I was saddened to read the following news article today:
Young Catholics not turning to sanctity of life and marriage as voting issues, poll finds
Catholic News Agency — A new poll of Americans ages 18-34 has surveyed the faith, politics, and issue positions of young adults before the 2008 election. The poll claims about 60 percent of younger self-identified Catholics say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 44 percent reportedly support same-sex marriage, a number which rises to 64 percent when religious liberty protections are emphasized.
The claims come from the Faith in Public Life’s “The Faith and American Politics Survey,” which was conducted by Public Religion Research between August 28 and September 19. Polling 2,000 American adults and an over sample of 1,250 younger adults, its methods included both land line and cell phone interviews.
I found it interesting — but not entirely surprising — that "the poll shows overall voters who attend religious services once or twice a month support Obama at a rate of 60 percent". It would have been more balanced of them to include candidate support for young Catholics who abide by the Church's precepts and attend Mass weekly, even though this group made up only 28 percent of those polled:
Of Catholics ages 18-34, 28 percent reported attending church once a week,
while 22 percent said they attend once or twice a month. Another 27 percent
reported attending a few times a year, while 17 percent said they seldom or
never attend church. Six percent reported attending church more than once a
week.
I fall into that last category...and no, I didn't get polled. The most troubling part of this article is that only 28 percent of "self-professed" Catholic young adults actually comply with their most fundamental obligation of weekly Mass. I would venture to say that if we could bring that number up, the emphasis given by these youth to sanctity of life and marriage issues would likewise increase.
In other words, those of us intent on evangelizing our generation have our work cut out for us. Are you a young Catholic reading my blog? If so, I challenge you to do something today to evangelize one of your peers. We may be the "minority", but we are by no means silent. Post a comment with your "answers" to this poll, and let us know what action you will take to make us the majority!
And don't forget today's Life Devotional, in which we pray for "a flowering of the joy of parenthood". Do something today to help a struggling parent find joy in their vocation!
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