Since modern journalism considers reporting survey results as news, we have yet another survey to discuss. This one found that “more Latinos view religion, politics as intertwined.” To put it another way, most Latinos have not yet mastered the trick by which we compartmentalize our lives into little boxes. The “religion box” only comes out for an hour on Sunday while the “politics box” gets to see the light of day the rest of the week, instead of the way it should be, which is that our faith is part of our overall personal makeup and informs our whole lives.
In other findings, the survey said:
When it comes to political loyalties, religion trumps ethnicity: Hispanic Catholics, who make up two-thirds of the Hispanic population, are solidly Democratic. But born-again or evangelical Hispanics, at 15 percent of the Hispanic population and rising, favor Republicans, though by a much narrower margin.
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The survey also indicated that 54 percent of Hispanic Catholics identify themselves as charismatic, compared with about 12 percent of non-Hispanic Catholics.
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Lugo said Catholic leaders will be challenged to incorporate clapping, shouting, and even speaking in tongues into worship, a potential point of conflict in an institution based on tradition. Those issues will be brought into relief next month when Pope Benedict XVI visits Brazil, the world’s most populous Catholic country, where Pentecostals are making inroads.
The implication is that unless US Catholics embrace such things, we’re going to continue to lose Hispanic Catholic to Pentecostal sects at an alarming rate. On the other hand, by the process of inculturation and proper catechesis, they could become less dependent on such outward signs and see beyond them to the truth that the Catholic Church is the true Church. Not that such things are necessarily incompatible with the Catholic faith, but that they are not so necessary to the expression of faith that you would have to leave the Church to find them.
Technorati Tags: Catholic | a href="http://www.technorati.com/tags/Latino" rel="tag">Latino | Hispanic | Pentecostal | charismatic |
