I was intrigued by the February 5 article from researcher Ryan Burge titled “Cultural Jews and Cultural Catholics? Who belongs without believing?” In the article, Burge revisits the question of religion as cultural identity: “When we’re asked, “Are you religious?” There are a number of different ways someone might justify an affirmative answer. It could be that they attend a house of worship regularly or pray frequently. It could be that they hold specific beliefs about Jesus Christ or Muhammad. Those would be behavior and belief measures of religion. But there’s a third dimension that often gets overlooked: belonging.”
Any of us who have been immersed in the Strengths and Engagement community over the past decade have at least heard, and likely said and meant the words “belonging leads to believing.” The idea is that we become more deeply engaged in our parishes as we move through the more superficial connections, “what do I get?” and “what can I give?” The opportunity for encounter and formation begins when we can answer positively to “Do I belong here?” and “Am I growing?”.
Burge probes this by asking what about those of us who participate because we belong, but do not have a strong or any faith connection to our religion. I inherently grasp the idea of Jewish people who identify as Jewish because that is their ethnic heritage. However, I had not ever focused on that question for Catholics. My mind rushes to those of us who show up only at Christmas or Easter, and many who call themselves Catholic but do not participate in any parish or additional education. Many of us call ourselves “cradle Catholics” because we were born into a family that professed to be Catholic. And Msgr Shea reminds us of the many years of what he calls “Christendom” during which so many of us cradle Catholics belonged and even attended Mass because “that is what we do.”
When I think about it, for my personal experience, it makes sense to identify culturally as Catholic. I grew up with many traditions and celebrations that were more about how various ethnic groups of people acknowledged their Catholicity. I’m comfortable in the environment, comfortable visiting a Catholic parish, and attending Mass. For the first decades of my life, I thought it was pretty much everyone’s experience. A move to South Carolina in my late 20’s showed me that was not true!
There is some good news here. Burge’s graph below shows that the larger percentage of Catholics identify for religious and faith reasons rather than cultural. The report reminds us to continue to focus our efforts on providing people a path to move from belonging to believing.
I find the distinction between cultural and religious adherents very helpful. Through awareness, parish leaders and all parishioners can use this to identify ways to invite each other to a greater intentionality and curiosity. This is a good opportunity for self-reflection. When I answer that I am Catholic, what do I mean? If I identify culturally but not religiously, then why is that? Have I listened for the Holy Spirit and opened myself to the possibility of looking again or looking deeper?
May you encounter the Holy Spirit and be filled with the light of Christ!
Terry Poplava serves as General Manager, ACST Catholic. As a cradle Catholic, his faith was lukewarm until he was confronted by the intense challenge and commitment he heard in the message about Stewardship. “What do I own and what owns me?” which led him to executive roles at Our Sunday Visitor and Catholic Leadership Institute before his current focus on serving the Catholic Church at ACS Technologies. Terry has extensive experience working with churches across the U.S., supporting their planning, stewardship, and engagement efforts
