Decline of religion

[Paraselene]

When I was younger, I always heard how great catholic schools were.

Now: "Yeah, if you want ro get piddled by priests."

[The Grand Nudger]

Depending on where and when you were a kid it may even have been true. Especially where dominionists have diverted public school funding to their pedo defense kitty.

[Fake Messiah]

It seems that the Catholic church in Philadelphia is planning to force lapsed Catholics into returning to church, counting that they are Catholics because they were baptized, but they don't realize that those people were baptized against their will.

Philadelphia archbishop launches ‘missionary hubs’ to reach the ‘missing 83%’

After the Archdiocese of Philadelphia found that 83% of baptized Catholics are missing from the pews in the archdiocese, Archbishop Nelson Pérez decided to launch a missionary outreach program in his archdiocese to “invite people home.”

The number of “missing Catholics” is based on Mass count attendance data compiled each year by the archdiocese. (The number relates only to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.)

Pérez is launching a 10-year missionary endeavor to bring Catholics back to the pews by implementing “missionary hubs” in many parishes in the area. The missionary hubs are designed to work with existing parishes and ministries by providing additional resources to minister to those who have left the Church.

Pérez recalled that one of the first questions he was asked when he became archbishop was “will you close parishes?”

“I didn’t come here to close parishes; I came here to build up the Church of Philadelphia,” Pérez said.

“The archbishop recognizes the urgency of reaching out to the 83% of baptized Catholics not regularly practicing their faith while continuing to serve more effectively and efficiently the 17% who do attend Mass,” Gavin told CNA.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/...83-percent

Meanwhile... would you buy a closed Catholic church and perhaps open a trans hair salon? It's only $650k

Want To Buy Sacred Heart Catholic Church, But At This Price?

Real estate is big business for the Diocese of Joliet and now that the Diocese closed down several of its Joliet area Catholic churches last year, the Diocese is working with real estate companies in hopes of selling off these empty church properties to generate more income for the diocese.

One such listing on the commercial website LoopNet is the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Joliet's South Ottawa Street. The Diocese is bundling three properties together for the asking price of $650,000.

Suburban Real Estate Services is promoting the listing, which suggests that the former Catholic church can be redeveloped as another church, a community center or a non-profit organization. The listing for 329, 331 and 337 South Ottawa includes the church, the rectory and the hall on the city's east side, not far from Interstate 80.

"Additionally, the property features a south-located parking lot with approximately 100 surface spaces, a cinder block wall, and a chain link fence for added security, offering ample convenience for future uses."

https://patch.com/illinois/joliet/sacred...sale-price

Or would you buy this Catholic school? I'm sure it will be on sale soon since it's closing.

Catholic elementary school closing in Palatine due to low enrollment numbers

The Archdiocese said it was left with no choice but to close St. Thomas of Villanova as enrollment numbers were just not where they needed to be.

After 61 years of operating and playing a critical role within the Palatine community, the decision has been made to shut down the St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic School.

Father Kris Janczak issued a statement on the closure this week, saying in part, "Despite solid fundraising efforts, enrollment declined 17% this school year and the school's projected deficit has doubled and is now insurmountable."

The school is expected to shut down once the school year ends in May. Father Janczak said the hope is the rest of this school year will serve as a true celebration of the community.

https://abc7chicago.com/post/st-thomas-v.../15807786/

[Sheldon]

It seems that the Catholic church in Philadelphia is planning to force lapsed Catholics into returning to church, counting that they are Catholics because they were baptized, but they don't realize that those people were baptized against their will.

Philadelphia archbishop launches ‘missionary hubs’ to reach the ‘missing 83%’

After the Archdiocese of Philadelphia found that 83% of baptized Catholics are missing from the pews in the archdiocese, Archbishop Nelson Pérez decided to launch a missionary outreach program in his archdiocese to “invite people home.”

The number of “missing Catholics” is based on Mass count attendance data compiled each year by the archdiocese. (The number relates only to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.)

Pérez is launching a 10-year missionary endeavor to bring Catholics back to the pews by implementing “missionary hubs” in many parishes in the area. The missionary hubs are designed to work with existing parishes and ministries by providing additional resources to minister to those who have left the Church.

Pérez recalled that one of the first questions he was asked when he became archbishop was “will you close parishes?”

“I didn’t come here to close parishes; I came here to build up the Church of Philadelphia,” Pérez said.

“The archbishop recognizes the urgency of reaching out to the 83% of baptized Catholics not regularly practicing their faith while continuing to serve more effectively and efficiently the 17% who do attend Mass,” Gavin told CNA.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/...83-percent

Meanwhile... would you buy a closed Catholic church and perhaps open a trans hair salon? It's only $650k

Want To Buy Sacred Heart Catholic Church, But At This Price?

