I recently began experimenting with a Catholic church and became curious how many of them are atheists or may become atheists. I have read statistics suggesting that as many as 4 in 5 "abandon traditional theology" while 2 in 5 will leave the Catholic church. To me, these statistics seem unrealistically high but when I was in inside an actual Catholic church recently (Palm Sunday) and their clergy style seemed extremely unenthusiastic to the point that I became convinced that there are many of them who are irreligious. Their service almost sounded sarcastic, like it was some SNL skit to mock how the Catholic church is all tradition and no religion (as some Protestants retort). I might just be too unfamiliar with the Catholic church's traditions, but I don't understand their worship style and each service is kinda repetitive. I almost feel like I'm watching the exact same movie over and over when I go to this particular Catholic church.
To me, this simple fact seems extremely discouraging toward experimenting more with the Catholic faith. I agree with the Catholic principle that all who espouse belief that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior and are saved through baptism, faith, and works will enter heaven regardless of denomination (as I don't believe any denomination that denies these things is truly "Christian"). But I'd rather be protestant my whole life than enter a denomination with a poor track history of having religious leaders who are actually religious. The fact that as many as 81% are pretending is a statistic that hurts. Some statistics claim it is lower however, but never a number lower than 1 in 3 being irreligious. I want to believe that it's rare but when common people in most Christian nations are (statistically speaking) more religious than your religious leaders, that's a huge problem.
Forgive me if you're Catholic and this post offends you. I'm curious about those two things primarily: why do Catholics worship in such a lackluster manner that it seems as if they don't actually believe a word they are saying, and what is the data on those who lose their faith? And what could actually be the reason they lose their faith? I was on Quora and some users claimed it's because of the rules on Catholic priests, who are required to abstain from marriage or any form of romance. News of sex abuse scandals between the clergy and parishioners have also been cited as motivating factors for them to lose their faith and become apostates of Christianity, either openly or secretly.
Regardless, I'd love to be educated by either Catholics or others who may know the answer or part of the answer. Thank you and God bless you all this Easter Sunday evening (from the east USA).
