Why Go to Mass?

I had not been aware of the falling off in the self-identifier of Protestant. I have read studies that document that most of those who no longer affiliate with organized religion do say that they seek the spiritual, and not religion. The word "religion" has negative connotations for them. They see religion as being a list of 'thou shalt nots", as exclusive, as judgmental, and, most importantly, as having little to do with developing a relationship with God. They seek a path to God and they find that in spirituality. The independent Protestant denominations may have a few things in common with Intentional Eucharistic Communities. They are throwing off the institutions that they can no longer be part of, while retaining belief, worship traditions, and community.

I stand by my comment also, however I will expand and clarify. There may be a "lack of belief", but the lack of belief is not primarily a lack of belief in God, in the divine, in the spiritual, although the numbers of atheists and agnostics are also growing. Yet they are still a relatively small minority. It is a lack of belief in the man-made institutions and their leadership - a lack of faith in organized religion. Many, many studies have been done by highly qualified researchers that, in the west, show that the numbers of "spiritual but not religious" are growing rapidly, and that they are coming from almost all religious backgrounds, with the exceptions of the Mormonism and Islam. The studies show belief in God, that many do pray (that you choose not to believe them may indicate some possible preconceptions on your part), and that many seek a "way", which is the attraction of Buddhism. You are right that Buddhism is not a religion. But it offers a spiritual philosophy, it focuses on compassion, and it defines a "way" of life that appeals to many. Because of this, many, like your son, do follow some Buddhist practices while also keeping some attachment to the religion they were raised in. Ironically, most western converts are attracted to Buddhism by many of the same messages and ideas that Jesus taught, but which seem to have been buried under the weight of 2000 years of increasing legalism in christianity. In the early years of the church, the followers of Jesus were sometimes described as the "people of the way" - the way taught by Jesus. Jesus taught compassion as does Buddhism. Fr. Thomas Keating, seeing that many are attracted to certain practices of eastern religion, started teaching lay christians to meditate - centering prayer. Meditation has been part of the christian tradition since almost the beginning, but it fell away as prayer came to be defined more by written and rote spoken prayer, including the liturgy. So few christians and Catholics know anything at all about how to practice christian meditation. Centering Prayer now involves christians from a range of christian denominations but even today, years after Keating started teaching CP, few Catholics have ever even heard of it. The current code of Canon Law comprises seven books, with 1752 canons (actually smaller than the 1917 code!). An advanced degree is required of those who interpret and enforce it. The Catechism of the Catholic church runs to 1000 pages. The New Testament has fewer than 300 pages, of which only 129 are the gospels. Is it any wonder that so many Catholics see the church as more a legal institution than a spiritual one? They are taught rules, laws, precepts of the church, seven sacraments, etc, etc etc. They are taught a lot about the Catholic church, including the parts of the mass, a form of worship governed by another set of rules, called the GIRM. And God help any priest who departs from it - you never know when the temple police might be there, ready to report to the Bishop. What did Jesus teach about "laws" - the commandments? That the two essential commandments are to love. Jesus' followers did not need advanced degrees to understand his teachings. They did not need to know the parts of the mass. They believed in Him and in what He taught, this wandering Jewish teacher who himself knew nothing of Canon Law or the Catechism of the Catholic church.. The exodus has little to do with knowing the parts of the Catholic mass. Knowing the parts of the mass as an academic understanding does not draw people in. It's like studying symphonies - few who love classical music care about the academic definition of a symphony - several movements of different tempos and moods. They enter into the music itself, it attracts through its beauty and harmony, not through knowing its "parts". Some may want to more academically, and may study a bit about the elements that characterize symphonies, but it comes after they have been drawn in already. Some want to know more, but most are just happy to listen and be caught up in the music. And, as mentioned before, since all christian denominations are experiencing this exodus, as is Judaism, the parts of the mass seem to have little to do with it. If this exodus is seen as a problem, then it is important to analyze the true reasons for it, and not simply jump to a conclusion. Somehow more "catechesis" seems to be the preferred answer, rather than turning to what Jesus himself taught. The Catholic church used to rely on fear (and a mostly uneducated population) to make sure people went to mass. Much of evangelical Protestantism also uses fear of hell to get people into the church on Sunday. The Catholics turned missing mass into a "mortal" sin that could send someone to hell for all eternity if unfortunate enough to be hit by lightening while on the golf course instead of in the church. But people began to reject this type of religion. The "sbnr"s reject legalistic religion, religion that judges and condemns and excludes rather than loves and forgives and includes. So maybe it's time for organized religion to look in the mirror and see what image they present to others.

Perhaps you did not read the statement you are responding to? The discussion, from the article itself forward, deals with Catholics not attending Mass. It is reasonable to assume that non-Catholics will not be attending Mass.

The classic Catholic model of church participation was an urban one, with the possibility of participating in the cathedral church, parish churches, monasteries, shrines, and the chapels of various Catholic institutions. With all these locations there were various associations. That model is a far cry from the recent American Catholic parish as Protestant congregation with the expectation that everything goes on in the parish. My local suburban parish is one of the largest in the diocese with three priests and a wide variety of parish groups. However it does not have particularly good liturgies. When I have been active in some of the parish groups I go to Mass in the parish. However when I am not active in a group I travel 20 miles to a parish with an excellent liturgy all the time: sung Eucharistic Prayer, homily by a scripture scholar, excellent award winning choir, and excellent congregational singing. I am also fortunate to have a friendly Orthodox parish close by where I go for the Divine Office for the vigils of Sundays and Feast Days. Although they do not have daily Divine Liturgy, they celebrate important feasts like the Annunciation and Transfiguration. For several summers a local parish with fine acoustics did an a Capella Mass to give their choir and organist a break. Since I was employed in the public mental health system before I retired, I agree very much that there are many civic and ecumenical opportunities even in affluent suburbs for serving people, and many of those opportunities are better than the ones in our parishes. I have found it much easier to initiate activities in those environments than in parish bureaucracies.