As a Catholic convert who lives outside of the USA, it's not at all surprising to me that Catholics who are more certain about their faith have political opinions that do not parse neatly along American liberal/conservative lines, even if devout Catholics are more likely to identify as politically conservative in other ways. Devout Catholics share the opinions of the Catholic Church on moral issues, which is, as you note, a global institution of 1.4 billion people.
So for instance, if I believe that Catholic doctrine is correct regarding the inherent worth and dignity of all human life, then it follows that I believe that (1) abortion is wrong, (2) the death penalty is wrong, (3) people should have access to healthcare, and (4) immigrants are not my enemies. And if I can't logic those implications out on my own, they're helpfully spelled out for me in the Catechism.
If I'm devoutly Catholic, it also follows that it's more important to my identity to be faithful to the church than to the Republican or Democratic party. On the other hand, if I often doubt church doctrine, there's no reason for me to follow church teachings on abortion and also on the death penalty, especially as I might feel that my identity as a member of a political party is more core than my identity as a Catholic.
Saw this in another Note and it seems relevant here. Nicholas Smith offers an Orthodox perspective in his posts and here he addresses the certainty issue:
“The very first thing that jumped out to me when I made this graph was the huge drop in weekly attendance among Catholics who say that they have a sure belief in God.”
Wondering how much of that has to do with disillusionment over the sex abuse crisis and the Church hierarchy, etc., versus other trends, like broader movement toward secularism, and diy spirituality.
RCF, I believe you raise a very good point and one we have not yet quite understood or accepted. The clergy sex abuse crisis in Catholicism is far from over and to date the hierarchical church has not adequately addressed it nor did nearly enough to prevent it from reoccurring.
It lives in the collective unconscious of all Catholics and will be a menacing shadow until we learn how to be healthy sexual beings rather than suppressed, denying, fearful spectators of our own lives.
There was one choice omitted from this survey: Do you KNOW that God is the final source of existence? (I have heard it said by a Hindu: God cannot be said to exist. God is existence itself.)
I have heard it said by St. Augustine: Faith is the belief in things unseen. The thing is that God intended us to see. If the level of experience that was given to me, many times, could be given to someone as badly damaged as I was, it could be given to any of us. This, in fact, is exactly God's intent.
That being said, there are many things I DON'T know, because I have been given no Direct Knowledge about them. There are many doctrines of different religions that I take no hard position on.
In my opinion, a high priority of any organized religion should be to help people receive what is (badly) called mystical experience.
Perhaps age is a variable at play? If older people are less likely to doubt in God (or so they answer in a poll) and also have trouble with physical mobility, namely to Mass (especially in such an obese country as America), then we would observe this correlation, right?
I'm a former health care journo who covered the "age beat."
In my very informed opinion, you are absolutely correct in the above. But it's not just a physical mobility issue, there is age-related cognitive decline, too, that leads to lack of executive function (frontal lobe stuff, that I'd call "will") to do (or sometimes even try to do) things that they want to/used to be able to do.
I'm not sure that belief in God tells the entire story about why there is a difference between White and Black believers. I'm not even sure they believe the same things about God. I think the other factor may be what they believe about the world and other human beings. I don't know what question you could ask to parse that out, but I think it would be very telling if you could.
The whole certain belief is a very protestant framing. Participation in the life of the Church is itself the act of Faith. Belief in God is not proposition it is disposition. If you are going to Mass and professing the Creed you are in a disposition of faith, regardless of uncertainties and doubts on the nature and will of God. "Lord I believe, help my unbelief".
As a Catholic convert who lives outside of the USA, it's not at all surprising to me that Catholics who are more certain about their faith have political opinions that do not parse neatly along American liberal/conservative lines, even if devout Catholics are more likely to identify as politically conservative in other ways. Devout Catholics share the opinions of the Catholic Church on moral issues, which is, as you note, a global institution of 1.4 billion people.
So for instance, if I believe that Catholic doctrine is correct regarding the inherent worth and dignity of all human life, then it follows that I believe that (1) abortion is wrong, (2) the death penalty is wrong, (3) people should have access to healthcare, and (4) immigrants are not my enemies. And if I can't logic those implications out on my own, they're helpfully spelled out for me in the Catechism.
If I'm devoutly Catholic, it also follows that it's more important to my identity to be faithful to the church than to the Republican or Democratic party. On the other hand, if I often doubt church doctrine, there's no reason for me to follow church teachings on abortion and also on the death penalty, especially as I might feel that my identity as a member of a political party is more core than my identity as a Catholic.
Saw this in another Note and it seems relevant here. Nicholas Smith offers an Orthodox perspective in his posts and here he addresses the certainty issue:
https://open.substack.com/pub/nasmith/p/of-what-we-shall-not-speak?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2cir7
Very interesting essay. Thank you for sharing this link.
“The very first thing that jumped out to me when I made this graph was the huge drop in weekly attendance among Catholics who say that they have a sure belief in God.”
Wondering how much of that has to do with disillusionment over the sex abuse crisis and the Church hierarchy, etc., versus other trends, like broader movement toward secularism, and diy spirituality.
RCF, I believe you raise a very good point and one we have not yet quite understood or accepted. The clergy sex abuse crisis in Catholicism is far from over and to date the hierarchical church has not adequately addressed it nor did nearly enough to prevent it from reoccurring.
It lives in the collective unconscious of all Catholics and will be a menacing shadow until we learn how to be healthy sexual beings rather than suppressed, denying, fearful spectators of our own lives.
There was one choice omitted from this survey: Do you KNOW that God is the final source of existence? (I have heard it said by a Hindu: God cannot be said to exist. God is existence itself.)
I have heard it said by St. Augustine: Faith is the belief in things unseen. The thing is that God intended us to see. If the level of experience that was given to me, many times, could be given to someone as badly damaged as I was, it could be given to any of us. This, in fact, is exactly God's intent.
That being said, there are many things I DON'T know, because I have been given no Direct Knowledge about them. There are many doctrines of different religions that I take no hard position on.
In my opinion, a high priority of any organized religion should be to help people receive what is (badly) called mystical experience.
Perhaps age is a variable at play? If older people are less likely to doubt in God (or so they answer in a poll) and also have trouble with physical mobility, namely to Mass (especially in such an obese country as America), then we would observe this correlation, right?
I'm a former health care journo who covered the "age beat."
In my very informed opinion, you are absolutely correct in the above. But it's not just a physical mobility issue, there is age-related cognitive decline, too, that leads to lack of executive function (frontal lobe stuff, that I'd call "will") to do (or sometimes even try to do) things that they want to/used to be able to do.
I'm not sure that belief in God tells the entire story about why there is a difference between White and Black believers. I'm not even sure they believe the same things about God. I think the other factor may be what they believe about the world and other human beings. I don't know what question you could ask to parse that out, but I think it would be very telling if you could.
...it would be very telling if you could.
Me, too.
The whole certain belief is a very protestant framing. Participation in the life of the Church is itself the act of Faith. Belief in God is not proposition it is disposition. If you are going to Mass and professing the Creed you are in a disposition of faith, regardless of uncertainties and doubts on the nature and will of God. "Lord I believe, help my unbelief".