‘Orthodox’ Catholics more hopeful about future of Church, poll finds

Interesting news article from CNA this morning: It surprised me that Catholics who identified themselves as 'Orthodox' were more hopeful about the future of the church. Orthodox usually means more traditional - more likely to take the teaching of the Catholic Church as a whole and try to apply it to your life. Here in the south, we are blessed with large numbers of people entering the church largely because it is more traditional and orhtodox.

I always remind myself that the 'Church does not exist to serve my needs as I voice them - it exists to preach the Gospels, keep intact the teaching of Christ, feed the hungry, free the oppressed and help the needy."

In my experience, people who cast themselves as 'progressives' are busy trying to change the Church so it fits their wants. By doing this, I can see where it would be easy to loose sight of what is really important and I'd bet this is why 'orthodox' Catholics are more hopeful!

From CNA this morning:

Syracuse, N.Y., Apr 15, 2009 / 08:32 am (CNA).- A new poll shows that American Catholics are generally optimistic about the future of their Church, with self-described “Orthodox” Catholics tending to be more hopeful and more churchgoing than self-described “Progressive” Catholics. The results come from the Spring 2009 Le Moyne-Zogby Contemporary Catholic Trends (CCT) survey, which polled 3,812 randomly sampled members of the Zogby Interactive Panel between Feb. 23 and 25. Respondents included 767 Catholics, who described themselves in a variety of ways.

Twenty percent of Catholic respondents described themselves as Progressive, while 11 percent chose Orthodox as a descriptor. Seven percent said they were Evangelical, four percent said they were Fundamentalist, and three percent said they were Born-Again.

According to Zogby, “Progressive” Catholic respondents were the most likely to be pessimistic, with 36 percent being somewhat pessimistic and four percent being very pessimistic about the future of the Church.

Among the “Orthodox” Catholics, six percent were somewhat pessimistic, while only one percent was very pessimistic.

Dr. Matthew Loveland, principal investigator of the CCT project, commented on the poll results in an April 9 Zogby press release:

"These numbers remind us that news headlines are only part of the Catholic religious experience. When asked to reflect on the Church, I expect that most people think of their personal religious lives, not the national headlines. Religion is experienced, most vividly, in the parish and the family. In fact, 76% of respondents said that family connections are an important aspect of their faith. So, to me, these numbers suggest that most Catholics are satisfied with their personal religious lives."