More Catholic than Catholics

[Sojourner]

[url="http://www.mirrorofjustice.com/mirrorofjustice/2005/10/more_catholic_t.html"]From one of my fave blogs, Mirror of Justice ...[/url]

[quote]A new Harris Poll has some interesting numbers on public opinion concerning various "healthcare policies, programs, and practices."  Major pattern:[b] "the attitudes of Catholics are generally very similar to those of all adults and, on some issues, very unlike the official position of the Pope and the Church."[/b]  On these issues, it looks like more evangelical Protestants than Catholics are reading the encyclicals:

Birth control/contraception is supported by 93 percent of all adults, including 90 percent of Catholics and 88 percent of born-again Christians, the "very religious" and Evangelicals.

Condom use to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases is supported by 92 percent of adults, including 93 percent of Catholics, 82 percent of born-again Christians, 83 percent of the "very religious" and 81 percent of Evangelicals

Embryonic stem cell research is favored by 70 percent of all adults, including 70 percent of Catholics. However, it is supported by only 45 percent of born-again Christians, 38 percent of Evangelicals and 51 percent of the "very religious."

Funding of international birth control programs is supported by 70 percent of the public, including 66 percent of Catholics, but only 53 percent of born-again Christians and 48 percent of Evangelicals.

I know that Harris has a reputation as a "liberal" poll, which may lead it to overstate overall support for some of these measures.  (Among "healthcare policies," they include "abortion rights" and get a pretty high number of support (63 percent) for that undefined term.)  But it seems less likely that any bias in the poll affects the relative numbers of Catholics, the overall public, and evangelicals.[/quote]

[Era Might]

I never put much stock in such polls, because they do not define what it means to be "Catholic". Anyone with the slightest cultural identification would be polled. If it were narrowed down to Catholics who generally conform to the life of the Church, it would be more indicative.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Era Might' date='Oct 31 2005, 11:20 AM']I never put much stock in such polls, because they do not define what it means to be "Catholic". Anyone with the slightest cultural identification would be polled. If it were narrowed down to Catholics who generally conform to the life of the Church, it would be more indicative.
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Lots of people who don't generally conform to the life of the church show up to Mass every week and call themselves Catholic ...

[Era Might]

[quote name='Sojourner' date='Oct 31 2005, 12:30 PM']Lots of people who don't generally conform to the life of the church show up to Mass every week and call themselves Catholic ...
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Exactly. That's why these polls are useless. I don't need a poll to tell me there are cultural Catholics roaming the streets. Poll people for whom Catholicism is a central point of their life, and you may have a useful poll.

Edited October 31, 2005 by Era Might

[thessalonian]

[quote name='Era Might' date='Oct 31 2005, 11:31 AM']Exactly. That's why these polls are useless. I don't need a poll to tell me there are cultural Catholics roaming the streets. Poll people for whom Catholicism is a central point of their life, and you may have a useful poll.
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Yes, only in America where we have all these polls and ballots and elections is God's opinion just one of the many.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Era Might' date='Oct 31 2005, 11:31 AM']Exactly. That's why these polls are useless. I don't need a poll to tell me there are cultural Catholics roaming the streets. Poll people for whom Catholicism is a central point of their life, and you may have a useful poll.
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Ah. The thing that interested me on this was the Protestant/Catholic comparison more so than the cultural Catholic thing.

[thessalonian]

I think there is good reason for the numbers. The scriptures tell us that the law of God is written on all men's hearts and that some men actually follow it, while not being formally of the Catholic faith. (Romans 15:2). It says they are a law unto themselves, in other words they accept the authority of God over their lives and live by it.

However those who are "Catholic" and REJECT the authority of the Church also reject, implicitly what God has planted in their hearts. For they reject the authorities over themselves who are placed their by the authority of God almighty. They therefore are not a law unto themselves and are open to compromise of the truth according to their whims. They do not submit to anything really. Their own reasoning is their rule and they are easily duped by secular society.

Does that make any sense?

[Socrates]

This is a shame.

[Dust's Sister]

this is sort of off topic but not really, this wasn't apart of the poll, but let me just say this... one of my friends is also Catholic, but yet he thinks it's alright to watch porn, and nothing is wrong with it. I tried to explain to him that is under one of the ten commandments that you shall not do, but he still does it.

[Cow of Shame]

The first step is always admitting that you have a problem....