On occasion the Credo column of The Times is to me at least worth a read.
Thus todays column by Melanie McDonagh is interesting;
Approaching its 250th anniversary, the country is still reflexively religious, for all the pains the founding fathers took to avoid an established church. Vance is typical of many Americans in the various stages of his religious trajectory, for this is not just a memoir but an account of his conversion to Catholicism.
He represents a notable recent trend in religious identity in the US. “Roman Catholic churches see a surge of new converts”, The New York Times reported in March. It surveyed the convert numbers in two dozen dioceses: “Each reported a significant jump.” The bishops themselves were puzzled about what is behind it. “Of course, we think the Holy Spirit is,” Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said. “But we are kind of stymied.” Obviously, the figures only count the numbers entering, not leaving. Yet it’s a discernible change.
Approaching its 250th anniversary, the country is still reflexively religious, for all the pains the founding fathers took to avoid an established church. Vance is typical of many Americans in the various stages of his religious trajectory, for this is not just a memoir but an account of his conversion to Catholicism.
He represents a notable recent trend in religious identity in the US. “Roman Catholic churches see a surge of new converts”, The New York Times reported in March. It surveyed the convert numbers in two dozen dioceses: “Each reported a significant jump.” The bishops themselves were puzzled about what is behind it. “Of course, we think the Holy Spirit is,” Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said. “But we are kind of stymied.” Obviously, the figures only count the numbers entering, not leaving. Yet it’s a discernible change.
Her articled extracted above tends to be supported by the increasing numbers apparentl attending mass in my own Wimbledon parish.
No comments:
Post a Comment