Growing Up Catholic in America

There is an interesting new poll from the Pew Research Center that explores the beliefs of various Christians and adherents of other faiths. A couple of findings regarding Catholics are quite revealing. It seems that 79% of Catholics believe that many religions can lead to eternal life. Only 16% of Catholics see their Church as the one true Church. As many as 77% of Catholics believe that there is more than one way to interpret the teachings of their religion. So much for "extra ecclesia nulla salus".

American Catholics may view the world differently than Catholics in countries where Catholicism is the dominant religion. My own history might be helpful in this regard. I grew up in West Virginia which was 5% Catholic. Specifically, the town of Dunbar, West Virginia where I was raised was exactly 2% Catholic. I didn't know many Catholics. All of my close friends were non-Catholic. They accepted me and I them. The notion that the entire town I lived in was going to hell was a difficult notion to accept. When you live with people day in and day out you learn an amazing thing. They are no better or worse than you are. Living in such an environment unequivically demonstrates that the Catholic Church does not have a monopoly on goodness or truth. Will the growing Hispanic community currently entering the American Church alter how Catholics in this country view others? Perhaps the fact that significant numbers of Hispanics both here and in South America have embraced Evangelical Christianity might offer a clue.

One of the strengths of our culture in this country is that we have learned that people are far more alike than different. Any Church that tries to create an exclusive community or suggests that their brand of Christianity or Religion is somehow special or that others ought to be condemned for what they believe fly in the face of shared experience. A future blog entry will address more fully the increasingly prominent topic of Catholic identity.