Facts, Faults and Fallacies of Catholic Decline

Examining the Causes of Mass Exodus from Catholic Life, and How we Rise Above the Cultural Competition

When I was growing up in the 80s the churches were packed for Sunday mass. My parish had four masses on Sundays and the house was packed for each one. Imagine a massive gothic church with a wide sea of souls that extended from the back of the Church all the way out to the sanctuary. If you wanted a seat you had to get there early, otherwise it was standing room only. Confession lines were long, the wedding and baptism registers thick, and First Communion and Confirmation masses saw more than half the pews occupied by just the children receiving the sacraments. So much has changed in so little time.

Today the parish of my youth has half as many Sunday masses, populated by less than half as many people. At confession you’ll find only a handful of people waiting for their turn in the box, weddings and baptisms are much rarer, and the sacramental classes for communion and confirmation average a mere six students. It’s a near identical trend at my new parish today. I’m sure many of you have observed this in your own parishes.

While some sectors of the Catholic world are seeing an uptick in parish life, most are not. People have various theories regarding the causes or reasons for this decline. Some will say the COVID lockdowns pushed people out for good, or that the clergy sex scandals pushed people away. Others offer that it’s because of demographic shift or population decrease, or because of this-and-that. As far as I’m concerned that’s all nonsense!

Each of those things might have accelerated the trend, but they aren’t real reasons, they’re merely convenient excuses. Let’s explore what I believe are the real reasons or causes of Catholic decline, and address ways to reverse the damage.

Catholicism is Exceptional…or not

Many people today believe Catholicism is just one of several equally valid life philosophies to choose from—or to not choose at all, which is the path most taken. They don’t take the faith seriously, because it has become obscured in the vast market of religion and spirituality.

Consequently, people see Catholic teaching as a set of ethics and opinions rather than authoritative teachings about Truth and reality. They see liturgical worship as an optional, self-affirming activity rather than an essential expression of our nature, and believe that the faith should be ordered toward temporal matters—like any other life philosophy—rather than toward the divine and eternity. The faith, then, has been reduced to an accessory; one of many possible accessories to choose from, or to throw away when it becomes dated like yesterday’s fashion.

If the Church is “the pillar and foundation of Truth” then the faith should be the floor, the roof and the walls.

Catholicism is not lifestyle décor to ornament our existence the way furniture gives character to a home. If the Church is “the pillar and foundation of Truth” (Timothy 3:15) then the faith should be the floor, the roof and the walls. The house, not merely the furniture! It should be what guides and informs our lives. Not ideologically, like Islam, or philosophically like Buddhism, but as the revelation of reality that enables and empowers us to live lives oriented toward heaven, and toward our existential destiny to become like God, by living like Jesus. But that requires something else that people have been conditioned to devalue; the Church that Jesus Christ established. And that can be a hard sell.

Hard Product to Sell

When the Catholic Church and the Catholic faith are allowed to appear trivial, or become just one among many alternative options, like Buddhism or nondenominational Christianity, it’s a hard sell, and hard to buy into. If Catholicism is a product, and the Church is a brand, it’s fair to say that we have terrible brand management, and we’re short on good salespeople. A good deal of clergy, religious, and some laypeople talk like secular moralists, validating people’s misconceptions about the faith, and Church teaching. Catholic culture has been emptied of Catholic pride.

In today’s competitive market we (Laypeople and clergy) have to do better at communicating the total picture—not a partial, meaningless image—of the nature and purpose of the Catholic faith. That should address these questions: Why be Catholic and not some other Christian? Why be Christian and not Buddhist, etc.? Why be religious at all? Can a person be Good without God? Which “God”?

Answers to those key questions will guide and inform more effective evangelistic strategy. If the evangelizer (cleric, homilist, catechist, layperson) can’t manage those questions themselves, maybe they shouldn’t say anything at all. Sometimes it’s better to say nothing than to deepen someone’s misunderstanding of the Catholic faith.

Miseducation of the Masses

Without good, strong catechesis you won’t form Catholics that are in it to win it. You won’t empower people to be Catholic with conviction if the catechesis itself does not communicate conviction by standing out in the crowd of competing voices. If Catholicism appears to not take itself more seriously than the competition, why should anyone take it seriously?

Why be Catholic when you can just be a non-Catholic Christian, having all the religion without any of the drama, scandal controversy or work? There are other options, too—Buddhism and neopaganism are on the rise. Few “convert” from Catholicism to Buddhism or Wicca (a neopagan religion) but they gradually move away from the former, toward the latter(s) over time.

