I am not alone?

There are fewer masses being celebrated in California than ever before, according to the "put the Mass back in masochism" survey. Five thousand ex-Catholics were asked if they would return to weekly Mass if the ceremony took a more masochistic, true to life turn ... ninety-one percent of those polled gave God the nod.

_{/you'd better believe that's obscure, even for Fark.}

In my own experience ex-Catholics = goth in the 90's. Anyone else notice it?

/ex-Catholic

At least they're honest in their apostasy.

Catholic or not, I still wouldn't go to church.
Seems pretty pointless.

Still waaaay way way too many of them though. Way.

Ex-Catholics are too butthurt to go back to church.

person, who once wrote frequently in the Catholic press, said "no longer," though as a conservative he continued to sympathize with the church

For fark sake, this is what I have a problem with more than anything. How can anyone not want to see the Church farking do something and clear house and seriously apologize from every level about all of their wrongs? So many people in the Northeast whose entire families were church-going ten years ago are at best "non-practicing" but mostly "ex-Catholic" and almost entirely because of disgust at how the Church handled the molestation scandals.

I mean it's frustrating to see the willfully ignorant continue to support the Church when it was more likely to be blind followers like them who had children become altar boys become victims, but for someone who has left the faith to defend them is to me unexplainable.

deevo: I mean it's frustrating to see the willfully ignorant continue to support the Church when it was more likely to be blind followers like them who had children become altar boys become victims, but for someone who has left the faith to defend them is to me unexplainable.

One of the best tricks a religion can pull is to get non-followers defending it as well as followers.

The franchise rights alone will make us millions!

I have no comprehension of religious people.

Why?

/incredibly not amused

I left the church but kept the guilt.

I don't consider myself an ex-Catholic because it was never at any time my choice to be attending the church, school, CCD classes, and other crap. I did not get confirmed, and I stopped taking communion as soon as I could get my mother to shut up. I've never believed in god.

Do I still count as one or not? Everyone tells me I do, but I'm not going to do through the crap required to removed from their rolls or whatever, since I never consented to be there.

A large chunk of the reason churches used to be so central to people's lives is that they were the major center of socialization. They were where most people met and where club/social activities were organized. Anecdotally, everyone of my grandparent's generation and most of the people of my parent's generation met their spouses through a church organized activity. Regardless of their specific beliefs all holy buildings are social centers.

Now that we have more ways to connect to people than ever and more people live in cities where local communities are significantly less valued that role for churches is seriously diminished. That doesn't necessarily mean that people will automatically become atheists but the need for a central religious organization isn't very strong. We just don't need them. All that's left is creating a coherent religious doctrine and most people, especially Americans, prefer to work that out on their own.

Maybe the problem is too many long winded speeches (like tfa)?

/just a guess

Snarfangel: There are fewer masses being celebrated in California than ever before, according to the "put the Mass back in masochism" survey. Five thousand ex-Catholics were asked if they would return to weekly Mass if the ceremony took a more masochistic, true to life turn ... ninety-one percent of those polled gave God the nod.

/you'd better believe that's obscure, even for Fark.

Page 35 of the 1972 Temple University yearbook.

As a recovering catholic, I'm getting a kick out of my lack of surprise.

babby butfarkers if they give to thaat church. The lot of them.

A Gentile in Boca: I left the church but kept the guilt.

Roger that.

/recovering catholic

If only we could get enough exmuslims to do this. Imagine the reformation that could take place.

I resemble this

It seems the RCC recently changed Canon Law so that you can't just officially leave the church. You may consider yourself an ex-catholic, you might not ever go to mass again, etc... but you stay on their books. Its a way to keep the numbers up.

Link

Weaver95: Aarontology: I'm one of those folks, but I wouldn't go to that church either.

i've been thinking of founding a church based around the seven deadly sins. lust and greed seem like good places to start.

And gluttony. It's soooo easy to see.

Catholic Church = Pharisees

DigitalCoffee: Maybe the problem is too many long winded speeches (like tfa)?

/just a guess

No it's not. In a word, hypocrisy.

JoJay: It seems the RCC recently changed Canon Law so that you can't just officially leave the church. You may consider yourself an ex-catholic, you might not ever go to mass again, etc... but you stay on their books. Its a way to keep the numbers up.

Link

Still, not as bad as the Mormons, baptizing people at random into their church.

deevo:
I mean it's frustrating to see the willfully ignorant continue to support the Church when it was more likely to be blind followers like them who had children become altar boys become victims, but for someone who has left the faith to defend them is to me unexplainable.

My father calls himself a catholic. He goes to mass most Sundays. He doesn't believe the pope speaks for him and doesn't want his money going to support the Vatican. I pointed out there are several other branches of Christianity that share his view but he refuses to consider anything but Roman Catholicism.

I haven't been to mass in years. I don't have a problem with the Church per se, I'm just not religious in general.

also, tl;dr

It's a common claim that people leave the Church b/c of it's, for lack of a better word, non-liberal attitudes, but I recall reading that the number of attendees and vocations have dropped drastically from the time of Vatican II, and that was when the Church became slightly more liberal and individual parishes even more so.
More hardline Catholics blame the "modernization" of the Church for the lack of followers, and in my experience those Catholics raised the most old-school and hardcore tend to still be practicing and raising their kids to be hardcore old-school and practicing, more-so than those that were raised in the more liberal or lax (religiously) households. Most of my peers and my own family fall into the former category, although I myself don't really identify as Catholic anymore.

odinsposse: A large chunk of the reason churches used to be so central to people's lives is that they were the major center of socialization. They were where most people met and where club/social activities were organized. Anecdotally, everyone of my grandparent's generation and most of the people of my parent's generation met their spouses through a church organized activity. Regardless of their specific beliefs all holy buildings are social centers.

Now that we have more ways to connect to people than ever and more people live in cities where local communities are significantly less valued that role for churches is seriously diminished. That doesn't necessarily mean that people will automatically become atheists but the need for a central religious organization isn't very strong. We just don't need them. All that's left is creating a coherent religious doctrine and most people, especially Americans, prefer to work that out on their own.

I think there's a ton of truth to this

BLIXX: In my own experience ex-Catholics = goth in the 90's. Anyone else notice it?

/ex-Catholic

LOL I think you're on to something too!

/never goth, had to wear a uniform.

It took working for the church for me to finally leave.

If you want to see how bad the hypocrisy goes, work for them for a year.

I worked for them for 8.

D-Liver: Ex-Catholics are too butthurt to go back to church.

What's to be butthurt about? I couldn't have made a better choice for my sanity, dignity, and self respect.

/feeding the troll

After a childhood of regular church, CCD and and catholic school I decided against continuing with the church. I have kids and haven't introduced them to any of it either - but I do honestly miss the sense of community the church provided.

Mind you, the priest who confirmed me is in jail for life for you-know-what, so there's that.

I both read the bible and studied the external forms of gospel, and in the end i determined that Catholics were the scum of the earth. Imagine the egg on my face when i realized the anti-catholicism plank is generally used in a national socialist platform. Goebbels was a douchebag, pure and simple.

I like to call it "Recovering Catholic".

/crosses self
//says the Lord's prayer....and ten Hail Marys