In Part One of this post, it was demonstrated clearly that, for a culture or society to endure, each succeeding generation must be initiated into its common values and tenets. If the culture is not conveyed to and acquired by succeeding generations, it will collapse or be conquered. Moreover, individual members or groups may become dysfunctional, and perhaps even be enslaved by a counter or contradictory culture.
With this truth in mind, let us now examine the findings of recent studies which give us insight into the present state of the Church in the United States today and much of the civilized world today.
In a survey of adults conducted in English and Spanish between June and September, 2014, the Pew Forum found that the total number of Catholics in the United States dropped by 3 million since the previous study it conducted in 2007. Catholics in the United States now comprise approximately 20 percent - or just one-fifth - of the total population.
Even more troubling, however, is the fact that,
for every one Catholic convert, more than six Catholics leave the church. The Church loses more members than it gains at a higher rate than any other denomination, with nearly 13 percent of all Americans describing themselves as “former Catholics.”
Overall, the share of Christians in the United States dropped to an all-time low of just under 71 percent, down about 7 percentage points from the 2007 study.
The big winner in terms of growing numbers appears to be the unaffiliated, or the so-called “nones,” shooting up to about 23 percent of the total population from the prior seven year period.
There are 56 million adults who admit that they do not belong to any faith tradition. This group outnumbers both Catholics and mainline Protestants. Only Evangelical Christians comprise a larger share of the population.
And if this rate of decline of the Catholic population in America is troubling, Catholicism in Europe and other civilized countries around the world is in crisis with numbers of persons who admit affiliation with the Church only in single digits.
Worldwide, more than a third of all millennials - those born between 1981 and 1996 - claim no church affiliation, and just 16 percent identify themselves as Catholic. Yet, this is precisely the group of individuals who comprise the "succeeding generations" of the Church.
Clearly, the ability of the Church to have a significant influence and impact upon society in the future has been severely diminished.
Additional studies indicate that these negative trends have had a significant affect upon rates of divorce.
“Although the Catholic ‘divorce rate’ is lower than the U.S. average, it is still a daunting figure,” said the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University in a study conducted in 2014.
The research group explained that divorce among Catholics represents more than 11 million individuals.
The report seemingly touts the fact that, “Catholics stand out, with only 28% of the ever-married having divorced at some point,” compared to more than 40% of those with no religious affiliation, 39% of Protestants and 35% of those of another religious faith." And yet, the same CARA study found that less than 8% of weddings among American Catholics took place in the Church.
In Europe, the numbers are even more staggering with less than 2% of weddings among Catholics taking place in Church and the rate of divorce among Catholics ranging from 35% to 45%.
Clearly, the Catholic culture is not being conveyed to or being acquired by succeeding generations in the civilized countries of the world.
But what of those who do retain and admit affiliation with the Church? How does the lessening of the Catholic culture affect them in their ability to contract a valid marriage even as they seek to marry according to the teachings and discipline of the Church.
In the next and final part of this post, we shall consider this question in greater detail.
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