This is full of such interesting observations… I’ve wondered about this lack of “deconstruction” among my Catholic friends (vs. my Protestant and specifically evangelical friends) and what you say is what I’ve observed, but I’ve wondered if I’m just seeing things with rose colored glasses. It’s not that I have illusions about the Catholic Church being perfect, because goodness, I subscribed to the Pillar and the news alone will disprove that… But it strikes me as an issue of rootedness and depth. When there are not these things to return to, I don’t know if anything can withstand the types of storms we’re facing. And so I remain a very curious Protestant in the no man’s land of, “So, babe, are we going to this “Learn about RCIA” meeting next week or not?”
I am a cradle Catholic, so I’m just speculating here, but I wonder if a big part of the difference comes down to the contrast between the unique character and teaching of each nondenominational Christian church community/pastor and the emphasis on reading scripture and interpreting it yourself vs having a clearly articulated, two-thousand-year-old external teaching authority to lean on. I often feel like I see evangelical Christians struggling to figure things out themselves that already have a rich tradition of exploration and dialogue in the Catholic intellectual tradition, but they just haven’t been exposed to it. I think I would be much more inclined to doubt myself and my faith if I was primarily basing it on a single pastoral relationship that turned out to be unhealthy. Whereas I think it’s easier for faithful Catholics to see how the Holy Spirit has preserved the church’s teaching from error in spite of two thousand years of terrible sinners making into the ranks of the church’s leadership. It’s also just such a well-integrated and articulated set of beliefs that there’s a lot of resources there to see how it all hangs together—and room to call out the failings of our church leaders without losing faith in Catholicism itself.
Does that resonate at all? I freely admit that I am not qualified to describe what all of this feels like from within evangelicalism/Protestantism, so I’m very open to other interpretations!
I think that is definitely some of it… though for me I’ve seen a specific disillusionment among my female friends/acquaintances where it seems like once you acknowledge the ways that purity culture/evangelicalism/strict complementarianism have done damage it becomes almost impossible to figure out how to navigate murky waters without then going to the other extreme. From the outside it seems that there’s a more spacious understanding of what it means to be a woman when it comes to Catholicism, which I think is a combination of a more coherent teaching on sexual ethics and human dignity, a reverence for Mary that extends to women in general, and a less prescriptive approach to what it means to be a faithful woman (for example, celibate nuns are pretty high up there in the faithful women category, whereas singleness and childlessness can (though not stated) relegate women to second class citizen in the evangelical world). So, even though in many cases the outcome can look quite similar on the outside — for example a large family who homeschools and is quite conservative — I don’t sense the same level of restriction and legalism. I’m sure it does still exist, because well, people are people, but it does not strike me as endemic in the same way.
And funny you should mention the catechism idea as my husband and I were just talking about that tonight :)
Ahh super interesting! I totally agree - but I don’t think I realized how much the disillusionment with (a specific version of) complementarianism was driving the deconstruction.
This is full of such interesting observations… I’ve wondered about this lack of “deconstruction” among my Catholic friends (vs. my Protestant and specifically evangelical friends) and what you say is what I’ve observed, but I’ve wondered if I’m just seeing things with rose colored glasses. It’s not that I have illusions about the Catholic Church being perfect, because goodness, I subscribed to the Pillar and the news alone will disprove that… But it strikes me as an issue of rootedness and depth. When there are not these things to return to, I don’t know if anything can withstand the types of storms we’re facing. And so I remain a very curious Protestant in the no man’s land of, “So, babe, are we going to this “Learn about RCIA” meeting next week or not?”
I vote yes! 😂 though tbh, not all RCIA programs are great. You might like the Catechism in a Year podcast (or just reading the Catechism, if that’s more up your alley!). It really encapsulates the teaching of the church so beautifully. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-catechism-in-a-year-with-fr-mike-schmitz/id1648949780?i=1000587182240
I am a cradle Catholic, so I’m just speculating here, but I wonder if a big part of the difference comes down to the contrast between the unique character and teaching of each nondenominational Christian church community/pastor and the emphasis on reading scripture and interpreting it yourself vs having a clearly articulated, two-thousand-year-old external teaching authority to lean on. I often feel like I see evangelical Christians struggling to figure things out themselves that already have a rich tradition of exploration and dialogue in the Catholic intellectual tradition, but they just haven’t been exposed to it. I think I would be much more inclined to doubt myself and my faith if I was primarily basing it on a single pastoral relationship that turned out to be unhealthy. Whereas I think it’s easier for faithful Catholics to see how the Holy Spirit has preserved the church’s teaching from error in spite of two thousand years of terrible sinners making into the ranks of the church’s leadership. It’s also just such a well-integrated and articulated set of beliefs that there’s a lot of resources there to see how it all hangs together—and room to call out the failings of our church leaders without losing faith in Catholicism itself.
Does that resonate at all? I freely admit that I am not qualified to describe what all of this feels like from within evangelicalism/Protestantism, so I’m very open to other interpretations!
I think that is definitely some of it… though for me I’ve seen a specific disillusionment among my female friends/acquaintances where it seems like once you acknowledge the ways that purity culture/evangelicalism/strict complementarianism have done damage it becomes almost impossible to figure out how to navigate murky waters without then going to the other extreme. From the outside it seems that there’s a more spacious understanding of what it means to be a woman when it comes to Catholicism, which I think is a combination of a more coherent teaching on sexual ethics and human dignity, a reverence for Mary that extends to women in general, and a less prescriptive approach to what it means to be a faithful woman (for example, celibate nuns are pretty high up there in the faithful women category, whereas singleness and childlessness can (though not stated) relegate women to second class citizen in the evangelical world). So, even though in many cases the outcome can look quite similar on the outside — for example a large family who homeschools and is quite conservative — I don’t sense the same level of restriction and legalism. I’m sure it does still exist, because well, people are people, but it does not strike me as endemic in the same way.
And funny you should mention the catechism idea as my husband and I were just talking about that tonight :)
Ahh super interesting! I totally agree - but I don’t think I realized how much the disillusionment with (a specific version of) complementarianism was driving the deconstruction.
You might like this feature I wrote for a America Magazine a few years back about different American Catholic subcultures and the message they send to young women: https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2021/04/22/women-catholic-feminism-marriage-family-single-careers-240497
This is so beautiful!! I will try listening to this book while breastfeeding today :) I’ve been looking for a good audio book
What a beautiful reflection, and not just because you've shared about The Understory. I love knowing others know places as intimately as I do =)
Wait, I'm just now realizing your brother is Felix?? I've been working with him for my first ever published piece. haha
Haha yes!!! He’s my baby bro (he’s number 5/5 in our family, I’m number 4). I’m excited to read your piece!!