Those who follow baseball know that the past decade has seen what is called the “Moneyball” revolution in how players are evaluated. In the past, players were gauged using popular, preconceived narratives: Who knocks in the most runs? Who gets the most hits? However, it has been shown in recent years that these questions are not actually predictive of which players truly help their teams win games. For years the experts were analyzing the situation with a preconceived narrative in place, and were therefore prone to ignore the data that didn’t jibe with that narrative. Now, however, new advanced statistical tools have been deployed to discover exactly how much each player contributes to team wins. Moneyball advocates stress that the correct data, looked at dispassionately, is the best way to analyze a situation and come to accurate conclusions.
Nowhere is a preconceived narrative more entrenched than in the Catholic Church in America today. Imagine your own Catholic parish. Can you think of any time that the pastor got up and said, “Listen, things are not good – the school is failing to educate kids in the Faith, people are leaving in droves, and no one believes Catholic doctrine anymore”? Of course not; usually we are told how great the school is, how great the parish is and that we are great, great, great – surely one day we will reword the classic hymn to “How Great We Art”. The message is that we should just keep doing everything as we have done it for the past generation: catechesis, marriage preparation, liturgy, and so on.
But will an objective look at the numbers show that everything is in fact fine? In recent years several studies have been conducted that give an in-depth look at the practices (and non-practices) of Catholics in America.
A major study done by Pew Research in 2009 found that over 30% of Americans who were raised Catholic no longer consider themselves Catholic. This is a well-known figure, but what about those who do still self-identify as Catholic? These are the people who still have some attachment to the Church, at least enough to call themselves “Catholic.” According to one study, less than 30% of them attend Mass once a week, and according to another study, only 25% go to Confession at least once a year. Furthermore, only 62% of those who attend Mass weekly also go to Confession at least once a year.
Putting all these numbers together, we find that less than 10% of baptized Catholics in this country both attend Mass on Sundays and go to Confession at least once a year. In other words, less than 1 in 10 baptized Catholics actually follow the two most measurable precepts of the Church, which all Catholics are obliged to follow.
Getting back to those who have left the Church, a few surveys have asked why they left. The Pew Study referenced above notes that of those who left, most stated that they “gradually drifted away from the Church” and that their “spiritual needs were not being met.” A more recent, smaller survey conducted by the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois details that the majority left because their “spiritual needs [were] not met” and they “lost interest” in being Catholic.
Although we may draw many conclusions from this data, all of these numbers are summed up in one fact: Most people do not see any compelling reason to live as Catholics. This is true both for those who left the Church and for most who continue to self-identify as Catholic. For if one thought it was worthwhile to live as a Catholic, he would attend Mass faithfully, go to Confession regularly, learn his faith, and strive to live its teachings, even the hard ones. Yet so few Catholics are doing this.
Now before you think “But numbers aren’t everything in evangelization!” let me say that you are correct: numbers aren’t everything. But surely when vast numbers of people are saying they are leaving the Church because their spiritual needs are not being met – the precise reason the Church exists – then something is fundamentally wrong. It is true that evangelization does not always produce large numbers of converts – Jesus himself was rejected by many of his initial disciples – but the staggering number of baptized Catholics who don’t find value in practicing the Faith should give us serious pause.
We also have to be careful not to take away from these numbers more than is really there. The studies tell us very clearly the present situation, but they do not tell us the reasons behind the numbers. For example, the fact that many Americans left the Church because they didn’t find their spiritual needs being met doesn’t tell us why they believed this. But it does tell us, unequivocally, that Catholic parishes by and large are failing to meet their parishioners’ perceived spiritual needs. “How Great We Art” indeed.
So how should Catholics respond in the face of these daunting numbers? Unfortunately, three improper responses to this crisis have emerged in the past few decades. They are denial, despair, and desertion:
Denial: This appears to be the most common response by many Church leaders, both clergy and lay: ignoring or downplaying the problem and continuing to do the same things that got us into this mess. But one thing these numbers make clear: what we have done in the past few decades certainly doesn’t work. Continuing with the same strategy and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.
Despair: Many faithful Catholics see how bad things are and just lose hope that the situation can ever be fixed; the problems of today can be overwhelming and appear unsolvable. So they make no effort to improve the state of affairs in their local parish or the greater Church.
