturgy truly is, people would know that they could not get this in a protestant feel good worship.

I believe we have become just another worship service, there is nothing special about the Catholic Mass.

It wasn’t broken.

 

[YoungCanRCMale]

This is from a Canadian:

3rd place: Lack of reverence for, devotion, and understanding the Mass, or treating it as 1hr/week we must do this event or a family tradition, vs. the most important hour of your life with the “source and summit of our faith” in the sacrament of the Eucharist.

2nd place: The institutional Church’s laxity and letting in “the smoke of Satan” as it were, that is accepting modernism, secularism, liberalism, and feminism into their lives and those of their parishoners. Thus not taking a stance against the world.

1st place: Liberal teachers, clergy, and educated lay people (e.g. with MD and P.hD’s) who willingly uphold erroneous theologies and philosophies (e.g. liberation and feminist theologies, and any of the -isms in #2) and disagree publically either in conversation or via their preaching and teaching with the Church, thereby spreading dissent amongst the ill-educated/poorly catechized laity.

 

[Elizabeth502]

Your #3 is fascinating to me. There is a HUGE difference between the person who is keenly aware of just what the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is and those that do it simply from habit.

Totally. And I may be slightly more “aware,” but I don’t credit myself with some special sensitiivity that others do not have. I think all are affected (at least unconsciously) when most of the congregation behaves as if it’s “going through the motions,” or worse (as in so many cases) hates going through these “motions.” (Shows it!)

In any case, this is why I’m so fussy about where and when I go to Mass. If the congregation is tuned out, I’m not going to that Mass henceforth. Lay people often blame the priest, as if it’s his responsibility to be an entertainer. (Not.) To a great extent, we do “get out of” Mass what we put into it – certainly in terms of attitude & centeredness, if nothing else, but it’s difficult to filter out the effect of a predominant mindset among those attending. (Very often that mindset spills over into their inattention, noise, restlessness.)

 

[utah_rose]

1. Indifference
2. Relativism
3. Secularism

Mine are poor catechesis, irregularities in the Mass (non reverence caused by talking, applauding certain things at the end of the Mass, having a commotion about the Sign of Peace, and poor music), especially when receiving the Eucharist.

There’s one parish Church I attend occasionally that has the words SILENCE on the door. Perhaps we need more of this. Gatherings after Mass should be encouraged instead of talking to everyone before Mass.

There used to be a lot of reverence (there still is in certain parishes) when we had the Tridentine Mass. Less grandstanding by the priest because he faced the altar, beautiful hymns sung by the choir and not trying to force the people to join in singing. Also in some parishes now way too many Eucharistic ministers. In many instances all that are needed are a few altar boys (or girls) 2 ministers and a Deacon if possible.

People(especially children) don’t have enough reverence for the Eucharist. Priests should be preaching more about this, as this is the central reason for the Mass! If the children aren’t learning it in CCD or school (as well as parents) maybe the importance of the Mass, reverence for the Eucharist and a Sunday obligation need to be stressed by the priests.

They could either interweave it in the homily, or speak about it for 5 minutes before or after. The bishops could assist in this by writing letters to be read in the Churches (some already have) stressing Catholic doctrine in this time and why.

 

[Soldier_Of_God]

I would hazard the following guesses…

1. 
   *]Apathy about instituationalized worship
   *]Secularism in the home and workpalce
   *]Moral relativism and tolerance of moral turpitude
   
   Many people I talk to believe in God but that don’t feel like getting up and going to Mass.

 

[Lapey]

Quite simply the lack of evidence that it’s true. The Real Presence is man’s interpretation of words which men claim were spoken by someone who men believe was the son of God. That’s entirely too tenuous a chain of “evidence” to convince me there’s any truth in such an extraordinary claim.

Let’s face it - the Real Presence is a matter of faith, pure and simple. Either you have it or you don’t.

So you believe the Word of God is just men talking about a man talking then interpreted to whatever they want? I know this questions wording may sound rude, but thats what came to mind when reading your response. I am sorry if I offend you, its not my intent.

