Saturday, July 19, 2008

Roman Catholics shun confession but embrace reincarnation, survey claims

Almost half of Roman Catholics in England and Wales no longer feel obliged to confess their sins, a new survey claims.

The poll of 1,500 churchgoers also found that one in three do not feel the need to attend Mass every week.

In addition, one in 10 said they did not believe in the devil or hell, while almost four in 10 said they believed in reincarnation even though it has never been part of the church's teaching.

The Tablet, the weekly magazine which commissioned the survey, said it disclosed "surprising" results about the core beliefs of modern practising Catholics.

Its accompanying article said: "Those who do attend Mass often perceive themselves as highly committed Catholics, yet they clearly have a lower sense of the obligation their parents and grandparents felt about attending Mass on Sundays.

"The majority of Catholics today like to receive Communion frequently while confession, now often called the Sacrament of Reconciliation, has little place in many people's lives."

The survey, carried out by the Von Hugel Institute at Cambridge University, found that two-thirds of Catholics from parishes across England and Wales go to Mass every week and a similar number pray every day.

But it also discovered that "the link between confession and Communion appears to have been severed".

A total of 89 per cent of respondents said they received Communion at every Mass they went to but just 3 per cent said they received Communion only after confessing their sins.

Asked if it is possible to be a "good Catholic" without going to confession, 47 per cent agreed while only 34 per cent disagreed.

In addition, a third said it was possible to be a good Catholic without going to weekly Mass or marrying in the church.

Asked about their beliefs, 1 per cent said they did not believe in life after death or heaven, while 3 per cent said they did not believe in the doctrine of the virgin birth.

One in 10 said they did not believe in the devil, and 9 per cent did not believe in hell despite its importance in traditional church teaching.

But a "surprisingly large" 38 per cent said they believed in reincarnation, the idea that the soul is reborn in another body after death which is a central tenet of Hinduism.
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