This research paper from the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge was commissioned by the Diocese of Brentwood and explores the reasons Catholics have become alienated from the Church. In the summer of 2023, Bishop Alan Williams sm issued a personal invitation to those “who were baptised Catholic but for one reason or another have lost interest in what the Catholic Church has to say” or “who feel alienated from the Church because it has harmed or rejected them”.
This timely and challenging research explores the reasons formerly “practising” Catholics have drifted from the Church or become disaffiliated or estranged. The Covid pandemic of 2020 certainly accelerated these trends but this ecclesial drift was clearly in evidence before that time. The Synod has encouraged local churches to re-engage with the estranged and to reflect on the attitudes and behaviours which led to many leaving the Church of the birth.
The research draws on responses from a cohort of 370 respondents who no longer practise on a regular basis – 32% male and 67% female across an age range from 18 to 85.
Among the reasons cited by respondents is the liturgy, although this is not among the principal reasons for disaffiliation; and it would be well worth those with responsibility for liturgy in parishes reading and reflecting on this important research.