I had almost decided to let Friday pass without a new blog post--I found the religion news and news in general not to be all that new (with the notable exception of the story of US Airways Flight 1549, which I took to be connected spiritually to a prayer for travelers that was recently in the Liturgy of the Hours--for this one I decided not to blog but just to whisper a thank you).
However, I found the following article and thought it might go well here today. I've always been interested in what George Barna has to say.
American individualism has made its imprint on Christianity.
A sizable majority of the country's faithful no longer hew closely to orthodox teachings, and look more to themselves than to churches or denominations to define their religious convictions, according to two recent surveys. More than half of all Christians also believe that some non-Christians can get into heaven.
"Growing numbers of people now serve as their own theologian-in-residence," said George Barna, president of Barna Group, on releasing findings of one of the polls on Jan. 12.
It's more than a little interesting to me that he says greater numbers of people are serving as their own theologians. I can recall musing long years past over the same thing. Though then it was more an observation--partly from listening to what Protestant church people had to say when they spoke about topics such as biblical interpretation--than it was based on data.
This story--especially it's first sentence--reminded me, somewhat at least, of something that Pope Leo XIII had to say in his encyclical Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae, "...there are among you some who conceive and would have the Church in America to be different from what it is in the rest of the world."
Undoubtedly he must have sensed what the future would hold.
DD...this is just as true in Europe, if not more than in the US.
Posted by: Pia | January 16, 2009 at 08:42 AM
I have to disagree when you look at the youth in the church today. Those younger priest and lay people seem to be much more orthodox than their parent's generation. I point to the packed houses that many Theology on Taps around the country bring in. While I do sense that the Church may get smaller in years to come I do see it as being much stronger in it's faith.
Posted by: Jason | January 17, 2009 at 08:58 PM
Jason, I fixed the broken link to the story so you can go ahead and read the entire article.
It's not about church attendance being down or there being less interest in things of the faith, or there even being a sizable contingency of young people with strong orthodox beliefs, but it more addresses the phenomenon of cafeteria Christianity, and not just in Catholicism but as a snapshot of American beliefs in general.
The Barna poll also reflects the same findings that were reported earlier last year by the Pew Forum (to which I link in my list of websites). Interestingly, the poll sites that a larger number of Christians under the age of 25 (82% as opposed to the overall 61%) are likely to pick and choose from the beliefs of other denominations, which of course doesn't really fit the definition of "orthodoxy."
The story also points out that the poll finds that greater numbers--a majority even--of American Christians hold pluralistic beliefs in regard to salvation being obtainable through paths other than faith in Jesus Christ. Overall, if we accept the findings of Barna, there is a broad American rejection of the exclusivity of Christian beliefs.
If there is any doubt whether pluralism is compatible with Catholic teaching, which it emphatically is not, we can go back and take a long second look at the document Dominus Iesus.
The earlier post I did on the Haight controversy looks at a Jesuit recently being having his teaching faculties taken away due to his pluralistic stance.
Posted by: Dan Wright | January 18, 2009 at 09:33 AM