Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Catholics don't let faith influence political belief

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life came up with a depressing statistic. Catholics don't make political decisions informed by their faith. Of all the faith groups surveyed, the study found that Muslims were among the most devout, with 82 percent saying they pray at least weekly, and 86 percent view the Koran as the word of God.
Researchers also found that about one in four evangelicals, and less than one-tenth of Catholics, said their religious beliefs strongly influence their political opinions.

This explains Catholics for Obama.
HT Spirit Daily

3 comments:

A Voice in the Crowd said...

The Wall St. Journal reports today that after Obama shuffled the appointments of his Catholic advisory council,"Of the 21 senators, congressmen and governors listed on the council's National Leadership Committee, 17 have a 90%-100% NARAL approval rating."

There you have it, Catholics for Obama!

Fr. Larry Gearhart said...

I really think we can thank the superficial catechesis of prior decades for this. People who find themselves affiliated with parishes in dioceses that are still in communion with Rome a generation from now will be far more knowledgeable about precisely which Catholic principles do impact political choices. By contrast, today, the vast majority of Catholics are comparatively ignorant of the fact that their political views clash with their Catholicism, or they somehow believe that their version of Catholicism is the true one and "those old fogies in Rome" have no business interfering. And this, too, displays great ignorance of the historical development of doctrine and Church governance, among other things.

A combination of the attrition of the persistently proud and ignorant, along with strengthening the faith of the meek (but not lame brained or passive) who remain (through newer, deeper approaches to catechesis and scriptural exegesis -- all under the guidance of the Holy Spirit) will provide the necessary corrective. The springtime of faith predicted by Pope John Paul II will inevitably come, though it may be accompanied by many storms.

I have seen enough of the new catechesis, so well practiced by Pope John Paul II, himself, and his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, that I am utterly convinced of the power of the new thinking in the "hermeneutic of continuity."

Leticia said...

Sometimes the comments are better than the original post. I couldn't have said it better myself, Father.