Originally published at crisis magazine
The release of the latest wave of the Religious Landscape Study by the Pew Research Center shows that the decades-long decline in practice, belief, and belonging continues. For every one convert the Church has gained, another eight (at least) have left, while fewer of those who remain in the fold meet subpar definitions of what it means to be a “practicing Catholic.” These numbers give added urgency to the efforts to (1) understand how this happened so that (2) steps can be taken to correct it.
Although no one cause alone explains the decline seen in the Pew data, one explanation should be highlighted: a lack of orthodoxy. Stated simply, those who—whether due to poor catechesis or being surrounded by a culture increasingly hostile to the teachings of the Church—hold theological views at odds with the Church’s teaching are less likely to remain in the Church in the long term than those adhering to orthodoxy. While this point seems commonsensical to those reading this, it is important to remember just how many others have tried (some well-known names continuing to try) to operate contrariwise. Moreover, when looking at how faith and the content of that faith interact, we see that the degree to
