Millenial Challenge
John Allen has an interesting nugget about generational divides in the Church:
“By now there’s a considerable body of data about these “millennial Catholics,” and the consistent finding is that they’re more traditional in their attitudes and practices than the “Vatican II” generation they’re replacing. These younger Catholics are attracted to traditional spiritual practices such as Eucharistic adoration and Marian piety; they have a generally positive attitude towards authority, especially the papacy; and they’re less inclined to be critical of church teaching. I use the word “evangelical” rather than “conservative” to describe all this, in part because most experts say it’s not really about the politics of left vs. right so much as generational dynamics. These young Catholics came of age in a rootless secular world, and are hungry for a clear sense of identity. More and more, the church’s ministerial workforce will be stamped by this evangelical ethos.”
I think this is broadly accurate. Among people I know, the younger generations tend more traditional on matters of liturgy and even doctrine. This completely transcends politics, despite the best efforts of some to hide a dubious political orthodoxy behind a justifiable theological orthodoxy.
But I think we can tease out the politics a bit more. For politically, it’s pretty clear that the age divide is extremely stark when it comes to millenials – in fact, this led to the largest disparity ever recorded between younger and older voters in 2008. This generation is “less supportive than their elders of an assertive national security policy and more supportive of a progressive domestic social agenda”. We also know that they more qualms about abortion than preceding generations but are almost universally in favor of gay rights.
What does this all mean for the Church? For a start, I think we need to move beyond the jaded culture war, which is increasingly a preoccupation of the problematic boomer generation. Millenial Catholics are more traditional Catholics, but they are also probably social justice Catholics. And they will be increasingly Hispanic. In fact, this generation could really put the boosters of American Catholic liberalism on the spot (the Weigels, the Georges, and their minor acolytes), as they will now longer be able to hide their untenable neocon and laissez-faire liberal positions behind the specter of “liberal” bogeymen.
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MM, you seem to know what you’re talking about: yours is a pretty accurate description of the outlook and attitudes among the young (largely Hispanic) Catholics I taught two years ago in a Catholic high school in the American Southwest–very “conservative” regarding abortion, very “free-wheeling” regarding “religious duties” and absolutely contemptuos of their theology teachers’ defense of the Church’s positions regarding the “gays.”
I would warn you MM that my generation is more likely to care about social justice-but hands down abortion & the life issues come first. Sorry to say, but my generation of Catholics is not even entertaining accepting the Democrats-though as you point b/c of resistance to the war they’re not thrilled with the GOP either. My generation is in the middle politically-looking for whomever offers us a good home first.
I also question the ideas about universally in favor of gay rights-while that might be true of my generation at large, I don’t think it’s true of my generation of Catholics (at least the ones who actually go to Mass)-which have shown themselves strong on orthodoxy.
ANd I’m not sure what you mean about avoiding the culture war. If anything, the move to the more traditional forms signals a new era in the culture wars-a desire for Catholics to create their own unique experience separate from the mainstream culture. “War” might not be the appropriate term, as many are giving up on the common culture but are seeking to create a sub-culture where Catholicism can thrive. But the battles over culture will most certainly persist in my generation.
This NCR link from only two months ago paints a very different picture from Catholic millenials accepting Church teaching or being traditional on pre-marital sex, same sex marriage etc.:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/young-voices/catholic-millennials-were-complex-bunch
And two years ago a poll noted them as the worst of all Catholic generations on abortion. Now it is another story. Poll fatique is setting in.
In interested in Michael’s data for his claims because it seems contrary to all other research I have seen.
On the other hand, I have seen other wax on long and hard about a “return to orthodoxy” of young Catholics giving lengthy numbers of examples but with every last example coming from the 15% of young Catholics who are white and college educated.
The late sixties sparked a sense of reformism and renewal among white collar people – politically, culturally and in religion. But we are now seeing a return to historic patters. White collar, college educated Americans are becoming more conservative in all fields while non-college American (75%) are becoming more progressive. Tea Party is one example — they actually are fairly well-off and well-educated people. In the Church too, conservative Catholicism is a movement so overwhelmingly limited to the college educated 25% that they sometimes forget anyone else exists.
From my own experience, I don’t think Kurt is right about Southerners, but I am absolutely certain that he is right about Southwesterners, and it is in the Southwest, in particular, that Hispanics are the most influential. I seriously doubt that, with the disgrace of the arch-conservative, John Paul II-appointed Catholic hierarchy that supported them, the “conservative,” “college-educated” 25% are going to be able to continue to move the American Catholic Church in their direction.
Look instead, for a return to the “Spirit of Vatican II” to accompany the surge of Hispanic influence. Of course, this doesn’t mean any less opposition to abortion, but, as for matters like “gay rights” and women on the altars, I would suggest that you “white, conservative” Catholics try to begin to understand that Hispanics have a very different understanding of what constitutes a “family” as compared with the finance-driven, white, upper-middle-class, “unit” family. Hispanics are not about to abandon their “gay” brothers and sisters to “gringo” or puritanical notions of “respectability.” “Sin” and “moral weakness” they understand, but the “shame culture” of the affluent is something they seem to instinctively reject. The future of American Catholicism is something they can assure. I don’t think that the rest of American Catholicism is so energetic.
“In the Church too, conservative Catholicism is a movement so overwhelmingly limited to the college educated 25% that they sometimes forget anyone else exists.”
Amen to that. I think Catholics on the Internet seem to think that Catholics off the Internet don’t exist. I go to the traditional Latin Mass, for example, but I am fully aware that the “traditionalist” movement is way more important on the Internet than it is in real life.
In terms of Mexican Americans, at least, I would have to affirm that most of them think that abortion is wrong. Homosexuality is becoming increasingly understood (a lot of telenovelas have gay characters now: a dead give away that at least it is being spoken of among us). But in terms of pro-life politics and the “culture of death”, all the Steubenville-educated white Catholics who excommunicate anyone who votes Democrat don’t understand that people like my mother who vote Democrat by reflex don’t do it out of some betrayal of “Catholic principles”: they do it because, just like African-Americans, they think they are perceived as unwelcomed anywhere else.
Those white Catholics seem to also forget that their Irish, Italian, and Polish ancestors weren’t considered white not so long ago, and not fully American two generations ago. Now they look at us Mexicans and think the exact same thing. So goes the long march in making Roman Catholicism into the religion of “decent white folk”.
Amen to everything Arturo says above; it confirms what I learnt in New Mexico.
Bill Maher–whose name I am certain is anathema around here–nontheless said something quite true on one of the Sunday morning political talk shows yesterday. To paraphrase, he said that while he would never say that all Republicans are racists, it is demonstrably true that nearly all racists are Republicans. Since our two-party system is now effectively polarized between liberals/Democrats and conservatives/Republicans…well–you do the math.