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ZOGBY-IDENTITY Jan-21-2004 (690 words) xxxn
Pollster says U.S. Catholics see themselves as Americans first
By Patricia Zapor
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholics in the United States so strongly identify themselves first as Americans before they think of themselves as Catholics that the church is in danger of losing its identity, according to pollster John Zogby.
Especially among younger people, religion plays an increasingly smaller part in how people think of themselves, Zogby told an audience Jan. 20 at The Catholic University of America.
The tendency of Americans to identify themselves first by nationality means, for one thing, that the "Catholic vote" politicians have sought for generations is really nonexistent, he said.
"There are Catholic sensitivities," such as defensiveness when someone insults the pope, he said.
But when pollsters study voter data and find that a particular candidate got "X" percentage of Catholic votes, Zogby said those voters probably made their electoral choice for reasons having little or nothing to do with religious beliefs.
"They're voting as veterans, as members of an ethnic group or a union, or according to the region they live in as their primary identity," he said. "Only secondarily, or maybe even (thirdly) do they vote as Catholics."
Zogby conducts a biannual poll on Catholic attitudes toward a variety of religious and secular issues in conjunction with Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. His remarks were drawn from that data.
He told the audience of students, faculty and reporters at Catholic University that the dilution of Catholics' religious identity goes beyond politics. Catholics are also increasingly likely to accept that another religion is as likely to lead one to God as Catholicism is.
Sixty-three percent of Catholics polled said they believe Catholicism is one of many faiths that provides a path to God, Zogby said.
There's a dramatic generational difference on such questions, he said.
For instance, two thirds of Catholics over age 65 said they believe there's something special about the Catholic Church that is not found in other faiths, he said. By comparison, only 48 percent of Catholics between the ages of 18 and 29 agreed with the statement.
On a question about church teachings, Zogby said 88 percent of Catholics over age 65 said they believe that Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead. Of Catholics between 18 and 29, only 29 percent said they hold that belief.
Zogby said he recognizes that young adults typically are less committed to religion than their elders and that many develop greater understanding of and attachment to their faith later in life.
But he said the gap between younger and older Americans on religious beliefs is much more dramatic than it is on other subjects that traditionally reflect generational differences, such as political interests. American Catholics are also much different from their counterparts in at least one other country where Zogby has polled, he said.
Among Peruvian Catholics, there is only about a 10 percentage point difference between the responses of people over 50 and those between 18 and 29 on questions about the importance of religious involvement or about how essential the Virgin Mary is to one's religious life, according to Zogby. And Peruvian Catholics of different generations were equally likely to place a high value on the importance of bishops and priests to the life of the church.
Zogby predicted that the trend of American Catholics seeing their faith as a minor part of their identity would become more striking if the institutional church fails to adapt to calls from the laity for basic changes in structure following the sex abuse scandal.
While those he has polled say their spirituality hasn't been diminished because of the scandal and their acceptance of theological teachings is unaffected, American Catholics voice strong opinions about the need for changes in how the institution treats the laity, for instance.
Seventy-six percent call for greater participation by the laity in how the church operates, Zogby said. Sixty-one percent want bishops to consult with lay people before decisions are made in cases of alleged sexual abuse by clergy. And 82 percent say bishops should resign if they knowingly transferred to another parish priests who committed sexual abuse.
END
Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service.
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