Church attendance in the Philippines is declining

Catholics' corruption of Morals as attested by a Catholic priest

 

“ I am SORRY TO CONFESS that CORRUPTION OF MORALS is too often found among professing CATHOLICS. We cannot close our eyes to the painful fact that too many of them, far from living up to the teachings of their Church, are sources of melancholy scandal.

“It must be that scandals come, but woe to him by whom the scandal cometh.” I also admit that the SIN OF CATHOLICS IS MORE HEINOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD than that of their separated brethren, because they abuse more grace. ”

—— James Cardinal Gibbons, FAITH OF OUR FATHERS

Nearly one of 10 Pinoy Catholics thinking of leaving Church, poll finds

Pollster Social Weather Stations' February survey has found that 9.2 percent, or nearly one out of every 10 Catholics who are registered voters, "sometimes think of leaving the Church."

Though they have no data from the past which would show a trend of Filipino Catholics renouncing their religion, pollster Social Weather Stations said Sunday that its recent survey gave credence to the assertion of Jesuit priest and university president Fr. Joel Tabora SJ that "people have been leaving the Catholic Church," partly as a result of "theological bullying."

SWS said it took the survey on its own account, "as a public service" in response to a blog post by Tabora who also wrote, “It is time, I think, for [SWS president] Mahar Mangahas to take out his social survey tools to help us understand what is happening.”

Broken down, of the Catholics who sometimes think of leaving the Church:

- 4.9 percent considered themselves very religious
- 9.1 percent considered themselves somewhat religious
- 16.1 percent considered themselves not very religious
- 57.3 percent said they have no religious belief.

The pollster conducted a poll among 1,200 registered voters from February 15 to 17 which dealt with four matters:

- thinking about leaving the Catholic Church (asked of Catholics only)
- church attendance
- self-comparison of church attendance at present with attendance five years ago
- self-assessed religiosity

SWS said Tabora "had no hand” in designing the questionnaire.

Of the 9.2 percent of Catholics who sometimes think of leaving the Church, 2.5 percent said they "strongly agree" and 6.7 percent "somewhat agree" with the statement, "Sometimes I think that I might leave the Catholic Church."

This was the first time SWS fielded such a question and thus it did not have earlier data that would establish if there was a trend.

However, the poll did reveal that thoughts of leaving the Catholic Church are more common among Catholics "who do not consider themselves as very religious, who attend Church monthly at most, and whose church attendance is less now than five years ago."

In terms of church attendance, Catholics who sometimes think of leaving the Church included:

- 5.4 percent among weekly churchgoers
- 7.1 percent among those who attend several times a month
- 12.9 percent among those who attend once a month
- 14.5 percent among those who attend several times a year
- 18.0 percent among those who attend once a year at most.

The survey covered not only Catholics but other religions. Of the 1,200 voters surveyed, 81 percent were Catholics, 6 percent Protestants, 3 percent Iglesia ni Cristo, and 3 percent of other Christian denominations.

And the "slightly downward" trend of religious-service attendance applied to Catholics, Iglesia ni Cristo members and Muslims as well.

The exceptions are the Protestants and other Christians among whom more attend “more frequently” than those who do “less frequently.”

Church attendance

The SWS survey showed 43 percent of respondents attend church/masjid at least once a week, while 22 percent attend church/masjid two or three times a month.

Another 21 percent attend once a month, nine percent attend two to 11 times a year and 5 percent attend once a year at most.

"Only 37 percent of Catholics attend church weekly. In comparison, there are nearly twice as many of other Christians who are weekly churchgoers: 64 percent among Protestants, 70 percent among Iglesia ni Cristos and 62 percent among other Christians," it said.

It added 75 percent of Muslims attend masjid at least weekly.

SWS said that in 70 SWS surveys of church attendance from 1991 to 2013, weekly attendance was always lower among Catholics in general.

The SWS said the highest recorded weekly church attendance among Filipinos was 66 percent in July 1991, the first time SWS asked the question.

It added the highest recorded weekly church attendance among Catholics was 64 percent, also in July 1991.

