Cafeteria Catholicism

The term cafeteria Catholic is applied to those who assert their Catholic identity yet dissent from one or more Catholic doctrinal or moral teachings, or who are viewed as dissenting by those using the term. Examples include Catholics who are accused of dissenting from any or all of the Church teachings on human sexuality and things related (the so-called "pelvic issues")—i.e., what it has to say about abortion, birth control, divorce, premarital sex, masturbation, pornography, prostitution, and/or the moral status of homosexual acts.

Use in print

An early use in print of "cafeteria Catholicism" appears in Fidelity, 1986.

"Cafeteria Catholicism" allows us to pick those "truths" by which we will measure our lives as Catholics. ... "Cafeteria Catholicism" is what happens when the stance of Protagoras, regarding man as the measure of all things, gets religion — but not too much.

— Fidelity, 1986 published by the Wanderer Forum Foundation.

A different distinction, in the term "communal Catholicism," had already been used in 1976.^[1]

Use of the term

The term is most often used by conservative Catholics critical of progressive Catholics. It is less frequently applied to the conservatives who dissent from other Catholic moral teaching on issues such as social justice, capital punishment, the care of the environment or just war. Conservative Catholics argue this is because these areas of Catholic teaching are not definitively dogmatically defined by the Magisterium, and therefore not unchanging infallible (from a Catholic standpoint) dogmata.^[2] The term has been in use since the issuance of Humanae Vitae, an official document that propounded the Church's opposition to the use of artificial birth control and advocates natural family planning.

It is often a synonymous phrase for "Catholic-in-name-only" (or CINO), "dissident Catholic", "heretical Catholic", "cultural Christian", or "liberal Catholic".

The term has no status in official Catholic teachings. However, the practice of selective adherence to the teachings of the Church has been repeatedly condemned by the Church as heresy, in the Magisterial teachings and through the teaching of the Popes. In a homily delivered on April 18, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI clarified the relation of dissent to faith:^[3]

Being an adult means having a faith which does not follow the waves of today's fashions or the latest novelties. A faith which is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ is adult and mature.

In a similar vein, Pope John Paul II stated in his talk to the Bishops in Los Angeles in 1987:^[4]

It is sometimes reported that a large number of Catholics today do not adhere to the teaching of the Catholic Church on a number of questions, notably sexual and conjugal morality, divorce and remarriage. Some are reported as not accepting the clear position on abortion. It has to be noted that there is a tendency on the part of some Catholics to be selective in their adherence to the Church's moral teaching. It is sometimes claimed that dissent from the Magisterium is totally compatible with being a "good Catholic," and poses no obstacle to the reception of the Sacraments. This is a grave error that challenges the teaching of the Bishops in the United States and elsewhere."

Pope Francis has also said “They may call themselves Catholic, but they have one foot out the door.” during morning Mass at the Domis Sancta.

Surveys on dissenting Catholic laity

In 2014, the U.S. Spanish-language network Univision commissioned a World Values Survey of 12,038 self-identified Catholics in 12 countries with substantial Catholic populations across the world, representing 61% of the world’s Catholic population and covering nine languages spread across five continents.^[5] It found that majorities of Catholics globally and in most regions disagree with Church teachings on divorce, abortion, and contraception, with greater intra- and inter-national division on gay marriage and the ordination of women and divorced men.^[5] Favourable views about the Pope (Francis) did not influence Catholics who disagree with at least some of the church's teachings.^[6] Overall, a higher proportion of Third World Roman Catholics (notably Africa and the Philippines) accept the official doctrines on these subjects, while those in Western countries tend to disagree with many of them.^[5] In the United States^[5] and Spain,^[7] the majority of Catholics support gay marriage, followed by France at 43% support.^[8]

The founder of World Values Survey, Ronald Inglehart said:

This is a balancing act. They have to hold together two increasingly divergent constituencies. The church has lost its ability to dictate what people do. Right now, the less-developed world is staying true to the old world values, but it’s gradually eroding even there. [Pope Francis] doesn’t want to lose the legitimacy of the more educated people. ^[9]

Francis has requested parishes provide answers to an official questionnaire regarding the current opinions among the laity. He has also continued to assert present Catholic doctrine in less dramatic tone than his more direct predecessors who maintained that the Catholic Church is not a democracy of popular opinion.^[10][11]

Francis launched his own survey of Catholic opinion in November 2013. Religion sociologist Linda Woodhead of Lancaster University writes, "it’s not a survey in any sense that a social scientist would recognize." Woodhead feels many ordinary Catholics will have difficulty understanding theological jargon there. Still Woodhead suspects the survey may be influential.

But surveys are dangerous things. They raise expectations. And they play to people's growing sense that they have voice and choice—even in a traditional Church. If it turns out that those voices are ignored or, worse, corralled more firmly into the existing sheepfold of moral teaching, the tension may reach a breaking point. Perhaps Francis is clever enough to have anticipated that, and perhaps he has subtle plans to turn such a crisis to good ends. Perhaps not.

— Linda Woodhead ^[12]

Self-described cafeteria Catholics

• James Carville^[13]
• Mary Karr^[14]
• Patsy Kensit^[15]

See also

• Biblical law in Christianity
• Cafeteria Christianity
• Catholic atheism
• Cultural Christian
• Lapsed Catholic
• Mater si, magistra no
• Moralistic therapeutic deism
• Nominal Christian
• Recovering Catholic

References