Desertion: If things are so bad in the Church, some will conclude that perhaps it is not THE Church after all. This occurs with many Catholics-turned-Evangelical Protestants, as well as some who join “independent” Catholic churches not in communion with Rome.
What is the way forward? If denial, despair and desertion are not the proper Catholic response, how should Catholics react to the calamity of less than 10% of all baptized Catholics actually practicing their faith? In a word, determination.
Determination: The proper way to respond to these sobering numbers is to first face them squarely without whitewashing or downplaying them. The old adage, “The first step in solving a problem is acknowledging you have one” comes to mind. Second, we ask ourselves, “What can I do to make a more compelling case for Catholicism?” After all, the Faith spreads organically, person to person, so each Catholic has a duty to spread it to his or her own circle of influence. Finally, we must open ourselves to radical changes, including scrapping much of what we have done over the past few decades for something better.
Of course the debate then becomes “What is better?” There is not sufficient space here to detail possible solutions, but two principles should be kept in mind:
- Just as we’ve used quantitative data to arrive at the conclusion that something’s wrong, any new initiative should also be objectively analyzed. If a new marriage preparation program is started, for example, the divorce rate among its participants should be tracked to see if it is reduced.
- New initiatives should tap into the deep reservoir of Catholic Tradition. The Church through the centuries has been the greatest evangelizing institution the world has ever seen, so we do not need to re-invent the wheel. Although times may change, human nature does not. Looking to evangelist Saints like Francis Xavier and Boniface would be a good place to start when it comes to re-evangelizing Catholics in America.
The stark truth found in various recent surveys is that Catholicism is not attractive anymore to a massive number of Americans. The Catholic Church in America for the past few decades is like Willie Mays in the twilight of his career – a once great player that is no longer so. One can simply ignore the facts and keep putting this shadow of greatness into the lineup day after day. The better option, however, is to recognize the reality shown by his numbers and put in a younger, better player – one who plays more like Mays did in his prime. The ways the Church has been doing things for the past few decades have been proven to be ineffective; we must be bold enough to recognize this and take them out of the lineup.
Let’s rebuild the ways of living and preaching the Catholic Faith that converted Empires, nations, and people all around the world.
“New Springtime for the Church”, indeed. Bishops and priests are going to have to start having a hard conversation with the pew-sitting Catholics about this, admitting that many efforts of the hierarchy has failed, and the new strategy is to return to old methods. Lots of beautiful churches will close and be destroyed forever. One can only pray that ugly churches (which fail to resemble churches) made after 1960 will be prioritized for decommission first.
How true. Just yesterday I saw an article in the diocesan newspaper singing the praises of the “renewal” of religious since V2. What planet are they living on???
There really is a renewal going on. True, it is very much in the budding stage but many traditional orders are getting vocations. The springtime is certainly happening but the dead of winter has just past so it is very early days yet.
I think it’s not even the dead of winter. We’ll be seeing much worse before it gets better. I’d be shocked if in 10 years the number who identify as Catholic didn’t drop by 60% or more. Those who are left will be the more faithful sort, but the sheer number will fall off a cliff. Half of all Catholic parishes will close, if not more. Huge swaths of religious orders will die out and be forgotten. Again, those left will be the more vibrant sort, but it’s going to be a weird thing to be Catholic. We’re going to be a tiny and insignificant minority, and no one will think twice about jailing us for our beliefs.
For one thing…what do they know about the cath. faith…they are not true catholics. What can they teach them except whatsoever they have been trained: ecumenism, all religions are equal, conversion is a non sense. faith is sentimental and not base on Christ’s doctrine…relativism – what is right for you, is not necessarily right for me…and you must accept…That, in summary, is Vatican II…They don’t know anything about the traditional faith…St Thomas of Aquinas, the doctrinal faith.
A re-think of catechism for the young would help. CCD programs are running a shoe string budget with volunteer untrained (God Bless them) teachers for 95% of Catholic school children, while the other 5% attend what looks more and more to be an expensive private school for upper middle class with 1 or 2 children. All this, and most parents are under catechized (that’s an under statement.)
I’d like to see formally trained lay persons in Theology teaching in after school programs for All Catholic school children; Adults too.
