Religious institutions across America are undergoing major cultural changes , as a fast-growing number of millennials (young people thirty and under) are distancing themselves from organized religions. This trend has not affected all religious traditions equally, and the Catholics appear to have fared better than other religions in terms of affiliation. However, the trend in association with the Catholic Church overlooks important changes in American Catholicism, including declining participation among millennials and increasing presence of a non-white immigrant population. The Catholic Church in America is fashioned by global socio cultural trends. In addition, its male leadership enforces Catholic doctrine to the young, old, rich and poor.
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“Catholicism, is the largest religious identifier in the U.S. What may be prompting the Pope’s public relations campaign on progressive issues is the fact that almost half of the people raised Catholic will leave the Church before they are thirty year old in protest to the issues that matter most: gay rights, abortion, contraception, cohabitation and out of wedlock childbirth (Mejias: Pope’s policies are only first small step for Catholics). It is this strong resistance to change, holding true to century long traditions of Catholic “teachings” that repel millennials from embracing the church. The Catholic Church must do better in accepting and understanding political and social issues that continue to plague the daily lives of millennials. The Vatican must consider making drastic changes to Canon Law in order to keep and recruit millennials- the future of the Catholic …show more content…
They view church leadership as moral failures in light of recent sex scandals. Strongly opposed to abortion, the Catholic Church position states, “The authoritative statement of Church doctrine, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, articulates the official stance on abortion clearly: ‘Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception” (Religion and Abortion Attitudes Among U.S. Hispanics: Findings from the 1990 Latino National Political Survey). Millennials grew up entirely within the realm of legal abortion, a generational difference between baby boomers and Generation X Catholics (who favor pro-life), and therefore feel abortion should be legal in all or most cases with communities providing abortion services. To millennials its more about the culture of valuing “choice”. Just like choosing their religion, they see choices as defining their identity as opposed to the Catholic Church’s stance of spreading, “…the contextual effects of Catholicism exert influence in a 'pro-choice’ direction” (Catholicism and Abortion Attitudes in the American States: A Contextual
“Catholicism, is the largest religious identifier in the U.S. What may be prompting the Pope’s public relations campaign on progressive issues is the fact that almost half of the people raised Catholic will leave the Church before they are thirty year old in protest to the issues that matter most: gay rights, abortion, contraception, cohabitation and out of wedlock childbirth (Mejias: Pope’s policies are only first small step for Catholics). It is this strong resistance to change, holding true to century long traditions of Catholic “teachings” that repel millennials from embracing the church. The Catholic Church must do better in accepting and understanding political and social issues that continue to plague the daily lives of millennials. The Vatican must consider making drastic changes to Canon Law in order to keep and recruit millennials- the future of the Catholic …show more content…
They view church leadership as moral failures in light of recent sex scandals. Strongly opposed to abortion, the Catholic Church position states, “The authoritative statement of Church doctrine, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, articulates the official stance on abortion clearly: ‘Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception” (Religion and Abortion Attitudes Among U.S. Hispanics: Findings from the 1990 Latino National Political Survey). Millennials grew up entirely within the realm of legal abortion, a generational difference between baby boomers and Generation X Catholics (who favor pro-life), and therefore feel abortion should be legal in all or most cases with communities providing abortion services. To millennials its more about the culture of valuing “choice”. Just like choosing their religion, they see choices as defining their identity as opposed to the Catholic Church’s stance of spreading, “…the contextual effects of Catholicism exert influence in a 'pro-choice’ direction” (Catholicism and Abortion Attitudes in the American States: A Contextual