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Will Catholicism be Forced to Change its Thinking?

Skwim

Veteran Member
"Study shows why young Catholics leave the church

There are the growing numbers of young Catholics leaving the church — the focus of a new national study to examine why they're departing and where they're landing.

They stopped believing in God. They saw a disconnect between what Catholics say and what they do. They disagreed with the church’s stance on social issues such as homosexuality and birth control.

They are the growing numbers of young Catholics leaving the church — the focus of a new national study to examine why they’re departing and where they’re landing. It’s an issue that worries church leaders across the country.

“Leaving the [Catholic] church crosses all age groups, but the fastest growing demographic is age 18 to 29,” said John Vitek, president of Saint Mary’s Press in Winona, which commissioned the study.

“Our data shows the median age for leaving the church was 13 years old,” he said. “That was a surprise to everyone … and something we really have to take note of.”

Once they leave the church, more than a third report no religious affiliation and 29 percent switch to another Christian denomination.

Called “Going. Going. Gone: The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics,” the unusual survey focused on former Catholics between ages 15 and 25. It is based on a random sample survey of 204 teens and young adults, as well as 15 personal interviews. The research was conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.

The survey found that the biggest reason young Catholics bailed was that they no longer believed in God. One in five cited that lack of faith.

Another 16 percent said family experiences shaped their misgivings. Divorce, death, illnesses and perceived “hypocrisy” were cited.

Others were put off by the church’s stance on social issues such as same-sex marriage and the role of women.

“I believe in birth control. ... I am a complete supporter of same-sex marriage,” said one teen. “I’m fine with priests being married. This whole being married to Jesus or God thing is kind of ridiculous.”
source

In answer to the title's question, "Will Catholicism be Forced to Change its Thinking?" my answer is that in order to survive it has to. The church's future lies entirely in the hands of its youth, and if it can't appease them it's going to sink.

One ominous sign is the steep decline in Catholic marriages.

MarriageDecline.jpg

source

.
 

columbus

yawn <ignore> yawn
They are the growing numbers of young Catholics leaving the church — the focus of a new national study to examine why they’re departing and where they’re landing.
You do realize that this study is about one country?
That the large majority of the ~billion Catholics don't live in the USA?
The RCC isn't going to be forced to change it's thinking by this. US bishops might have a problem with it, but the RCC is growing.
Tom
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
And this should be compared against what is going on with Protestant churches and other religions in the US.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
"Study shows why young Catholics leave the church

There are the growing numbers of young Catholics leaving the church — the focus of a new national study to examine why they're departing and where they're landing.

They stopped believing in God. They saw a disconnect between what Catholics say and what they do. They disagreed with the church’s stance on social issues such as homosexuality and birth control.

They are the growing numbers of young Catholics leaving the church — the focus of a new national study to examine why they’re departing and where they’re landing. It’s an issue that worries church leaders across the country.

“Leaving the [Catholic] church crosses all age groups, but the fastest growing demographic is age 18 to 29,” said John Vitek, president of Saint Mary’s Press in Winona, which commissioned the study.

“Our data shows the median age for leaving the church was 13 years old,” he said. “That was a surprise to everyone … and something we really have to take note of.”

Once they leave the church, more than a third report no religious affiliation and 29 percent switch to another Christian denomination.

Called “Going. Going. Gone: The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics,” the unusual survey focused on former Catholics between ages 15 and 25. It is based on a random sample survey of 204 teens and young adults, as well as 15 personal interviews. The research was conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.

The survey found that the biggest reason young Catholics bailed was that they no longer believed in God. One in five cited that lack of faith.

Another 16 percent said family experiences shaped their misgivings. Divorce, death, illnesses and perceived “hypocrisy” were cited.

Others were put off by the church’s stance on social issues such as same-sex marriage and the role of women.

“I believe in birth control. ... I am a complete supporter of same-sex marriage,” said one teen. “I’m fine with priests being married. This whole being married to Jesus or God thing is kind of ridiculous.”
source

In answer to the title's question, "Will Catholicism be Forced to Change its Thinking?" my answer is that in order to survive it has to. The church's future lies entirely in the hands of its youth, and if it can't appease them it's going to sink.

One ominous sign is the steep decline in Catholic marriages.

MarriageDecline.jpg

source

.
It's a sign that religious institutions like Christianity have properly run their course in history. Given the mythology, abrahamic religions like Christianity should have gone the way of Zeus and Apollo long long ago. Christians should be thankful it lasted for as long as it did on the scale that it had. Primarily due to Constantine.