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Check this out. Here are just two of over a hundred comments on Reddit asking Christians why they became Buddhists. They perfectly reflect what I’ve seen and heard during my years in Evangelization

“I was brought up Catholic (liberal Catholic) I love hearing the Dharma, I appreciate the Gospels too. I find so much in Buddhism that makes sense and inspires responsibility and compassion…I believe in Buddha and Jesus as enlightened saints. As far as the church goes I find it hard to connect. I don’t go. Most of my nonfiction reading is on Buddhism. I think the idea of eternal damnation is immoral.”

And

“I bet they questioned Christianity first, before discovering Buddhism, and a new religion wasn't the catalyst but the end result.”

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Religion Shopping. The Shelves are Packed!

A decay of Catholic or Christian identity, which begins with bad catechesis and faith formation, causes people to look elsewhere. They religion-shop.

The most popular “religion” that they find—a form of neopaganism, if you ask me—is secularism. Its doctrine is easy: “Be nice to people and love everybody.” After all, ‘Even Jesus said that’. So did Ghandi. So do politicians, celebrities, and social media influencers. If this basic message is found everywhere, then why be Catholic?

The fact is Catholicism stands out from all of these imitations for various reasons that are scarcely talked about in popular catechetical pedagogy and some curricula.

Being nice is easy. But Jesus calls us to be Good, not simply nice. Jesus emphasized that righteousness goes beyond outward actions and requires a transformation of the heart, stressing the importance of seeking God and following His Will above all else. Jesus never once talked about “nice people” His messaging is always about righteousness.

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” -Matt 5:20

Being nice is easy. Being Good—being righteous—is the real challenge, and that is practically impossible to do without the sacramental life offered in the Church. The sacramental life is at the core of being Catholic.

Eucharistic Inculturation

The greatest of the sacraments is the Holy Eucharist. Most of the causes of decline in the Church can be solved by effectively forming Catholics to be “eucharistic.” It’s not just about receiving communion but about a total eucharistic inculturation—an attitude and mentality guided by the reality of the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. It’s about receiving it reverently, worthily, and frequently, because it is Jesus. That “Because it is Jesus” part is something we fail to convey effectively. It’s meaningful that “this bread is no longer bread” but the Body of Jesus Christ. It’s the body of Him who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, of Him who was born of a virgin, of Him who walked among us, and of Him who was crucified. It’s the body of the Son of God. It’s the body of that figure we read and hear about in the Gospels. It’s Him. There is profound meaning to that. Is it part of our catechesis?

The Eucharist is Jesus. But ‘Why should I care?’

It’s safe to say that basic Eucharistic catechesis is covered in all Catholic religious education and adult formation programs. But do we go beyond the statement, “It’s really Jesus”? Do we teach about the Bread of life, the Old Testament roots of the Eucharist, eucharistic miracles or stories of the martyrs and other saints who had eucharistic devotion? Teaching about the Eucharist should involve a rich eucharistic inculturation, not just catechetical repetition.

Sidenote regarding “Catechetical Repetition”. If I hear “God is love” one more time I just might throw up. What is “Love?” What is the nature of love? What does it mean that God loves us? If that isn’t in your catechesis, pack it up and go home. You’re not telling anyone something they haven’t already heard a thousand times before. Repeating it won’t break open an easter egg of new meaning for them. Back to the show…

Eucharistic formation or inculturation would best involve supporting a mentality and spirituality and attitude focused on and ordered toward the reality of the real presence. I think we should see more Eucharistic processions, have more frequent Holy Hours and require catechumens and faith formation students to attend at least three per year. We should also teach and encourage genuflection before entering the pews (“He took a cross for you, you can take a knee for him”) and making the sign of the cross when passing a church, “Because we’re passing a tabernacle, and Jesus is in there” Maybe even require reception of communion on the tongue, or at the very least strongly encourage it, while discouraging reception in the hand. The Eucharist is everything and everything should be, ultimately, about the Eucharist.

Conclusion

We may never return to the numbers and participation we saw during the Church’s glory days (#BruceSpringsteen #80sReference #SeeWhatIDidThere?). The Church started with only twelve, and maybe we’ll finish with only twelve by the time Jesus returns. But by addressing what’s faulty in modern Catholic culture, catechesis and rhetoric we’ll at least breathe new life into the church that remains, and maybe even reverse the decline, or at least supercharge the faithful that haven’t divorced themselves from the faith and the Church

There’s more to all this. As a preface to this essay I did a podcast on this subject and made a few points that didn’t make it into this writing. Though it’s for paid subscribers, there’s an extended 15 minute preview for everyone.

I also expect to do a podcast follow-up to this essay where I’ll talk about what others had to say about this subject in my chat threads, (now closed for replies) and I’ll offer some additional thoughts of my own. Subscribe to notified when I publish it, and to participate in the next chat thread. Want to share your own thoughts? I’d love to hear them, so comment below.

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These are for paid subscribers BUT there is a previews available at each of them.

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Ave Maria, Virgo Fidelis!