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Speaking as a Catholic I see the decline in our church is being caused by the Catholic Church becoming more Liberal over the last 50 years.
More liberal? lol! How do you figure? If anything, it's remaining the same.
My church is one of those liberal "mainline" Protestant churches, and it's growing, and large. And many of its members were once Catholic. From other former Catholics I've spoken to in my church, they chose our church becasue they like the traditional liturgy (similar to Catholic Mass) combined with progressive theology (gays are ok, birth control is your decision, not all the guilt, no crazy abortion stance, etc.)
I've spoken to a few people who tried our church and didn't care for it and they said that while they agreed with the progressive theology, they thought it was "too stuffy" for them. These were people who came from a conservative Protestant evangelical background and while they disagreed with the conservative aspects of evangelicalism, they liked or felt comfortable in that style of worship, vs. the liturgical style of the Catholics/Episcopals/Lutherans/Presbyterians. So I think it really comes down to worship style.
Once you start seeing more evangelical Protestant non-denominational churches that are more liberal and accepting of gay people, you'll probably see another big "movement" within Christianity.
The church had 437 million members in 1950, and has 1.2 billion today. I don't consider that indicative of a dying organization.
Isn't it mostly growing in 3rd world countries? I've heard Catholic friends complain that they "can't understand their priest" because they have to ship them in from other countries and have recruitment problems in the U.S.
Isn't it mostly growing in 3rd world countries? I've heard Catholic friends complain that they "can't understand their priest" because they have to ship them in from other countries and have recruitment problems in the U.S.
These religions can't grow in first world nations anymore.
They've gotta set up shop where people have less access to good education.
But they're only buying more time...eventually even the third world will wake up.
The real problem churches are having in attracting new members and retaining old one's is that the prerequisite for full acceptance by the church rests on unquestioning belief in a fantastical superstitious belief in magic / the supernatural.
After that, liberal or conservative positions on various points are irrelevant.
It's ironic that one receives a better education in Catholic schools than in secular public schools
Absolutely not true any more. I sent both of my kids to Catholic grammar school when I lived in Chicago because I believed that myth. My daughter is a 4.0 student, so she did fine. My son didn't fare quite so well. When he got to H.S. and was having trouble in several subjects, his teacher asked him where he went to grammar school. When he told her, she said, "Ah, that explains it."
Meanwhile, the public school that was just a block away was scoring well above all the parochial schools in the neighborhood. It may have been true at one time, but Catholic schools are so strapped for money that the quality of education is suffering greatly as a result. I should have saved the enormous amount of money it cost and sent my kids to the public schools.
It's ironic that one receives a better education in Catholic schools than in secular public schools
Actually, the great thing about the Catholic school I went to was that they did teach me to challenge religious doctrine and placed exceptional value on the scientific method and inquiry. So yes, I do credit my Catholic school for making me non-religious. I find this is not so much true in more Fundamentalist religions: the bible is considered inerrant and beyond reproach. In my school we were encouraged to engage in critical inquiry of the catechism, doctrine and teachings. One of my favorite Catholic scholars developed an early version of the Big Bang Theory: Georges Lemaitre. There is no doubt that Catholicism has given much to scientific discovery and progress.
Doesn't mean I believe in the religion, though...doesn't hold water for me.
I think the bigger issue that churches are facing today is convincing the non-religious, who can be liberal, moderate, or conservative, that they need God in their lives.
Conservative churches can do this through tribalism. Liberal churches, because they tend to have universalist views about humanity, have a tougher time with this, since they need to convince people that they need Jesus while simultaneously respecting non-believers as equals, and these goals are somewhat in conflict. It wasn't a problem when being atheist or agnostic was generally unacceptable, but as it became more sanctioned, a lot of people just left.
It's ironic that one receives a better education in Catholic schools than in secular public schools
So. I'd certainly hope so with the rates they're charging.
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