The Nones: The Dissenters

Continuing in the series discussing different categories of individuals who have disaffiliated from the Church, our journey now comes to the Dissenters. With all of these categories, it need be mentioned that any title may be offered to them, but ‘dissenters’ is chosen because, say it with me: alliteration! 

Here, we combine Saint Mary’s Press’ group with the same name, the Dissenters, with Kinnaman’s Exiles. Let’s look at each in turn before examining why these categories are really one and the same.

According to Saint Mary’s Press, dissenting young people have a variety of reasons for their disaffiliation, often Catholic social teaching issues such as so-called same-sex marriage, abortion, and birth control. Others take issue with higher theological issues such as the Bible, the last four things, sacramentality among others. 

For his part, Kinnaman offers a profile of his exiles on pages 77-79 of his work You Lost Me. Having said that, his profile is something that plenty of faithful Christians can align with. He offers seven points that reflect the average exile. 

1. Exiles are not inclined towards being separate from “the world”.
2. They are skeptical of institutions but are not wholly disengaged from them.
3. Young exiles sense God moving “outside the walls of the Church”.
4. They are not disillusioned with tradition; they are frustrated with slick or shallow expressions of religion.
5. Exiles express a mix of concern and optimism for their peers.
6. They have not found faith to be instructive to their calling or gifts.
7. They struggle when other Christians question their motives.

With this profile laid out, the next step is to consider what these dissenters have told researchers their issue is. I mentioned in a previous article on the nones how Saint Mary’s Press offers qualitative research, and the beauty is that these dissenters tell us precisely what they long for.

“This is what I know. I believe in birth control, I had sex when I was like 17. I am a complete supporter of gay marriage and being able to choose who you want to be with. I am fine with priests being able to get married. The whole being married to Jesus or God thing is kind of ridiculous” - Diane p. 21

“I was already distancing myself from the teachings of the Church when I was probably in middle school. There were passages that would come up in CCD, for example, rich people are bad and men should not lie with a man as with a woman. I was always questioning and I would always bring things up. It didn’t quite make sense to me and I never felt like I was receiving satisfactory answers from my CCD teachers” - Bill p. 23

Though Kinnaman’s research is quantitative, it still offers important insights.

32% of young Christians in Kinnaman’s research identify with the statement “I want to find a way to follow Jesus that connects with the world I live in”. 

One theme uncovered in Kinnaman’s research was “I want to be a part of a Christian community that is more than a performance one day a week”. 

Regardless of the issues they raise, try to look at the thread underlying each of the statements and trends. The issue at hand is not church teaching proper, but rather that these dissenters lack the strong, faithful, and knowledgeable trusted adults who can walk with them through these issues. 

We’ve not yet reached the point in the series where practical steps can be offered. One final group of disaffiliates needs to be considered before moving there. In the next article in the series, we will examine the forgotten, the left behind, the drifters.

Works Cited

Saint Mary’s Press & the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. Going, Going, Gone: The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics. Saint Mary’s Press. Winona, Minnesota. 2017.

Kinnaman, David. You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving the Church and Rethinking Faith. Baker Publishing Group. Grand Rapids, Michigan. 2011.