by David Roseberry, The Anglican
Three Things the Growth of Catholicism Tell Us
Settled Belief in a Shifting World
I remember a story from the time of the American Great Awakening. It may be apocryphal—but like all good stories, it tells the truth.
One farmer said to another, “Hey, let’s go hear George Whitefield preach the Gospel.”
The second farmer scoffed, “Why? You don’t believe the Gospel.”
“You’re right,” the first replied. “But he does.”
That simple exchange reveals something deep about the human spirit:
Conviction is attractive. And strong convictions are strongly attractive.
In an age of moral confusion and cultural uncertainty, people are drawn to those who actually believe what they say—who live as if their core convictions are real and unshakable.
This, more than anything, may explain the quiet shift now unfolding in England. For the first time in centuries, the Roman Catholic Church in England now surpasses the Church of England in active attendance. Among young people, Catholics outnumber Anglicans. In London, the shift is even more pronounced. The tide is turning—and it’s not turning toward trendy liturgies or progressive theology. It’s turning toward clarity, continuity, and conviction.
I am not a sociologist or demographer, but after reading several reports and watching the slow decline of the Anglican Church in England—and its moribund sister, The Episcopal Church in the United States—I am not surprised. Even within the breakaway Anglican Church in North America, of which I am a part, the same questions are surfacing. The Roman Catholic “takeover,” as some headlines put it, is not a fluke. It’s the fruit of something deeper. And I believe there are lessons here for us in the American Church—Catholic and Protestant alike.
There are many reasons why such a shift is taking place, but after reading the reports and summary statements, three fascinate me and hold lessons for Christians in the rest of the world.