All U.S. Catholics may be created equal, but they aren't formed the same way. Within the one, holy, Catholic, apostolic church, two distinct groups exist: those whose religious formation occurred before Vatican II and those formed after Vatican II. The differences in how these groups view their faith are manifold, and, according to the authors of a new book on American Catholicism, the divide is having a strong effect on the institutional church.
Written by a team of scholars that included Notre Dame faculty members Richard A. Lamanna (sociology) and Kathleen Maas Weigert (American studies), The Search for Common Ground: What Unites and Divides Catholic Americans (Our Sunday Visitor Books) details results from a three-year study of the beliefs and practices of Catholic Americans.
While acknowledging that race, gender and ethnicity explain some of the variations among U.S. Catholics, the authors argue that those differences are minor compared with whether a person was brought up before or after the reforms instituted in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.
Younger Catholics, in particular, evinced what the researchers saw as a disturbing trend. While still quite faithful, Catholics born after 1961 show a statistical lessening of "Catholic identity."
"Unless steps are taken," the authors warn, the church faces "dwindling faithfulness among young Catholics, diminishing awareness of God's presence in the lives of Catholic adults, further erosion of Catholic identity, and a declining sense that the Church is worth supporting."
Outlined in the final chapter of Common Ground are some of the authors' suggested steps for reversing these trends, including a renewed emphasis by parents and teachers on prayer and the sacraments, and a commitment to methods of teaching that avoid the disciplinary approach of pre-Vatican II times.