Most of the programs in here are run and staffed by people with either theology or pastoral ministry degrees. They are, however, all modernists, many of which are actively hostile to both traditional liturgy and traditional church teaching. Catholic colleges are a mess.
I think that Novus Ordo Church leaders need to wake up that they have been ripped-off by Vatican II “heretical popes“ like Bergogglio…and face the truth that they have fallen out of the true Catholic Church…That’s the first step…for this they have to study the true Catholic Faith – before Vat.II and see that the doctrine is not the same.
Are you suggesting that Francis is not the Pope?
A man that says: “There’s no Catholic God…atheists go to heaven if they follow their subjective conscience…there’s no objective truths…that Catholics…God doesn’t exist…there’s the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost…that promulgates adultery, sodomy…you call that a true pope? A pope promulgates one heresy, it’s a needle busting his balloon has pope!
There’s something in me that revolts at the idea of using certain methods to quantify progress, especially since we have a hierarchy that is willfully blind to the devastation. It is the old adage, “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Diocese and parish leadership often twist unwelcome truths to their own advantage, thereby fooling and soothing to sleep the flock.
Although I am not a despairing Catholic, I think it is much more likely that the Church has been compromised to such an extent that a mustard seed size will be the wave of the future for some time. The question for me is, how do I live my life as a Catholic without all those things that traditionally supported the Catholic life? I would like to find a spiritual director who could guide me in these things, but the Novus Ordo Church has not been conducive to that kind of guidance. Do I impose upon the FSSP parish I am only occasionally able to attend, since it is nearly two hours away? Truly, I find that it is almost entirely online or in books that I am able to find help in making my way in the world as a Catholic. Therefore, I am very grateful for websites like 1P5.
And yes, I and my spouse and a very few devoted Catholics have fought hard on the parish level to improve things. While a church building was saved (so far) due in part to our efforts, there was not a turnaround in the Novus Ordo parish. In fact, it has continued on a Protestantizing path, with typical results.
Sharing this to my parish. Pray for me, please.
“What can I do to make a more compelling case for Catholicism?”
You could start by acting as if Catholicism matters. That’s what Fr. Leonard Feeney did in Boston 70 years ago. For his trouble (and not for his beliefs), he was excommunicated.
If you can get into heaven believing just about anything you want, if all you have to do is follow your conscience and get an “implicit baptism of desire”, there is no compelling reason at all to become Catholic. None. The case before the 20th century was “become Catholic or spend eternity in hell.” The message now is universal salvation. Just be a good person. The authorities may sincerely believe that the Catholic Church is the best place to be a good person. The rest of the world isn’t buying it. Catholicism isn’t necessary, therefore it isn’t compelling. And outside of the Latin Mass or perhaps the Eastern rites, it isn’t aesthetically pleasing either. Churches built since the 60s are by and large architectural abortions. The music is terrible. The priest is a clown or a buddy. He doesn’t take it all that seriously – why should we? The whole thing is a joke.
In my life as a Christian, I have found over and over that 10% is a normal figure for just about any church; about 10% are active believers out of the population of each church. I am really surprised that 10% holds in the CC, giving the almost lack of efforts to bring new people in the CC. The CC is the true Church, but that doesn’t mean the people in the true Church are doing anything to bring in the harvest. The most exciting thing I have seen happening is the rise of EWTN. But when someone decides to “try” the CC in RCIA class, what are they going to find? Does the class match the call of EWTN?
The CC is like a 6’6″ 250 lb man that doesn’t know how strong he is and acts like a six year old. Bad example but I am not a writter.
By the way we are becoming Catholic.
I wonder about this idea of evangelization that is lately a focus for the Church. If Catholics had been behaving like Catholics there would’ve been no need for it in the sense of making all of us evangelists. Not all Christians are gifted for that call. Here comes the quote from Ephesians 4:11-16 — “And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors, For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Until we all meet into the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ; That henceforth we be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive But doing the truth in charity, we may in all things grow up in him who is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body, being compacted and fitly joined together, by what every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in charity.”
If Catholics of the last couple generations had known and followed the Faith there would’ve been plenty of Catholics around (more being born and less leaving the faith). A vibrant and largely correct practice of the Faith also draws others to it in and of itself.
