{"id":2047,"date":"2006-12-20T02:30:36","date_gmt":"2006-12-20T07:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/20\/catholic-flight-to-evangelicalism\/"},"modified":"2006-12-20T02:30:36","modified_gmt":"2006-12-20T07:30:36","slug":"catholic-flight-to-evangelicalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/20\/catholic-flight-to-evangelicalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Flight to Evangelicalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Catholics have been happy with me for three years \u2014 for two reasons: I have embraced Mary in a Protestant sort of way but even more because I wrote an article a few years back that detailed why it is that Evangelicals become Catholics. Now a different issue altogether: The numbers reveal an alarming trend that Catholics are in flight (according to Catholic authorities) to Pentecostalism<\/a> and to Evangelicalism.
\nAs many of you know, I have an interest in conversion<\/a> and have published a book about conversion called Turning to Jesus<\/em><\/a>. After that book I wrote an article on why evangelicals become Roman Catholic and then why Jews convert to Christianity. Those two pieces were published in JETS and the first (From Wheaton to Rome) can be accessed through my sidebar. I don\u2019t know if the second one is available online.
\nTwo points: If you have a story of converting from Catholicism to evangelicalism (of whatever sort), and want to tell your story, I\u2019m looking for stories for my own research. Please e-mail me<\/a>. Second, does this article by Mendoza make sense to you? Does it square with your experience? I\u2019m keen on having Catholics weigh in \u2014 as long as you don\u2019t fire up to hot \u2014 and I\u2019m keen on having former Catholics weigh in \u2014 as long as you don\u2019t get too fired up.
\nThis winter and spring I hope to write two more pieces \u2014 one on why people lose their faith and then one on why Catholics become evangelical. I will then combine these four studies \u2014 with a suitable introduction and conclusion \u2014 into a book.
\nIn the Homiletical and Pastoral Review<\/em>, RC Gerald J. Mendoza<\/a> writes an article \u201cWhy Do Catholics Become Evangelicals?\u201d I\u2019m naturally fascinated by his study, partly because I\u2019m curious to see if my conclusions are the same. Alas, his approach is what Catholics can do to preserve their own and not much on why Catholics convert. He places the blame on the Catholic churches.
\nHere are some numbers, rather alarming: 30-35% of evangelicals (incl Pentecostals) are former Catholics. 100,000 Catholics convert to evangelicalism per year \u2014 I think that is a global number. I was once told that Willow Creek baptizes 700 former Catholics per year.
\nMendoza places the blame here:
\n1. Lack of active participation: 25% practice their faith.
\n2. Lack of scriptural and theological sophistication.
\n3. Lack of appropriate and effective Catholic catechesis.
\n4. Anemic parishes and preaching.
\nHe proposes:
\n1. Counter with its own evangelistic project.
\n2. A movement to bring home lapsed Catholics.
\n3. Local office and department for adult education and catechesis.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catholics have been happy with me for three years \u2014 for two reasons: I have embraced Mary in a Protestant sort of way but even more because I wrote an article a few years back that detailed why it is that Evangelicals become Catholics. Now a different issue altogether: The numbers reveal an alarming trend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1379,425],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conversion","category-missional"],"yoast_head":"\nCatholic Flight to Evangelicalism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Catholics have been happy with me for three years -- for two reasons: I have embraced Mary in a Protestant sort of way but even more because I wrote an\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/20\/catholic-flight-to-evangelicalism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Catholic Flight to Evangelicalism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Catholics have been happy with me for three years -- for two reasons: I have embraced Mary in a Protestant sort of way but even more because I wrote an\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/20\/catholic-flight-to-evangelicalism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-12-20T07:30:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/20\/catholic-flight-to-evangelicalism\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/20\/catholic-flight-to-evangelicalism\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic Flight to Evangelicalism\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2006-12-20T07:30:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2006-12-20T07:30:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"Catholics have been happy with me for three years -- for two reasons: I have embraced Mary in a Protestant sort of way but even more because I wrote an\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/20\/catholic-flight-to-evangelicalism\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/20\/catholic-flight-to-evangelicalism\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2006\/12\/20\/catholic-flight-to-evangelicalism\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Catholic Flight to Evangelicalism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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