Very Lapsed Catholic, With a Question

[NashVegas]

A few years ago when my brother was married, I stepped into the church of my childhood for the first time in over 20 years.

As a kid, it was typical French-gothic style.

The tile (marble? terrazzo?) floor had been replaced / covered with a rug. The Baptistery was gone, converted to an office or something, and the font had been moved to the back of the nave. The mahogany pews were replaced with a lighter colored wood, and my general impression of the changes was that the interior now resembled a Protestant church more than anything.

This winter I've attended two weddings in Catholic churches, here in the South. One seemed pretty gothic, but brighter. The other had abandoned that altogether and had a very Roman / classical style interior. The bigger difference between the two was the music. One had a traditional organ, the other had a band with a singer who's style and presentation reminded me of the feel-good contemporary music you here with the mega-churches.

My question: when did the RC church start chasing the Protestant demo?

[theredpen]

1. My theory: assimilation into WASP communities

This is just a personal observation, which I admit may be off-base, but it seems that Catholic churches tend to be more distinctively Catholic in proportion to how "ethnic" they are. I haven't seen this mega-churchification at Catholic churches that still have a predominant ethnic identity. Obviously, there are a lot of Hispanic Catholic churches here in Dallas, but we also have Eastern European communities as well. Whether they are Italian, Irish, Mexican, or whatever, it seems like the parishes that maintain an Ethnic-Catholic identity also maintain the kind of environment that was found in the "old country."

These "new" Catholic churches are probably just providing an environment that would be familiar and appealing to people who are — while Catholic — culturally "WASP."

[JNelson6563]

2. You make an excellent point.

Good observation. :-)

Julie