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Poll: ‘Faithful(British) Catholics’ an Endangered Species
Perhaps more surprising is how far Catholics have drifted from the Church’s model of a Godly family. Marriage has ceased to be an essential element of the family in most Catholic minds, with only a quarter disapproving of unmarried couples raising children, almost 90% agreeing that an unmarried couple with children is a family, and two-thirds saying that a same-sex couple with children is also a family. As for same-sex marriage—something which is not even on the distant horizon of the Church’s official agenda—British Catholics as a whole are now in favour of allowing it by a margin of 3%. In addition, only a third approve of the Church’s policies on women, and only 19% of British Catholics support a ban on abortion.
Even more worrying for Church leaders is the fact that the gap between Catholic opinion and official teaching widens with every generation. My survey finds, for example, that over half of British Catholics under 50 now say “same-sex marriage is right” compared with 16% of over-60s, and support for a ban on abortion has fallen to 14% amongst under-40s compared from a quarter amongst over-60s.
...
Zero percent of British Catholics now look to religious leaders for guidance as they make decisions and live their lives. The majority say they rely on their own reason, judgement, intuition or feelings. Catholics over 60 are somewhat more likely to take authority from external religious sources, but the figures are low for all ages. Just 8% of Catholics say they look to “tradition and teachings of the Church” 7% to God, 2% to the Bible, 2% to the religious group to which a person belongs, and 0% to local or national religious leaders.
Likewise, only 36% of Catholics say that the Church is a positive force in society, and when those who take the opposite view are asked their reasons, the most popular are: that it discriminates against women and gay people; the child abuse scandals; that it’s hypocritical; and that it’s too morally conservative.
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/7408/new_poll___faithful_catholics__an_endangered_species/
Even more worrying for Church leaders is the fact that the gap between Catholic opinion and official teaching widens with every generation. My survey finds, for example, that over half of British Catholics under 50 now say “same-sex marriage is right” compared with 16% of over-60s, and support for a ban on abortion has fallen to 14% amongst under-40s compared from a quarter amongst over-60s.
...
Zero percent of British Catholics now look to religious leaders for guidance as they make decisions and live their lives. The majority say they rely on their own reason, judgement, intuition or feelings. Catholics over 60 are somewhat more likely to take authority from external religious sources, but the figures are low for all ages. Just 8% of Catholics say they look to “tradition and teachings of the Church” 7% to God, 2% to the Bible, 2% to the religious group to which a person belongs, and 0% to local or national religious leaders.
Likewise, only 36% of Catholics say that the Church is a positive force in society, and when those who take the opposite view are asked their reasons, the most popular are: that it discriminates against women and gay people; the child abuse scandals; that it’s hypocritical; and that it’s too morally conservative.
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/7408/new_poll___faithful_catholics__an_endangered_species/
The author is Professor in the sociology of religion at Lancaster University, and designed the poll herself - it was carried out by a professional pollster. The group is anyone who calls themselves a Catholic, so it includes 'lapsed', 'cultural' or whatever. 34% of them, for instance, say they are neither religious nor spiritual. But only 36% saying the church is a positive force must be very worrying for them. I'm glad to see the trend in the numbers on the ethical questions, though.