 |
| Thomas Cartwright the Presbyterian founder |
Link (here) to the personal website of Fordham University Theology Professor and America magazine contributor Tom Beaudoin
From Tom Beaudoin's Project Description
This project joins fresh research in practical theology to the lived experiences of Roman Catholic laity who were once affiliated with the church and proposes to explore the process and the practice of “deconversion” in Roman Catholicism by undertaking a series of interviews with Catholic laity who have deconverted or are in the process of deconversion, as well as with pastoral workers whose perspectives on deconversion will serve as a basis for critical comparison; by observing in those interviews patterns that might help generate models that illustrate deconversion as a form of theological practice; and by correlating our findings with the limited scholarly literature on deconversion, which has relied largely on Protestant and evangelical churches. This research contributes to the
"understanding of lived Christianity in the United States by providing the beginning of a way to theologically appreciate deconversion in Catholicism,"
both in its own right and for the purpose of comparison with other Christian traditions.
Link (here) to the Louisville Institute website
10 comments:
"deconversion {WTF?} as a form of theological practice"?
Oh, my: now Boodoing is asserting that leaving the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church is an exercise of virtue and spiritual growth.
What a fool.
The "deconverted" are lapsed and lax Catholics. They might be recipients of poor faith formation or inferior catechesis, they might have experienced trauma, or they just might be sinfully turning away from God and the Church towards one or more idols.
To call the phenomenon of leaving the Church "deconversion" is inaccurate and betrays Boodoing's relativist religious and spiritual commitments.
One wonders whether he professes faith in the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church. One wonders whether he believes Chris is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Anyone who does would not consider leaving the Church to be "deconversion".
So sad, what passes for theology today in degenerate theology departments.
So sad, what passes for research and knowledge and scholarship.
Sounds like a needed project. I'm delighted it's been funded and look forward to reading the results.
Do not be afraid of facts people.
Sawyer is right on.
"A Christian believes there are certain moral laws that are divinely binding on all people. That premarital sex relations are fornication. That extramarital sex activity is adultery. A Christian believes that marital relations between husband and wife are sacred. That artificial birth control is a sin; a Christian believes that sex activity between two men or two women is sodomy and a crime that characterizes the pagan nations of antiquity and destroyed their civilization. No society has ever survived homosexuals in power. They are in power... A Christian believes that the willful destruction of unborn human life is murder. A Christian believes that marriage is a lifetime commitment. And that divorce with remarriage is forbidden by Jesus Christ, even among Christians who are not Catholic. Marital instability was frowned upon and an embarrassment to Protestants. For Catholics there never was any question of a temporary marriage or a part-time commitment and there was no organized movement for the annulment of marriages. I repeat: the days of America are numbered. The Catholic Church cannot survive. No wonder they are closing so many churches. Because many of the once believing Catholics are no longer Catholics".
--John Hardon SJ
Sawyer--Have you read Beaudoin? What are your specific criticisms of his work?
BTW, people might have left the Church because, let's see, their parish priest sexually abused them and then the local bishop covered it up. Is this what you mean by "trauma"?
"The Catholic Church cannot survive. No wonder they are closing so many churches. Because many of the once believing Catholics are no longer Catholics".
That goes for the priests/bishops running the Church, as well. Catholics are leaving in droves in part because of the hypocrisy of the Church leaders -- railing against homosexuality, for example, while many Catholic priests are indeed homosexual. Why does Fr Hard-on always find fault with the laity, never the leaders? What is his take on pedophile priests? Don't even get me started on how he covered up for Don McGuire over the years, along with Fr Fessio.
Anon 11:59, I read "Virtual Faith" -- Boodoing's first book in the 90s. I immediately saw it for the crap that it is. Even Boodoing himself has acknowledged that his conclusions in that book were wrong. He wanted to be the first to write about "Gen X spirituality" in "popular culture", so out came the ridiculous book. But it launched him into fame as the "Gen X Theologian".
Boodoing's whole career has been an attempt to claim that everything is spirituality, hence he is now embarking on a "study" of "deconversion" (Catholics leaving Mother Church) as a form of "theological practice".
The man is a theological charlatan.
As I have stated before, nobody who is serious about theology reads Boodoing's material, which is why I don't read him anymore. The only time I come across his name is when there are entries about him on this blog, and I try to warn others about his ignorance and misguided approach to theology.
Why do you refer to him as "Boodoing"? I don't get the reference. Seriously.
So, you read one of his many works and didn't agree with the conclusion--it doesn't seem like you really have a handle on his scholarship
Or maybe you do and you don't like his approach. Does that make him a "charlatan"? You know, you can disagree with a scholar and still acknowledge their work. His academic peers and grant institutions seem to find some value in it.
Finally--and for the last time--whether you like it or not, Beaudoin's work is assigned in theology and religious studies courses across the country.
The Society is experiencing a "Great Convulsion", huge financial losses due to the enormous homosexual / pedophilia problem that has shattered the confidence of even its most ardent supporters. The Society continues to lose members and has lost a third of it's membership in the past three decades. Many Jesuits subscribe to a "Modern" point of view. This "Modern" point of view is held by Tom Beaudoin. This "Modern" approach is the cause of the "Great Convulsion". I eagerly await "The Great Renaissance" within the Society, Tom Beaudoin will watch "The Great Renaissance" from the theological sidelines.
I ask about Beaudoin and I get a boilerplate conservative view of why the S.J.s numbers are down.
Post a Comment