Let me ask those of you who actually lived through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, unlike me... What I do remember from growing up, at least in the 2000s and the years that followed, is that things seemed quite different before what I would describe as liberalism being pushed to extremes, particularly with the rise and expansion of social media from around 2012 onwards. Do Christians, and Catholics in particular, seem more committed to their faith today than they were in the past? By that, I mean those who genuinely care about their faith. Sometimes I feel that the polarization of today's increasingly liberal society, and what many of us see as its moral distortions, is actually bringing believers closer to God. Let me explain what I mean. I have the impression that in the past, being Catholic was often simply part of one's identity. It was normal, and belief in God was almost taken for granted as the cultural standard. Today, however, those who remain believers seem to be much more consciously rooted in the faith itself. I don't mean only people publicly sharing their testimonies. The emphasis seems to have shifted from cultural belonging towards actually living one's faith. You can see this even among celebrities and, perhaps especially, among people who convert to Christianity. They don't seem lukewarm about their faith. Instead, many make a genuine effort to pray the Rosary, attend Eucharistic Adoration and even go to Mass every day. I notice something similar where I live. Our churches have traditionally been full, including with young people, but today I see many young people openly emphasizing their faith, actively living it and, I would say, being proud of it. They see their faith not merely as something they inherited culturally, but as an important and conscious part of who they are. Perhaps social media plays a role in this as well, since people now express their views much more openly than they used to. In the past, you often didn't really know where someone stood, or at least how strongly they held their beliefs. Still, my impression is that there are fewer and fewer lukewarm believers. Either you belong to the faith and actually live it, or you reject it. There seems to be less of that middle ground now—less of trying to sit on the fence and have it both ways.
@orangina As being born in 1969 I can answer your question in one sentence My generation feared God and where they would end up once they had died.
As one born earlier, in ‘61, I concur. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Anyone who thinks we’re all going to make it to Heaven should ask himself why, if that’s the case, God didn’t just put us all there to begin with.
And light stands out more in the darkness. It may be that the stronger the darkness, the more visible those who shine and seek the truth become. In the past, when there was more “daylight,” when times were brighter and better, perhaps more devoted Catholics did not stand out as much as they do today.
I was a teen in the 2000s, but I was an extremely observant child, so I can tell you that from what I saw, in the 90s there was already a lot of very lax Catholics who didn't actually know their faith and only went to Church because that's what they were raised to do. I went to daily Mass most of my life from the age of 3, and what I observed was that across the board there has always been the same rough average of 10-20 people at any weekday Mass... The most highly-practicing Catholics at any parish tended to be a small handful of families that home-schooled and went to daily Mass. Most churches' religious education classes were very poor in quality, with teachers that didn't even know the Our Father. The children were taught that God loved them and that was basically it. The culture at large was not as dark as now, because the majority of shops and restaurants were run by older people who were still at least nominally Christian and had basic family-friendly principles and decency. But still back then, as now, my family still felt like we stuck out like a sore thumb when we prayed before meals in public, or bowed at the name of Jesus, etc.... Now I still pretty much never see that, but the overall morals and decency of the population is slipping ever downwards. People curse in front of children, inappropriate pictures and phrases are on the walls in public places, and the demonic and paganism is showing up everywhere, especially in bookstores and entertainment. It's worse in some states and cities than in others. But then again, when I see some throwbacks to the 80s, watch old footage of 80s public events or commercials, I see so much evil and darkness it's kind of shocking. But it was disguised a bit better, I think. People are no longer reluctant to bring it straight out into the open and name it. So I guess what I'm saying is, I think that the sides aren't necessarily growing or shrinking, but both sides in some ways are growing bolder...taking more real ownership of what they believe. It used to be basically taboo to speak about faith or evil in public in a specific and vulnerable way... The 80s, 90s and 2000s bred a kind of tough, make fun of others kind of way of being, especially in the young, but today people are more ready to be raw and vulnerable and share what's really in their heart--at least on social media. And today people--especially the young--aren't satisfied with going through the motions. If they're going to be Catholic, they're going to learn what it really means to be Catholic. And if they don't care, they're not going to go to Mass at all. People want to be more authentic, I think. And they're also a lot more interested in what's beyond the temporal world. They're tired of laughing at spiritual things and want to believe in something beyond this bleak existence. So they are very open to either religion or the demonic. I feel that these are exciting times. Year after year I see the the battle lines strengthening.
