In the United States, our culture has become overly secularized, pushing religion—interestingly enough mostly Christianity, but specifically Catholicism—out of the picture. The government has had a big role in maintaining this whole idea of “separation of church of state” which oddly enough is not even in the Constitution. God is taken out of prayers. Crosses and nativity scenes are banned. It’s all quite ridiculous for a country that was founded as “one nation under God”.
A Look Across the Border
Then we look at places like Mexico which is undeniably engrained with Catholicism. I would say Mexico is a good example of what I would call cultural Catholicism. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing I will address later. By and large, the culture of Mexico has been Catholicized. Just taking note of the way the language is soaked in religious overtones would cause one to believe the country is profoundly religious.
- Adios meaning “good bye” or “God be with you”
- si Dios quiere meaning “God willing”
- gracias a Dios meaning “thank God”
Yet, even those who don’t necessarily believe or practice the Christian faith to any serious extent will use these phrases in their every day conversations. Religious symbols and items like the rosary around the rear-view mirror or the Virgen de Guadalupe plastered on any and everything bear witness to a strong Catholic faith. Many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans will claim to be Catholic when asked about their religious beliefs, even if they don’t go to Church, pray, or read the Bible. Their Catholicism is just another part of their culture, going hand-in-hand with their country’s national heritage.
Yes it is true that the Catholic Church in the United States has maintained it’s membership primarily through the continuous influx of Mexican immigrants and immigrants from other Central and South American countries. Our parishes are overflowing with latino Catholics. However, it is not surprising that many of these Catholics are Catholic in name only.
Perfect Candidates for the New Evangelization
The problem, or better yet, the challenge I believe this poses to the Church is that these Catholics, although many in number, are not active, participating members in the mission of the Church to transform the world. And I’m not picking on Mexicans, the same is true for American Catholics as well. Those who claim to be Catholic, yet fail to provide witness by the example of their lives, are not helping the Church to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the world. They are actually adding credibility to the stereotypes and false generalizations of Catholics.
It is to these Catholics that the New Evangelization is directed. The world has been evangelized. The Gospel has been preached to pretty much all people. So, what next? Well, it’s time to go back to those who claim the Catholic faith, but who have been poorly catechized. We have a Church full of people who don’t know that God loves them and wants to be in relationship with them. They need to know that! We have to share that message with them. We need to teach them to pray, to live their faith. That’s what the New Evangelization is all about.
Re-Evangelizing America
The other important task at hand is to evangelize our American culture. In seeking to be politically correct, our country has done away with God. This is obviously not the right way to go. The Israelites tried that time and time again in the Old Testament and on each occasion were eventually made aware of the error of their ways, chastised for their infidelity, then reconciled to God.
We are like the Israelites, moaning and complaining against God as we wander through the desert. The culture has lied to us, led us astray. It’s time to take it back. It’s time to evangelize the culture. For that to happen we have to regain our Catholic identity—not the caricatured, stereotypical Catholic identity that has been cast upon us, but an authentic Catholic identity rooted in the public practice of our Christian faith based on our personal relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church.
Our Archbishop here in LA has challenged us to be “Witnesses to the New World of Faith“, but are we taking Him seriously? Pope after Pope after Pope have continually shared with us the importance of this New Evangelization. There’s no denying it any longer. We’ve got lots of work to do. The world can’t change the Church, but the Church should change the world.
What do you think are the pros and cons of cultural Catholicism?