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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]https://www.npr.org/2023/05/17/1175452002/church-closings-religious-affiliation

Wow - "Just 16% of Americans say religion is the most important thing in their life, according to a new report released this week by the Public Religion Research Institute.".

"The sharp uptick in the number of younger Americans with no religious affiliation — a group known as the "nones" — is the major driver in a seismic shift in the religious landscape, says Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University and author of The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going."

What are your thoughts?[/quote]

Not surprising. I am a 51 year old lapsed Catholic. I would like to go back to church, but there's simply so much history and issues continuing in the present day that make it hard for me to do so. And much harder to explain to my children why it's imperative that we attend Mass every Sunday when in truth I am pro-choice, don't believe the arguments in favor of natural family planning, support women being priests, and don't think the Catholic church has done near enough to address its historical abuses.[b] To keep family peace and tradition both of my kids will be confirmed and then I feel pretty much done.[/b] I may explore another denomination.[/quote]

To keep family peace with whom?  Your parents?  Certainly not your kids!  They will be making commitments that they know their parent doesn't believe in and that they may not believe in either.  Considering that confirmation is about making an adult commitment to the church, it seems like it would make sense to ask your kids if they want to be confirmed, instead of insisting that they do something you don't believe in yourself, "to keep family peace."  It's like you're teaching them to be hypocritical. [/quote]

NP, I was confirmed because my parents made me, and so was every other kid in my school.  It was never a choice for anyone, and everyone knew it.  I still remember wondering what planet the priest lived on while he was droning on and on about how we were freely choosing this religion on this momentous occasion.  It was and has always been a hypocritical ritual.[/quote]

My parents didn't make me.  I was happy to get confirmed -- but disappointed in the process - not very meaningful at all, just more memorization, like first holy communion.  I stopped going to church once in college.[/quote]

There is an inherent tension in Church training programs/sacramental preparation. On one hand, the students prefer it to be meaningful to someone at their level of age and experience, and this often militates in favor of more relationship-focused activities and sometimes some basic spiritual exercises. On the other hand, children become adults, and it is important for them to be prepared to meet adult challenges they may not encounter for some time. My own training was very “memorization” based, but I found it very useful as I grew up. In one instance in particular, somebody asked me what a sacrament was and the textbook definition sprang instantly to mind without my even thinking about it. I think that my generation could have used a little more “meaning,” but I think the present day could use a lot more substance.

It’s also important to remember that the preparation classes, CCD, religion class in parochial school, etc., are not supposed to be all there is. The home is the “domestic church” and parents are their children’s first teachers. They may need to count on others for organized instruction on more complex subjects, but ideally it is the home where people first and most effectively see Christianity and a loving relationship with God modeled in daily life. [/quote]

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