And, can you site evidence that this is not true?

This is a whole other thread, but I am just curious.

 

[Oneofthewomen]

So good, I thought it needed repeating!!
I agree 1000% with you Cat!!

1. Influence of the entertainment media

, especially television, films, and music, in making sin, especially the sex sins (pornography, masturbation, co-habitation, fornication, contraception, abortion, adultery, divorce, same-sex activity, perversions, and even rape) acceptable and even wholesome in our culture. People who are involved habitually in these sins will not be eager to come to Mass or be part of the Catholic Church.

My answer: Christians need to “take back” the entertainment media and produce excellent television, films, and music. This will be expensive, and it will be difficult, as many parents are hesitant to allow their children to become involved in “entertainment” because of the darkness and unwholesomeness of this mission field.

1. ** Aggressive and appealing Evangelical Protestant evangelization**–my husband and I were evangelical Protestant for 47 years, and a huge percentage of our churches, probably close to around 50%, were former Catholics. The main attraction for Catholics was BIble-based teaching, especially freedom from “works”–salvation by faith alone. The second attraction was good fellowship and lots of friends–this is something that seems hard to find in modern Catholic parishes that no longer are “neighborhood” parishes.

My answer: I believe that apologetic ministries like Catholic Answers are helping, but I think that more aggressive catechesis needs to be offered in local parishes, especially for children. I suspect that many religious education programs are being taught by under-trained catechists who are using material from a hundred years ago. I think that much of the religious education curricula needs to be “Bible-based,” so that Catholic children and teenagers will be prepared to answer their evangelical Protestant friends.

I also think that all Catholic parishes should offer some kind of teenage and adult Bible study.

I realize that the Catholic Church does not teach that the Bible is the Authority for Christians. But since evangelical Protestant evangelization is so aggressive and appealing, Catholics HAVE to be trained to use the Bible correctly to answer evangelical Protestants.

I also think that Catholic parishes need to create opportunities for people to find friends and spend time with them in church-based activities (picnics, potlucks, social groups, musical programs, pilgrimages, singspirations, etc.). I think that priests need to encourage friendliness before and after the Mass in the lobby or fellowship hall, even though many Catholic church buildings are not designed to encourage conversation.

1. Encroachment of U.S. government into everyday family life, especially higher and higher taxes at the local levels, making it necessary for both parents in a family to work outside of the home. This has resulted in a tremendous time crunch, which causes families to “cocoon” together on weekends, or to fall apart and become separate people living under the same roof. Also, when both parents work, it is harder for a couple to make a decision to have several children.

My answer: Vote for candidates that have a record of supporting the limited government outlined in the U.S. Constitution. Catholics need to stop voting according to the traditions of their family, and truly look at the candidates to see who is most likely to enact policies that will help create better families, not hurt families. The family is the basis of our civilization in the U.S.–anything that hurts the family will hurt the Church.

 

[BrushedByAngels]

What do you think are the 3 main reasons for a drop in Mass attendance (if that’s indeed the case) over the past 40+ years in your diocese/parish. In mine I believe:

**Lack of reverence and solemnity. We now treat the sacred as if it were the ordinary. **

I totally agree with this one. I ask alot of catholics why they no longer go to mass and their answer is the priest sexual abuse scandal.

 

[Lapey]

It wasn’t broken.

I know, I was just showing my opinion that if we fix the first one you stated, all else will fall in line and mass attendance will take care of itself.

 

[ElToro]

I totally agree with this one. I ask alot of catholics why they no longer go to mass and their answer is the priest sexual abuse scandal.

A horrid thing indeed. I think this is used more as an excuse than a reason though. I don’t think most really think it through. They can’t pin-point why they no longer have a desire to attend Mass so they stop. Once they stop the sexual abuse scandal is the simplest excuse – they might even think it might be the reason.

