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Old 10-07-2015, 05:25 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
7,541 posts, read 10,200,378 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by USAGeorge View Post
..One thing,,it seems like Catholic churches rarely are small town oriented..

That is based upon an observation of many towns in Pennsylvania that peaked in population and economic strength BEFORE the era of large Catholic immigration to the commonwealth. Till this day, many of the towns don't have large Catholic communities.

The same observation could be made that small towns aren't oriented to black people either, because of the small AA populations in places like Kane or Dubois. But the facts are that those town peaked before large black migrations to the region either.

Its about economics and opportunity, not whether or not Catholicism is unsuited for small towns. Elsewhere, you'll find lots of small towns and rural areas in parts of America and the world where there are lots of Catholics. Just not in PA
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Old 10-08-2015, 02:42 AM
 
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Well, it depends on what part of PA though. In the coal region, you'll find a lot of Catholic Churches, which I think Schmo mentions in the OP. Further south toward PA Dutch country, you'll find more UCC and Lutherans, and of course Anabaptist faiths in Amish areas.

A lot of this depends on who settled there, from what region, and when. Irish immigrants who settle in coal country to work in the minds are of course going to be Irish Catholic. Areas with more German settlers tend toward Lutheran or similar faiths.

theres a large contingency of Baptists in the Clarks Summit area because, of course, there is a Baptist Bible Seminary and Summit University.

To address the OP and the different Catholic Churches in each town per nationality, remember that the church was once the cornerstone of the community, so of course it made sense for immigrants to have a church for their own nationality. That's unnecessary in 3rd and 4th generations and, as others have mentioned, the lack of priests and in some cases parishioners necessitate closing.

I recently returned to the Church despite some of my political leanings. Sometimes I do wish I could become a nun. College loans at the very least prevent me. I see a lot of younger folks at my particular church in Center City Philly (St. Patrick's) no matter what Mass I attend, so it's also possible that the flight of young professionals to urban areas for employment contributes to the dying population of Catholics in certain areas, especially the coal region which is chronically distressed.

I know I didn't really answer anything but just some thoughts...
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Old 10-08-2015, 11:10 AM
 
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I was raised in "catholic Pennsylvania" and attended catholic school for 12 years... Local parish elementary school, which fed into a catholic high school.
Like many millennials, religion does not appeal to me. I don't practice catholicism anymore, nor do I have an interest. Actually, kinda glad to hear it's dying out.
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Old 10-29-2015, 09:12 AM
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pa
1,436 posts, read 1,874,089 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69 View Post
I was raised in "catholic Pennsylvania" and attended catholic school for 12 years... Local parish elementary school, which fed into a catholic high school.
Like many millennials, religion does not appeal to me. I don't practice catholicism anymore, nor do I have an interest. Actually, kinda glad to hear it's dying out.
I'm not. Many people didn't care for Catholic school.
Some said they were harsh, others just didn't find religion important.
However, whey the Catholic parishes die out, like any other church, the neighborhood declines. The churches are a staple for the community in terms of resources, food, shelter, etc.
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