Real estate is big business for the Diocese of Joliet and now that the Diocese closed down several of its Joliet area Catholic churches last year, the Diocese is working with real estate companies in hopes of selling off these empty church properties to generate more income for the diocese.

One such listing on the commercial website LoopNet is the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Joliet's South Ottawa Street. The Diocese is bundling three properties together for the asking price of $650,000.

Suburban Real Estate Services is promoting the listing, which suggests that the former Catholic church can be redeveloped as another church, a community center or a non-profit organization. The listing for 329, 331 and 337 South Ottawa includes the church, the rectory and the hall on the city's east side, not far from Interstate 80.

"Additionally, the property features a south-located parking lot with approximately 100 surface spaces, a cinder block wall, and a chain link fence for added security, offering ample convenience for future uses."

https://patch.com/illinois/joliet/sacred...sale-price

Or would you buy this Catholic school? I'm sure it will be on sale soon since it's closing.

Catholic elementary school closing in Palatine due to low enrollment numbers

The Archdiocese said it was left with no choice but to close St. Thomas of Villanova as enrollment numbers were just not where they needed to be.

After 61 years of operating and playing a critical role within the Palatine community, the decision has been made to shut down the St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic School.

Father Kris Janczak issued a statement on the closure this week, saying in part, "Despite solid fundraising efforts, enrollment declined 17% this school year and the school's projected deficit has doubled and is now insurmountable."

The school is expected to shut down once the school year ends in May. Father Janczak said the hope is the rest of this school year will serve as a true celebration of the community.

https://abc7chicago.com/post/st-thomas-v.../15807786/

One less "school" indoctrinating children into archaic superstition, sounds like something worth celebrating. My brother went to a Catholic school, he still doesn't like nuns.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Joshua's, in Paso Robles back in the late 70s/early 80s, was a high-falutin' restaurant/bistro the had been converted from an old Catholic church that had been sold off. They featured live music, and the acoustics were great. I had a buddy whose stepdad played solo jazz there, though I never got to hear him; I only took a date there in my senior year, a couple of years after the knucklehead had moved on.

The friend's stepdad did give me an early 50s Harmony H303 amplifier that I wish I still had.

[Fake Messiah]

Public trust in pastors continues to decline, Gallup poll finds

Public trust in pastors has dropped to a new low, according to the latest Gallup poll. The survey finds that only 30% of Americans rate clergy as highly honest and ethical, continuing a downward trend.

Gallup’s findings, released last week, place clergy in 10th position among the 23 professions measured. Clergy were ranked below auto mechanics (33%), judges (28%), but above bankers (23%) and nursing home operators (21%).

The poll, conducted Dec. 2-18, 2024, also revealed that 20% of Americans rate clergy’s honesty and ethics as low or very low, while another 42% see pastors as having average standards. Seven percent said they had no opinion about clergy.

“Previously, a broad majority of the U.S. held pastors in the highest regard,” Lifeway stated, recalling that 67% of Americans considered pastors highly honest and ethical in 1985. The figure briefly rebounded to 64% in 2001, coinciding with a wave of public support following the September 11 attacks.

However, reports of sexual abuse in religious settings, such as the 2002 investigations by The Boston Globe, appear to have eroded trust. Gallup described 2002 and 2018 as points in time that mirrored negative developments in the Catholic Church and other denominations, while Lifeway pointed to the “additional sex abuse reports in other denominations and Christian groups” as relevant factors.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/publi...finds.html

[Fake Messiah]

Outlook Apocalyptic for UK Theology Schools

Anthony Royle, head of the King’s Evangelical Divinity School in Southeast England, told his colleagues that “it seems like 50 per cent of Christian Bible Colleges in the UK will close in the next year or two.”

There are only 30 Bible colleges across the UK, alongside the Church of England’s 23 theological educational institutions. But these are the schools that train ministers for England’s 16,000 Anglican congregations and dozens of free church denominations. The apocalyptic outlook about the future of British theological education has some worried.

“I don’t know a theological college that does not have financial problems, enrollment issues, or some kind of existential challenge right now,” cultural commentator Krish Kandiah told Christianity Today. “It’s as bad as people are saying.”

Many institutions have closed their doors in recent years. Bangor University and the University of Sheffield shut down their theology schools. St. John’s College in Nottingham, England, shuttered in 2019. Redcliffe College dissolved in 2020. And a smattering of smaller colleges have also been boarded up. The Church of England reported at its General Synod in July that the number of potential ordinands in its theological education institutions has fallen precipitously—down 40 percent since 2019. Hundreds fewer Anglican seminarians are enrolling now than just five years ago.

“We are going to see more closures, mergers, and competition for a smaller pool of potential students,” Kandiah said.

