Crossing the Tiber?

Why?

Why do Protestants keep joining the Roman Catholic Church (RCC)?  

You probably know someone who has converted to Roman Catholicism recently.  You likely have a friend, a family member, or an acquaintance who has taken the plunge and made that difficult swim across the Tiber.  He or she was raised within Protestantism, whether one of the mainline traditions (Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, etc.) or an independent, non-denominational church, but found a renewed sense of faith by "going back to Rome."

Perhaps it wasn't Rome.  Perhaps it was another liturgical tradition like the Eastern Orthodox Church (EOC).  I personally have a cousin who became a Byzantine Catholic and a friend who joined the Polish National Catholic Church.  I'm sure statistics would show that these older churches have their own issues losing parishioners, but it cannot be denied that there is a movement, especially among young men and young families, towards the older, more liturgical traditions.  

Why?  To what can we attribute this phenomenon?  Well, I'm sure there are a host of reasons.  Every person's journey is different and they all have their own complex list of reasons, experiences, etc.  I wouldn't dare to speak for all of these people, but, based on my observations and my own experience joining the Anglican tradition, here are a few reasons I would proffer.

1) They want to worship.  Don't misunderstand me--Protestants certainly worship God.  Their worship, however, often lacks the holistic experience of liturgical worship.  Some denominations err on the side of intellectualism, while others offer little more than an entertainment-driven emotional pick-me-up to start the week.  In an age of screens, social media, and working from home, many people are looking for a sacred worship experience that engages their entire persons--mind, soul, and body.  

It is embodied worship particularly that many are seeking.  They don't want to sit passively while a band plays or a preacher gives a TED talk or theological lecture.  They could do that at home on the couch.  They want something--a tradition, a calendar, a rhythm--to inhabit with their families.  They want something they can touch, smell, and taste.  They want the visible Gospel our Lord gave us 2000 years ago.  We do not have a Savior who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15);  we have a gracious Lord and Savior who was, no, is, truly human and understands what it means to be a physical person.  He gave us the Eucharist as a regular reminder and experience of His sacrificial love and presence.  It is no wonder that a generation raised on disembodied theology and CCM hungers for something more.

2) They started reading.  Anglican-turned-Roman Catholic John Henry Newman famously said, "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant."  Newman probably overstated his case a bit, but there is certainly a connection between reading the great writers of the Christian Faith and becoming dissatisfied with the current state of (for lack of a better term) modern Evangelical Christianity.  Many Protestants long for a connection to the one holy catholic and apostolic church.  They yearn for unity with the Body of Christ throughout the world and throughout the ages, but they feel that such unity is not possible within the confines of their present traditions.  Who can blame them?  When they are told, implicitly or otherwise, that nothing before the Reformation matters, who can fault them for looking to Rome?  When we tell them that huge portions of present and historic Christianity are, in fact, non-Christian, how can we blame them for defecting once they have discovered otherwise? 

In addition to the liturgical tradition, which we have already discussed, many young Christians are particularly eager to engage with the intellectual tradition of the Catholic Church.  They want to read Athanasius, Augustine, and Anselm.  They want to read the Desert Fathers and the medieval doctors. They want to glean what is true, good, and beautiful from all eras and traditions of the Christian Faith--and they don't want to feel bad about doing so.  They don't want to feel that they are abandoning their faith by digging more deeply into the Faith.  

It truly is a shame the way Reformed Protestants have shunned or neglected the Great Tradition.  This is, after, our Protestant heritage.  The Reformers were all seeking to reclaim the unbroken tradition of the Faith they believed the Roman tradition had lost or obscured.  Unfortunately, most Protestants have lost this reformational vision.

3) The historic traditions have good marketing.  That sounds so unpious, and so it may be.  However, in a time of listlessness, anxiety, and social unrest, people are often looking for a feeling.  They want to feel united--feel rooted--feel like they are part of something bigger.  This longing is very human, natural, and Christian, and the RCC and EOC have capitalized on that.  Young men who feel that their cultural heritage has been lost, who feel untethered to history and to God, have found an anchor in the lofty, ornate churches and austere vestments of the older traditions.  The RCC and EOC have also used apps, podcasts, and other modern media (social and traditional) to offer open arms to those seeking a moor in this unsteady world.  They project a solidity, even an authoritativeness, for which many Christians don't even realize they're searching.

Protestant denominations need to be intentional about rediscovering and communicating this sense of rootedness.  I am glad to note that there certainly are a few traditions that are doing this already.  The CREC contains many who would label themselves something akin to Reformed Catholics.  Many Anglicans emphasize Catholicity and the Great Tradition.  There are even various groups of Charismatic/Pentecostal Christians who seek to reclaim liturgical and theological elements from various periods of Christianity.  However, there remain huge portions of Protestantism that essentially ignore or eschew any church history outside of their own particular traditions.  They should not be surprised when their congregants discover the riches of the Christian Faith and leave for traditions that allow or encourage them to explore what the Great Tradition has to offer.

I hope that this has not come across as a defense or critique of crossing the Tiber.  It is merely a rationalization.  I could not personally join the RCC or the EOC for a variety of reasons and do consider myself firmly Reformed in mindset and theology.  I do, however, also happen to believe that being Reformed requires me to embrace the historic Faith, not remain within the echo chamber of any given tradition.   

A few final notes in closing.  

Interestingly, consumerism is still a driving factor in this phenomenon.  Despite the fact that people are looking for an ancient, embodied Christian experience, they are still church shopping.  We rightly chide seeker friendly churches for allowing customer preferences to dictate worship practices, but we are still all very American in how we pick and choose which church suits us best.  We still drive past dozens of churches to get to the one we like.  I don't know that there is anything to be done about this, or if anything ought to be done about this, but it's good to be self-aware.  As a culture we have lost what it really means to submit to a religious authority.    

As always, stereotypes and generalities can be helpful, but should not be taken too far.  There are Baptist churches, I suppose, that relish a connection to the Catholic Church.  There are Presbyterian churches that don't spend all their time debating how many angels can dance on the head of a needle.  In discussions like these we tend to paint with broad brush strokes, and that's okay, but it's good to remember that there are always exceptions.

Finally, the grass is always greener, isn't it?  Many people who flock to the RCC find that its promises of authority, unity, and tradition aren't always what their eager converts hoped they'd be.  They also often discover an opposite set of ditches, like nominalism, clericalism, and lack of community.  As there is no perfect church, so, too, there is no perfect Church.  No tradition has everything right.  No denomination has the perfect balance.  The beauty of the Church of Jesus Christ is currently found in a diversity of bodies.  If you feel you must leave your current tradition for another, so be it, but learn to be content once you have done so.  It's fair to appreciate the strengths of different traditions, but enter into your new tradition earnestly and submit yourself to it.  Don't try to remake it in your own image.