I am not by nature or nurture an evangelist. All the Protestant-type exhortations on the part of the hierarchy will not make me one. What I have found, though, is that to the extent I openly live the Catholic Faith (the one that is in concert with all that has come before), to that extent people are interested in my religious views, ask questions, request resources, and so on. It can be as simple as making the sign of the cross and praying during meals, both at home and in restaurants. It is not rocket science. I always try to be ready to explain the hope that is in me.
And no, few are likely to find an RCIA that approaches even ETWN.
And, from a fellow convert who also found solace in EWTN, welcome home! Please pray for my son-in-law, who is also getting ready to make the journey home. I will keep you and your family in mine.
Remember when Jesus sent out his followers to bring the good news to the people. Jesus told his followers to preach the good news and if they don’t accept the good news, shake the dust off your feet and move to the next town. We are to do the same, as much as we can, because if we don’t do it, who will?
Where I live in East Texas, most non-catholics, hate the CC, because they do not know the truth about the CC. They will never know the truth if we don’t gently help them to learn the truth.
The verses you quoted are not the last or only word about spreading the good news, even if we don’t have a “gift”, we can learn the truth by hard work and become skilled in planting doubt in an atheists mind and planting the seeds that lead to becoming Catholic.
For example; what made Billy Grahm so good at bringing people to believe? Nothing other than going out there and showing up and being bold enough to speak out. He is no great preacher, but he had a simple message straight from the bible.
Why hasn’t the CC done the same thing? Are not lives worth saving? I would like to hear some of the excuses the Church leaders have for not doing what Billy Grahm did all of his life. The Pope is one man, but the church needs millions of men to get the message out.
Remember the process the bible gives for bringing some one into the church; the first action is for people to hear the word.
Randall,
Thanks for your reply. I think you missed my point. The calling of an evangelist (or a pastor or a teacher) is not for everyone; however, in living our individual lives we can certainly evangelize by our actions (such as praying publicly, speaking with friends and neighbors, etc). Interesting that you mentioned speaking with atheists. I recently had the pleasure on this site of having an extended conversation with an atheist (a lapsed Catholic). It’s in the threads of the article “What Demons Know About the Eucharist that Many Catholics Don’t.” And yes, gentleness is a good quality to have when speaking with anyone, but firmness is also helpful. Jesus was not gentle at the expense of defending truth.
Having been a Protestant (of several denominations) for most of my life, I am keenly aware of the constant call for evangelizing. The programs, ministries, exhortations are non-stop. It verges on mania in some of the Christian groups. It does not speak to a balance of Christian qualities on the part of the individual. Alas, having witnessed altar calls many times, I’m also aware of the lack of retention that occurs in these instances, and which many Protestants admit and lament. We can leave the financial element out of it, too, for the sake of this conversation.
The same can be said for Catholics. Many of those who go through the Protestantized versions of RCIA often do so for reasons that are not related to the salvation of their souls or their belief in the truths of the Church. They convert because their spouse is Catholic or because their grandmother wants them to be confirmed.
Of course lives are worth saving! I am not saying that evangelizing should not occur, only that it has a place among the faithful that is commensurate with each individual’s calling as a member of the Body of Christ. And that is different for each individual. Sometimes, the best evangelizing is to live faithfully as a Catholic in one’s own community. It is not everyone’s calling to be a Catholic Billy Graham.
We are living in very dark times. I have faith in God’s mercy during these eras when our religious and civic institutions have become almost hopelessly corrupted.
I was raised in the Methodist Church and later became an atheist, but all the time really believing. I was blessed by my best friend, who is a “real” Christian. He kept me out of the freak shows and taught me one on one. I wanted to join a church but he kept asking me; “how did God find you”. He had me just wait and grow first. During that time through my teaching my own four grown children they all became real Christians. From there I began to be interested in the CC, and have studied for six years now about the church.
My friend taught me how to talk about Jesus with unbelievers and how to view the “world” and the “church”.
For myself, I look at the life of Jesus and his followers, as an example of how to live and discuss Christianity.
One thing I forgot to mention; I am not for sure, but I have a feeling that many Catholics would not like to see a flood of new Catholics coming into the Church. I get that from filtering out the many books I have read, plus observation of the faithful Catholics.
