Discussion Starter - Why Are People Leaving The Church?
Posted on February 29th, 2008 by Steve Skojec
I’ll be participating in symposium article relating to the topic of why so many people are leaving the Catholic Church. I haven’t much space in which to express my view, and with so many root causes, narrowing it down to something that really hits the mark is a challenge worth overcoming.
I’ve chosen to focus on what I believe is the key problem underlying all of the others - narcissism. Of course the sin of pride seems an obvious choice, but I want to bring a more nuanced perspective to it.
I’d be interested, however, in hearing your opinions on the matter as well. Please feel free to share them in the comment box.
Filed under: Catholicism
Ignorance of the faith.
That is a summary for us. We had NO idea what and why the Church taught nor did we have any idea that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ nor did we know WHY we were created or what was expected of us.
Totally and utterly stupid when it comes to our faith were we.
I agree about both narcisism and ignorance (I have kept my mid-1970s First Holy Communion text and show it to people who question whether catechesis was “really that bad” in the wake of Vatican II).
I’d add one very practical factor, however: irregular marriages. I’ve heard anecdotal evidence that in some local protestant congregations, nearly all the ex-Catholics are divorced and remarried.
To the extent that people are leaving the Catholic Church because they refuse to live by the natural law…I think it’s healthy that the dead wood is getting shaken free. Obviously I’d prefer that they straighten out their situations and live by the natural law…but I’m happy that the Church has refused to water down her teachings to accomodate those who will not follow the rules.
People leave the church because they don’t see the value. It’s not getting them anything, and getting something out of it is the only reason they’ve been given to go to church. Honestly, I don’t think narcissism has that much to do with it. They are abandoning the church because they have not been given the Faith. Without the Faith, what’s the point. They’ve been abandoned by the ’60s generation.
Dan,
But isn’t that the point? Isn’t the fact that “I’m not getting anything out of it” and “it’s about me” the very reason why they are leaving? People don’t go to Church to worship God, they go to feel good or be entertained. It’s an inversion of priorities, and I think that the supply (vapid worship that focuses on feelings) followed the demand (”I’m tired of rules and rigor, where’s the party at?”) rather than the other way around.
Sheesh.
What a stupid question.
It’s sex.
Duh.
How about this thought: People aren’t willing to sacrafice anymore. People aren’t inherently greedy - they will be kind to other people and do things for other people - as long as they don’t have to give anything up themselves.
They don’t want to follow Church rules because it interferes with their “fun”. Sacrificing an hour a mass on a Sunday morning is really too much to ask, they would argue.
And the ironic part is that they who won’t sacrifice one hour to God are missing the Sacrifice which opened up Heaven for them.
Hilarity -
A priest once told me that he often gets ex-Catholics explaining that they left the Church because “I decided I just no longer believed in the doctrine of papal infalibility,” or some such pseudo-intellectual nonsense. When talking with someone like this, the priest says, he replies quite bluntly: “Get down on your knees and confess your sins against chastity.”
Because, he says, “It always turns out to be that.”
Cousin John,
People leave the Faith before they stop going to church. Always. In fact, many never get around to leaving the church. which is why we have much trouble with dissent and false teaching. So it’s not the trouble of going to Mass. If they had the Faith, that wouldn’t be a problem. It’s the trouble of living like a Christian that they dislike.
Steve,
It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg question. I would hold that they go to be entertained because they’ve never been given the Faith. This is my generation we’re talking about. I was there. Of the 30 or so people in my grade at CCD, I think there’s only 2 others that are still Catholic. Despite 12 years of religious instruction I am entirely self-taught in religious matters. I was never given the Faith by my official religious instructors. I had to tear it greedily out of their hands.
Danby -
Ditto on your comment to Steve about having to be self-taught. I graduated from Catholic high school knowing nearly nothing — not even that missing Mass on Sunday was a mortal sin. Only when I was in (secular) college did I stumble across an old Baltimore Catechism. I picked it up for the entertainment value; my high school teachers used to ridicule it, and I wanted to see what the joke was about.
I stayed up half the night reading it. And got angry that no one had given me the truth before.
Catholic schools aren’t catholicy enough.
A problem that is as endemic here in Europe as it is in the US. Without schools teaching catacheisms and the rest of the silly things we Catholics get involved in. Pilgrimages, indulgences, not wanting to kill babies and, y’know, not being pagan, Children will just get caught on with the more hip and happening Gospel churches or the, sadly, idiocracy that is athiesm or the cowardice that is agnosticism because they are so confused since a Catholic worldveiw has not been built in them so they cannot judge the world from a Catholic perspective. They are perspectiveless.
The situation is endemic in my school, (i’m 17, sue me), here in Ireland. We just basically do some Gospel study but we don’t study much ‘Catholicism’, in fact, we study MORE about ISLAM then we study about Christianity. I shit thee not.
Now I can explain why this itself is a problem, with studying Islam and how its beleifs were also to be found in other religions from East and West, usually Pagan, one begins question, ‘Is Christianity and Judaism also the result of a blend of pagan ideas?’ and thus my faith was rattled and still is. An upright fundie evangelical in my class turned athiest overnight because of this idea, don’t worry, he’s one of those born agains now. Better heretic then nothing, at least he might hit purgetory now.
My teacher is not helping matters in this regard by being so nuetral in her replies to our questions. This shit just don’t happen at Protestant schools.
People leave the Church because most have never been exposed to the Faith. The watered down codswallop most of us got in Catholic high school and in the luv, peace and let’s be relavant parishes isn’t enough to live on or die on for that matter.
It’s the “soft gospel” that appeals to people. To be a faithful Catholic is pretty tough, but it has tremendous rewards. I mean, wouldn’t we all love to be able to simply say, “God I am a sinner, please forgive me” instead of “Bless me, Father for I have sinned?” But still, I’ll take absolution and the solid assurance of forgiveness of the latter which is received in the confessional over the shaky assurance of the former.
With regard to the “I don’t get anything out of Church” response, I once had a friend who said to me, “I don’t find that I get fed by the Church.” My response, “Well, did you ever consider that perhaps you should do a little of the cooking?” He is now a very faithful and devout Catholic.
All of this really does boil down to sacrifice as Cousin John said. The ironic thing is that folks who leave the Church sacrifice the most important thing in the universe, Jesus truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist.
I think some leave the Church because they have been hurt.
@Mary
Thats true.
but how in the hell do droves of people leave because of hurt?
[...] Why Are Catholics Leaving the Church? Posted on March 11, 2008 by Steve I’d like to thank those who offered their thoughts on why Catholics are leaving the Church when I posed the question at the end of last month. [...]
I have been a catholic for over 50 years. I left the church and joined a nondenominational one as I found a return to the Latin Mass and a refusal by hierarchy to listen to the ministry needs of laity to be unbearable. I find the non denominational church makes a real effort to preach the Gospel, evangelize, and care for their congregation. They actually listen and are not afraid to try new things. The Catholic Hierarchy is so rigid it kills the Spirit and the message of Christ’s love and hope. Before leaving the Catholic Church I explained to God that I wanted to know Him deeply and to guide me in finding a new church. I sincerely feel I was lead to a better place. I would urge others to do the same.