What I Lost When I Gave Up My Catholicism
WASHINGTON (DC)
The Atlantic [Washington DC]
December 24, 2025
By Xochitl Gonzalez
Read original articleCan the Church bring back the formerly faithful?
Catholicism is hot right now. The new American pope is popular for speaking his mind on political subjects such as AI and the death penalty. On Instagram and TikTok, Catholic influencers rank local Masses and their favorite Christmas hymns, and priests go viral for DJ’ing raves, while others protest ICE raids. The Catholic Church is at the center of the new Knives Out film, which premiered at No. 1 on Netflix this month. And more and more young people are going to Mass.
Today’s youth aren’t particularly religious. The Pew Research Center reports that 44 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds are unaffiliated with a faith. Yet at the same time, Catholic Gen Z is showing up strong. A new survey from the Catholic Leadership Roundtable found that members of Gen Z are now the most engaged Catholics—attending Mass, confession, and parish functions more frequently than any other generational cohort. (They…
What would bring me back. The Church appears to be afraid of the gospel of Jesus. Within it's walls it preaches prayer and devotion. What Jesus proclaimed was Love of God and Love of neighbor, tied together by Jesus. There is no love of God when one disrespects their neighbor. The souls of every person contain a bit of our creator so that when a person is mistreated, God is mistreated. The gospels make this clear in the parables of Jesus. Diversity, equality and inclusion are Christian values taught by Jesus. Love of the other, inclusion of all, forgiveness and mercy are all taught by Jesus and make up parts of his gospel. Jesus instructed everyone of us to go and preach his gospel to the world, yet the Church here in the U.S. hides behind it's walls and says that those gospel values are political and can't be discussed in public. It's easy to say love and worship God, but what about the rest of the gospel ? Jesus did not hold back, but the Church in the U.S. holds back, afraid to say that their is no love of God without love of neighbor, and diversity, equality and inclusion of Christian values. Jesus wanted us to be known for our love. Look at the mess American society is in today. It's all about hate, not love. It's about division not inclusion. Is it any wonder that those outside the Church look at it and believe that the Church has nothing to offer, because it is not offering anything. If the Church wants people to believe, perhaps it should do as Jesus asked and proclaim the gospel publicly without fear. Stand up and be counted in supporting gospel values publicly. Love is not politics, it is God and his commandments we should proclaim publicly.
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