It's refreshing to see people waking up more and chucking away the rose colored glasses from a world built by the imagination with a horrific history.
 

columbus

yawn <ignore> yawn
In answer to the title's question, "Will Catholicism be Forced to Change its Thinking?" my answer is that in order to survive it has to. The church's future lies entirely in the hands of its youth, and if it can't appease them it's going to sink.
But in the short term, say the next couple of centuries, the RCC will become more conservative and dogmatic. Because the less conservative and dogmatic people are leaving. But the Church is growing.
Tom
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
Yeah, the Church as an institution is looking like an ugly relic now. Its sexism, homophobia and transphobia aren't playing well in the West anymore, as well as the ridiculous teachings on birth control and treatment of divorced people. Then there's the corruption (like ties to organized crime), abuse scandals, the petty infighting, factionalism and pursuit of worldly power at the Vatican and the nasty history (such as working with fascist regimes and formenting anti-Semitism).

I couldn't support such an organization in good conscience. I left it mostly for those reasons, along with no longer being able to believe the theology. I'm not letting such nasty people tell me what to believe or how to live. Maybe they should confess to us.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I'm willing to predict a change made in the church's image. Particularly on how it's branded.

Something along the same lines as the YMCA as they're now emphasizing and refocusing their branding on the "Y" and omitting the rest of the letters of the acronym.

"M,C,A". .......Men's Christian Association.


Y- MCA.

Now referred to as just, "The Y".


the Y : YMCA of the USA

Y.M.C.A. Is Downsizing to a Single Letter

I figure Catholics will likely in the future, publicly market themselves differently similar to what the YMCA had done to rake in new people.

The "C" perhaps?
 

Palehorse

Active Member
Yes, universalism will fall, the protestants will molest and blood libel all Catholics. Judaic Christian socialism will conquer America. Priests will be infected with their worm and become pedophiles.. and of course like jesus Christ said and explained the Jews will be hated by many when the crucification of CHRIST is done. Because everybody knows history repeats itself.
 

Buddha Dharma

Dharma Practitioner
And this should be compared against what is going on with Protestant churches and other religions in the US.

Sadly, there is reason to suspect that evangelicalism may actually be growing. It would be difficult to determine it is or isn't, since many evangelicals don't identity as 'religious'. I do know that mega churches market to youth through all kinds of ways, and I don't know how much it's working for them. This is one of the things that truly worries me as a possibility. Because if we think it's irreligion growing and mega churches have been skyrocketing the entire time- what does it mean for America's future? Mega churches tend to push the far right agenda.
 

Polymath257

Think & Care
Staff member
Premium Member

I'm not going to comment on the rest of the OP, but this graph is *incredibly* misleading. Notice the lowest number is 15% and the highest is 45%. On a proper scale, the decline, while steep, would not look like it is going to 0.

Now, I am not disputing the results, or pondering the reasons. But dishonesty in the presentation of data is something we should ALL be aware of and condemn.
 

Skwim

Veteran Member
I'm not going to comment on the rest of the OP, but this graph is *incredibly* misleading. Notice the lowest number is 15% and the highest is 45%. On a proper scale, the decline, while steep, would not look like it is going to 0.

Now, I am not disputing the results, or pondering the reasons. But dishonesty in the presentation of data is something we should ALL be aware of and condemn.
First of all, the numbers aren't percentages (15% & 45%) but thousands of marriages. As close as I can make out, In 1970 there were 425,000 Catholic marriages, and in 2014 there were 155,000 Catholic marriages. The change in those 44 years was 64% drop, which I find significant. Should this trend continue, in 25 years there will be no Catholic marriages at all.



40604906471_c0eb7b3979_z.jpg


.
 

joe1776

Well-Known Member
The question "Will Catholicism be forced to change its thinking?" implies that doing so would be a unique event. The Church has been changing its thinking for centuries. In my view it has always lagged behind the leading edge of moral progress but so have the Abrahamic religions in general.

Humanity's moral progress has been motivated by a conscience-led push toward equality. Equality for slaves, equality for women, equality for children of the poor, equality between the races, equality for homosexuals... Jews, Christians and Muslims have been ignoring the moral teaching of their clerics and following their moral intuition all along.

Obviously, the traditionalists, those "closest to their faith," are the slowest to change.
 
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