Principals, experts, and church insiders have offered a range of explanations for the dizzying downturn: People have blamed an increasingly secular society, the UK’s ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/0...leschools/

[Mr Greene]

Outlook Apocalyptic for UK Theology Schools

Anthony Royle, head of the King’s Evangelical Divinity School in Southeast England, told his colleagues that “it seems like 50 per cent of Christian Bible Colleges in the UK will close in the next year or two.”

There are only 30 Bible colleges across the UK, alongside the Church of England’s 23 theological educational institutions. But these are the schools that train ministers for England’s 16,000 Anglican congregations and dozens of free church denominations. The apocalyptic outlook about the future of British theological education has some worried.

“I don’t know a theological college that does not have financial problems, enrollment issues, or some kind of existential challenge right now,” cultural commentator Krish Kandiah told Christianity Today. “It’s as bad as people are saying.”

Many institutions have closed their doors in recent years. Bangor University and the University of Sheffield shut down their theology schools. St. John’s College in Nottingham, England, shuttered in 2019. Redcliffe College dissolved in 2020. And a smattering of smaller colleges have also been boarded up. The Church of England reported at its General Synod in July that the number of potential ordinands in its theological education institutions has fallen precipitously—down 40 percent since 2019. Hundreds fewer Anglican seminarians are enrolling now than just five years ago.

“We are going to see more closures, mergers, and competition for a smaller pool of potential students,” Kandiah said.

Principals, experts, and church insiders have offered a range of explanations for the dizzying downturn: People have blamed an increasingly secular society, the UK’s ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/0...leschools/

We're still on course for the Church becoming a non-entity during the 2030s. We're down to 5 churches in the town here; CofE, Catholic, Methodist and 2 Baptist (used to be one but decided they couldn't share a single building as the numbers declined. The churches that were mothballed have largely been sold off. Apparently priests are having to cover multiple churches which involves driving suibstantial distances now.

[Fake Messiah]

Catholic priests (in Germany) are depressed and overworked, and it's only going to get worse with upcoming years.

Some priests suffer from the demands of their profession

"The situation is becoming more dramatic," says Priest Christoph Schmitz. He leads pastoral care for priests, i.e. for priests and people in pastoral service in the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart. He observes how burn-out and depression, but also strokes and heart attacks in priests increase – even in younger people. For Schmitz, this is a sign of permanent overload.

And the situation is likely to worsen: "By 2030 there will be 25 percent fewer priests and pastoral staff in the parishes and pastoral care in the dioceses, by 2040 around 50 percent less," says Schmitz. One reason for this is that people exit from Church with all the consequences: less income from church tax, sometimes rigorous savings similar to those of the regional churches, larger municipal areas and a lack of young talent.

Möller states that some priests perceive leaving the Church almost as a personal injury: "It needs to be processed emotionally first - the fact that people are leaving the Church, even though I am personally involved". Many priests therefore perceive their work as a “certain form of futility”.

Guido Depenbrock, head of the church therapy program Inspiratio at the Barsinghausen monastery near Hanover, believes that the church itself bears responsibility: “There is a lack of a clear vision of where the church wants to be in ten years – this makes many people feel even more uncertain,” he says. Some wonder whether God will still play a role in society. “Such questions can hang over people like a dark cloud.”

https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/59440-...res-berufs

[Fake Messiah]

7 NYC Catholic schools announce their closing in past month as experts blame skyrocketing tuition, loss of religion

Catholic schools across New York City are falling like dominoes thanks to skyrocketing tuition prices and a deteriorating connection to religion, according to experts and dismal statistics.

In just the past month, a shocking seven institutions announced they would be shutting their doors for good at the end of the academic year — following 13 others that fell to the same fate in the years since the pandemic, battered by overall enrollment plummeting a jaw-dropping 23%.

The newly announced closures mean 12% of the Catholic schools that operated in the five boroughs in 2020 will no longer exist by the summer.

That’s not even counting the half-dozen other Catholic schools that merged with other schools to bolster their quickly diminishing ranks.

https://nypost.com/2025/02/16/us-news/se...-religion/

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Another N.J. Catholic school is shutting down. See the list of 30+ recent closures

It is a saga that has played out repeatedly in New Jersey: Parents, students and alumni mourning the loss of a beloved Catholic school.

The latest example is in Essex County, where the Archdiocese of Newark announced Wednesday that Immaculate Conception High School in Montclair will permanently close in June.

It joins a growing list of Catholic schools across the country closing their doors as enrollment declines and financial pressures mount.

There were 5,905 U.S. Catholic schools in operation during the 2023-24 school year, down from approximately 11,000 in 1970, according to the National Catholic Education Association.

Nationwide, enrollment increased in 2022 for the first time in two decades, but has since leveled off. There were 1.69 million students in Catholic schools as of 2023, down 14% from a decade ago, the group said. Enrollment at Catholic schools is usually open to students of all religions, with 21% of students not identifying as Catholic.

https://www.nj.com/education/2025/02/ano...sures.html