Yesterday I watched Ghostbusters II, the popular 1989 comedy. As someone who grew up watching movies and who usually notices symbolism quite quickly, it was only yesterday that I realized for the first time just how much occult imagery there is in the film—and, if you look at it closely, how the story can actually be interpreted as a demonic inversion of the birth of Christ. I believe most of you here have seen the movie. Janosz falls in love with a female artist and desires her, while the spirit of a Moldavian ruler, Vigo, seeks to come back to life through the painting she is restoring. In order to return to the world, he demands a child whose body he can enter. The woman, Dana, happens to have a very young baby. Toward the end, in what is essentially an occult ritual, the evil spirit of this ruler attempts to enter the child and come into the world. At the same time, he promises Janosz that Dana will become his woman. Then comes the striking line: “She will be my mother and your wife.” It is essentially an inversion of the Incarnation of Christ: Mary as the mother and St. Joseph as her husband, except that here everything is turned upside down and placed within an occult scene involving the incarnation of evil. Instead of Mary’s free consent, there is coercion and violation of free will. The filmmakers were well-known Jewish figures in the industry, and occult themes were already heavily present in popular culture at the time, but they were often wrapped in entertaining and seemingly harmless content. Today, much of this seems far more overt. Evil, when revealed for what it is, eventually shows its true face. I’m simply pointing out how remarkably explicit this imagery actually is, and yet how little attention most people gave it. Evil can be subtle, deceptive, and cunning in the way it enters people’s lives.
I think you are right. In the 70's it was the wild west--strange Masses and social justice only. The Catholic Charismatics took the faith seriously both lay people and priests. JpII brought good changes but a lot of Catholics had gone lukewarm by then. For those of us who were rescued out of the sins of our youth the fervent embrace of the faith has not wavered. And there is more seriousness now. Sin is so obvious. The devil doesn't hide any more. Social media helps--lots of good Catholic podcasts.
There is one big difference though in how such material was handled in 1989 as opposed to now....The occult ritual in Ghostbusters II is depicted as a grave evil, and if you want to get technical one of the writers was raised Catholic. Nobody watching the film would want to be on the side of the villains.There is a lot of occult stuff in movies now, but now much of it is portrayed positively, as something harmless or something to emulate. It shows how much has fallen in the past 37 years that something that was clearly evil is now being portrayed in a good light.
Yes, exactly! Evil now is portrayed as not only excusable and relatable, but actually preferable to "goodness." I'd say a decade ago we were being conditioned to pity and excuse evil, with it being twisted to look better than it was, and now we are being told evil is the preferential choice--even in all of its ugliness. We should be proud and embrace evil. I don't know how much further we can go before outright pagan sacrifice is required of the populace.
Here is another good Sign amongst young people. A Sign of a change amongst young people at College. Green sprigs are sprouting everywhere, each generation forges it's own path:
I was born in '66, cradle Catholic. My sisters have been away from the Church for years. Many other relatives seem either lukewarm or think social justice is on par with being a good Catholic. Yet, most people I see in my parish are more conservatives traditional Catholics, spanning a range of ages. Yet, the majority are younger than 40. I can't speak to the majority demographics of the parish I spent most of my life in, yet they have in the past 10 years started a new K-8 school! The current Pastor is definitely a conservative 60 year old. In my diocese, it's the retired priests who are generally more liberal thinking. Our new priests are much more traditional. I understand they all want to change the atmosphere in our churches to be more Gothic...doing away with the modern appearances. Lots there to be very hopeful about! Kneelers are also coming back, even if they are carried from side altars/statues to the center aisle only for Communion. A First Communicant this morning received kneeling & on her tongue!!
I often think of this quote. We are living it. Never more so than these days when women publicly support and lionize a woman who murdered her 3 small children.
I agree, but at the same time, you cannot reveal your true face immediately; first, you have to normalize the situation. As de Gaulle once said, there was a time when people feared God and death, and they did not meddle with evil because it was considered a line you simply did not cross. Then we first got the trend of normalizing and accepting evil and demons through film, cartoons, and popular culture. We started seeing little demons and spirits portrayed as harmless, good-natured characters like Casper. There are cartoons where demons are accepted as somewhat friendly beings and victims of other, more powerful ones. This gradually created sympathy toward the idea that they were not dangerous and that it was all fictional. Then many people became interested in the occult because something that had once been forbidden and dangerous had become appealing, intriguing, and challenging. Once that phase of normalization was complete, along with pushing the idea to the margins by presenting it as something fictional, we began to see a shift in character and a reversal of roles. If it had happened all at once, it would have been too much of a shock and would have provoked a backlash. Instead, it entered society through the back door, gradually and almost imperceptibly.