 

[Timothysis]

I cannot believe that anyone would suggest that “bad homilies” or “bad music” is the reason why people have stopped attending Mass. The beginning of the undermining of Catholic thought and culture began in the 18th century with the (so called) Enlightenment. Study the French Revolution and see the horror and evil that was committed against the Church in the name of “Freedom.” This had nothing to do with the way Mass was celebrated, the beliefs and doctrines of the Church or whether people talked before Mass. What we see in the west today is the phenomenon that the more prosperous a country, the less the need for God. Europe lost its faith after the first World War. The second World War drove the nail into the coffin.

In our modern times, it is a fact that the height of Mass attendance in America was in the mid to late 1950’s, and began to decline after that , so that by the introduction of the Pauline Mass in 1970, we already had a 15-20% drop in attendance in less than a generation. The curious thing, too, is that the protestant denominations experienced that same drop. Many thought that Vatican II was going to start changing long held positions, allowing divorce and the acceptance of artificial birth control, but what people wanted did not happen. Pope Paul’s encyclical Humanae Vitae was a shot heard around the world, a cold, hard slap in the face that the Church was not going to change her doctrines even though the secular world clamored for it. The sad fact is that people have left the Church because it is not telling them what they want to hear. Even Christ referred to his own disciples as those of “little faith.” The massive infiltration of the secular world into every facet of our lives today with constant media exposure and all the little gadgets that make life bearable (like the new laptop that I am typing this on) has made it hard to focus on the real and the important.

 

[ElToro]

That was certainly the case with me. Once I realized that I didn’t sincerely believe in the Real Presence, everything else about the Mass became just empty ritual.

I could certainly see where lack of faith would drive someone away from the Mass – but it would drive them completely away from Christendom if that were truly the case. We can KNOW that God exists through reason (Aquinas, etc.) but we can only know God through faith (fortified by sources like the Bible, etc. which we also place faith in.)

I don’t think anyone could accept Jesus Christ as Messiah, have an honest/historical knowledge of Christendom and view the Mass as “just empty ritual.” I think an athiest or agnostic could, however.

 

[ElToro]

I cannot believe that anyone would suggest that “bad homilies” or “bad music” is the reason why people have stopped attending Mass. The beginning of the undermining of Catholic thought and culture began in the 18th century with the (so called) Enlightenment. Study the French Revolution and see the horror and evil that was committed against the Church in the name of “Freedom.” This had nothing to do with the way Mass was celebrated, the beliefs and doctrines of the Church or whether people talked before Mass. What we see in the west today is the phenomenon that the more prosperous a country, the less the need for God. Europe lost its faith after the first World War. The second World War drove the nail into the coffin.

Without discounting your comments I think celebrating the Mass (and acting at the Mass) in a manner that treats the Divine as if it were ordinary has had a HUGE impact on the number that attend Mass.

In our modern times, it is a fact that the height of Mass attendance in America was in the mid to late 1950’s, and began to decline after that , so that by the introduction of the Pauline Mass in 1970, we already had a 15-20% drop in attendance in less than a generation. The curious thing, too, is that the protestant denominations experienced that same drop. Many thought that Vatican II was going to start changing long held positions, allowing divorce and the acceptance of artificial birth control, but what people wanted did not happen. Pope Paul’s encyclical Humanae Vitae was a shot heard around the world, a cold, hard slap in the face that the Church was not going to change her doctrines even though the secular world clamored for it. The sad fact is that people have left the Church because it is not telling them what they want to hear. Even Christ referred to his own disciples as those of “little faith.” The massive infiltration of the secular world into every facet of our lives today with constant media exposure and all the little gadgets that make life bearable (like the new laptop that I am typing this on) has made it hard to focus on the real and the important.

All true yet the Church CONTINUES to lose people as other Christian faith communites explode with growth…

 

[zab]

All true yet the Church CONTINUES to lose people as other Christian faith communites explode with growth…

catholicnewsagency.com/news/catholic_church_shows_robust_growth_in_u.s._membership_new_report_says/
According to this report, the Catholic Church shows “robust” growth in the United States membership