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Former Assemblies of God missionary Don Newville is now a Catholic convert. Former Charismatic Pastor Jeff Cavins is now a popular Catholic speaker. Former Campus Crusade staffer Peter Gillquist is now an Orthodox priest. The controversial pro-lifer Randall Terry announced he has converted to Catholicism.
Wow, at first glance, it appears protestants are trending toward Catholicism. However, that simply isn’t the case. One of three people who were raised Catholic no longer identifies as Catholic and many are converting to Protestantism because of spiritual hunger and style of worship.
rgh
” …books and articles have been written on the more recent trend of Protestants converting to Catholicism, this dynamic is a mere trickle compared to the losses the Catholic church has sustained in the last century.
“One out of every 10 Americans is an ex-Catholic,” Thomas Reese notes in an April 18 article in the National Catholic Reporter. “If they were a separate denomination, they would be the third-largest denomination in the United States, after Catholics and Baptists. One of three people who were raised Catholic no longer identifies as Catholic.”
Reese’s article, which generated buzz and debate in the Catholic world, argued that the primary reason people leave the Catholic church for Protestantism is not disagreement with the church’s doctrinal or social positions, but spiritual hunger.
“Their spiritual needs were not being met in the Catholic church and they found a religion they like more,” Reese writes, citing a study by the Pew Research Center. “Eighty-one percent of respondents say they joined their new church because they enjoy the religious service and style of worship of their new faith.”
http://www.ministrytodaymag.com/index.php/ministry-news/65-news-main/19110-catholic-exodus
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