Thanks for your “letter”. I have learned from you. By the way I am 70 years old. Married with four children and fourteen grandchildren.
A beautiful testimony. I too was one whom God had wait until I grew into the Faith. I have just six grandchildren (with one on the way). 🙂
I don’t think Catholics are against new Catholics at all. I too came to the Faith through the Church very reluctantly and finally with gusto. Yes, the old Mass is the way to go unless you can find a NO that at least sticks to the traditional options for liturgy. What got me out of the NO were the implementation of altar girls. I was so disappointed with Pope John Paul and still am. His suffering at the end was in part for that inaction of his. So many vocations lost as a result!
There are many cars in the parking lot of my parish Church that have a bumper sticker on them that says, “Save the Liturgy, Save the World!” My parish Church is always full with large Catholic families who all know each other pretty well. They are all very involved in the parish but not so much in a social manner. They have the Rosary before every Mass, and the Divine Praises and prayers for Vocations after Mass. There is Eucharistic Adoration and a devotion tot he First Saturdays and First Fridays. Our Priest is very strick regarding Liturgical laws and the training of our Altar boys. They are practically perfect in their service to God in not causing the slightest distraction from worship. In our first year as a parish, we had four vocations. Two to the sisterhood and two to the Seminary. I love my parish so much that I realize that I can’t even move upon retirement. There is no other place like it in the entire Country! We are a Latin Rite Parish under the Diocese of Birmingham AL( Bishop Robert Baker). and we are infinitely Grateful for the gift of our Catholic Faith and our Parish that we probably will die as parishoners. Save the Liturgy, Save the World! Please feel free to visit us any time. Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church. Huntsville, AL. I believe this is the new springtime of the Church. It has been small and hidden and as you know there are so many opposed to even having a Latin Mass no less a Latin Rite Parish! It is a miracle!
Here is a little article about our parish church for anyone interested.
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2014/08/a-new-traditional-catholic-parish-is.html
Prominent essays like this one by Eric are way overdue. I’m pleased to see it here.
There have been other warnings along these lines, but it cannot be repeated enough, especially in prominent Catholic outlets like OnePeterFive. Particularly sobering was Ralph Martin’s “The Post-Christendom Sacramental Crisis,” in Nova et Vetera in 2013 (link here). Dr. Martin at one presented an anecdote that came to mind as I read Eric’s essay today:
Cardinal Ratzinger remarked on a strange phenomenon he observed in conjunction with the collapse of the Church in the Netherlands after Vatican II. He pointed out that by every statistical measure the Church in the Netherlands was collapsing and yet, strangely, at the same time an atmosphere of “general optimism” was prevalent that seemed blind to the actual situation.
“I thought to myself: what would one say of a businessman whose accounts were completely in the red but who, instead of recognizing this evil, finding out its reasons, and courageously taking steps against it, wanted to commend himself to his creditors solely through optimism? What should one’s attitude be to an optimism that was quite simply opposed to reality?”
It’s time to face reality. And it’s time to examine what has happened to bring us to this pass. As Eric says, “the ways the Church has been doing things for the past few decades have been proven to be ineffective.”
And to reinforce Eric’s aggregate numbers detailing defections, Mass attendance and Confession, consider the data that Dr. Martin digs out from a typical large “Midwestern Diocese.” The numbers are nothing short of catastrophic. The table shows that over the last decade (from 2000 to 2010):
This is in ten short years, folks. And these numbers are going to be reflected in Mass attendance in that diocese before long, if they aren’t already, because those numbers reflect the future.
Something, as Eric says, is fundamentally wrong.
This article brushes the larger elephant in the room of the whimpiness of our current bishops and clergy who are allowing the progressives to take over parishes and more important, the liturgy. This is a huge problem, not “meeting spiritual needs”. The purpose of the faith is to save souls. But our leaders aren’t manning up to that. Women hijack parish councils (and I’m a woman so no sexism on my part), parish staff, lectors are women, altar boys are no more. Homilies are more “let me read you a bedtime story about God’s love”, not about sin and avoid temptations. This will not go away with feel good “let’s reevaluate our goals” leadership.