Cathedral of Incarnation at Nashville, Tenesse
Why People Are Becoming Catholic in Tennessee
A recent article in The Chattanooga Times Free Press revealed the surprising surge of Catholic converts in Tennessee, a traditionally Protestant area. In particular, the Diocese of Knoxville ranked among the top 10 in the nation for its rate of adult conversions. Fr. Michael Cummins, a priest in the Diocese of Knoxville, offers his own reflections on why people are converting to Catholicism.
The national media has often reported on the closing of Catholic churches and schools, with the ensuing turmoil this creates, in the northeastern U.S. and in larger metropolitan areas. But what often goes underreported is the growth of the Catholic Church in the southern United States. Although still small in comparison to most Evangelical communities; the Catholic Church is the fastest growing Church in the South. As a priest in a southern diocese I can say that my own priesthood has been marked by this growth. My first assignment as a newly ordained priest was to a new parish community in west Knoxville, Tennessee, which was then meeting in a warehouse. Over the course of four years I witnessed the building of the Parish Life Center, the rectory, and the final church itself. My second assignment was to the local Catholic High School and during my second year there the school community moved across town to a newly built facility. My third assignment, and first pastorate, was to a small town church which was in the design stage of a building project. Within five years we built the new church and a new rectory and sold off the old church and property. Since then, that church, has built a new Parish Life Center.
My own experience is not unique. The Catholic Church is growing in the South and in Tennessee. Within the Diocese of Knoxville there seems to be a continual (if not multiple) number of building projects, land acquisitions, and visioning for the future occurring. Recently, the Diocese of Knoxville purchased a former Protestant church in Knoxville to become the church home for the first Catholic Vietnamese parish in our diocese. New Glenmary missions have begun in the Diocese of Knoxville and are thriving! The Diocese of Nashville just acquired a large mega-church facility that had to be sold when that community dwindled. They’re planning to turn the facility into their new diocesan Ministry Center which will house the Chancery.
According to recent statistics Knoxville, ranks #10 in the U.S. in total number of converts with Nashville ranked #8. What explains this? There seems to be a number of converging factors. Many people are moving to the South, either for jobs or retirement, from other parts of the country that historically have larger numbers of Catholics. More minorities are moving into the South who are also historically Catholic (Hispanics, Asians). The polling also suggests that marriage is a factor. Often, in the South, Catholics end up marrying non-Catholics with an offshoot being that the non-Catholic spouse eventually converts to Catholicism.
The statistics are intriguing but I would also like to add a few pastoral insights that I have gleaned by listening to the stories of recent converts in East Tennessee.
First, people fall in love with the Eucharist. East Tennessee and the South are rich in Christian heritage, but that heritage is typically Protestant. Scripture is certainly emphasized within these faith traditions of the South. At some point many people encounter the Catholic celebration of the Eucharist and things just click. This celebration of the Lord’s Supper they often have heard of through Scripture all of sudden is giving form and substance and it answers a deep yearning in their hearts. I have heard this story many times from many converts, including my own father.
Second, people fall in love with tradition and history. Again, Southern Christianity is mainly Protestant, and the tendency (at least, it seems to me, in such churches) is to emphasize the beginnings of Christianity and then jump over the intervening fifteen centuries before the Reformation to today. When non-Catholics encounter a Church which can actually give account for those intervening centuries, and how things have developed as they have, they are often mesmerized and attracted!
Third, people fall in love with faith and reason. The ability to hold together faith and reason is a truly beautiful and life giving aspect of the Catholic Christian faith. We can easily take it for granted but we should not. Not every faith tradition can claim this ability and because of that, they end up contorting themselves into various knots of inconsistency. These ultimately stifle thought and authentic creativity in living the Christian faith. Catholic Christianity offers a consistent heritage of holding together faith and reason, and this attracts many people once they encounter it.
Fourth, people fall in love with the Catholic Church’s willingness to not proselytize. The Catholic Church clearly teaches that while we evangelize, we do not proselytize. The pastoral wisdom of the Church is found here. Christian churches that feel the need to manipulate others into conversion are shooting themselves in the foot because at some deep level there is an inconsistency in this and it cannot help but be recognized. As Catholics, we are certainly willing to share the beauty of our faith but we respect the freedom of people to choose or not choose the Catholic faith for themselves. This respect goes a long way for many people. Multiple times I have heard people say they have been attracted to the Catholic Church because they have not encountered proselytizing efforts similar to ones that left them burned from other churches and ministry organizations.
Fifth, people fall in love with a Church that does not need to chase after the world. The Catholic Christian faith is certainly incarnational, sacramental, and is attentive to the movement of God’s grace in and through creation, but that is different than chasing after the world. My own belief is that churches that need to emphasize the latest or newest trend in “churching” do so because they really do not have that much to offer and are, actually, quite desperate in their attempts to attract.
Sixth, and finally, people fall in love with community that is founded in Word and Sacrament. Much is made of “fellowship” in non-Catholic churches and I do believe that, as Catholics, we have something to learn here regarding how to welcome and receive others. But there is a depth to community that can be found in the Catholic Church that is unique. This depth is possible precisely because it comes from something beyond our own efforts at community (fellowship) and is rooted in the Divine initiative found, revealed, and celebrated in Word and Sacrament. Christ calls us together and He breaks open Word and Sacrament for us.
These are some of the pastoral insights that I have gleaned as I have listened to this new surge of Catholic converts. They love their Catholic faith and find within it a fulfillment and answer to their deepest yearnings! May we all learn from their witness and recognize the beauty and life of our Catholic faith.
Fr. Michael Cummins is a Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Knoxville, TN. He serves as Vocation Director for the diocese and Chaplain to the Catholic Center at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN. Fr. Michael is a member of the Community of Sant’Egidio.
SOURCE:
http://wordonfire.org/WoF-Blog/WoF-Blog/July-2014/Why-People-Are-Becoming-Catholic-in-Tennessee.aspx