Among all Filipinos, the 43 percent weekly church attendance in February 2013 matches the 43-percent low first recorded in March 2008.

The SWS added the latest 37 percent weekly church attendance of Catholics in February 2013 matches the all-time low 37 percent weekly church attendance of Catholics in March 2008.

It added the decline in Catholics' weekly church attendance from 1991 to 2013 is highly significant, statistically speaking.

Five year trend

The survey also revealed that 54 percent of Catholics said their frequency of church attendance is the same now as it was five years ago, in 2008.

But 18 percent said they attend church more frequently in 2013 than in 2008, while 28 percent said they attend less frequently in 2013 than five years ago, for a net difference of -9.

Among Protestants, 26 percent attend church more frequently now, while 14 percent said they do so less frequently now, for a net difference of +12.

Among Iglesia ni Cristos, 14 percent attend church more frequently now, while 36 percent attend less frequently now, for a net difference of -22.

Among other Christians, 26 percent attend church more frequently now and 25 percent attend less frequently now, for a net difference of +1.

Among Muslims, 14 percent attend masjid more frequently now, and 40 percent attend less frequently now, for a net difference of -26.

Religious affiliation

From 1991 to 2013, SWS said the average annual percentage of adults identifying themselves as Catholics in the SWS surveys varied between a high of 88 percent in 1997 and a low of 80 percent in 2007.

It said this indicates "a very slight, but statistically significant, downward trend in the 22-year period."

SWS said that in 1991 and 1994, 85 percent of adults reported themselves as Catholics, and 87 percent in 1996 and 88 percent in 1997.

But this declined to 83 percent in 1998, went up to 85 percent in 1999 and 2000, 82 percent in 2001, and 84 percent in 2002.

"From 2003 to the present it has fluctuated narrowly between 83 percent and 80 percent. The latest proportion of 81 percent in 2013 is statistically less than the initial 85 percent of 1991," SWS said.

Self-assessed religiosity

In the survey, only 29 percent of Catholics consider themselves very religious, compared to 50 percent among Protestants, 43 percent among Iglesia ni Cristo and 41 percent among those from other Christian denominations.

Among Muslims, 38 percent consider themselves very religious.

"Compared with other religious groups, Catholics are the least religious," the SWS said.

The February 2013 Pre-Election Survey was conducted from February 15 to 17, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 registered voters divided into random samples of 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages and ±6% for area percentages applied to the survey. — DVM/HS, GMA News

Taqqiya of Islam on befriending Christians

* ISLAM'S "TAQIYAH" WAY OF BEFRIENDING CHRISTIANS...!!!

*** IS THAT WHAT "FRIENDS" ARE FOR???

Abu Ad-Darda [a companion and pupil of Muhammad] said:

"We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them.'' Al-Bukhari said that Al-Hasan said, "The Tuqyah [or taqqiyah, deception on behalf of Islam] is allowed until the Day of Resurrection.'"

*** Thus you have a mainstream pious Islamic idea of "friendship" with non-believers.

* Ibn Kathir - "In this case, such believers are allowed to show friendship outwardly but never inwardly."

Underneath the Vatican EVIDENCE SATANIC

Catholic Heresy Replacing Christ with Mary! 2011

4 Stages of Islamic Conquest in a nation

 STAGE 1: INFILTRATION

Muslims begin moving to non-Muslim countries in increasing numbers and the beginning of cultural conflicts are visible, though often subtle.

• First migration wave to non-Muslim “host” country.
• Appeal for humanitarian tolerance from the host society.
• Attempts to portray Islam as a peaceful & Muslims as victims of misunderstanding and racism (even though Islam is not a ‘race’).
• High Muslim birth rate in host country increase Muslim population.
• Mosques used to spread Islam and dislike of host country & culture.
• Calls to criminalize “Islamophobia” as a hate crime.
• Threatened legal action for perceived discrimination.
• Offers of “interfaith dialogue” to indoctrinate non-Muslims.

How many nations are suffering from Islamic infiltration? One? A handful? Nearly every nation? The Islamic ‘leadership” of the Muslim Brotherhood and others wish to dissolve each nation’s sovereignty and replace it with the global imposition of Islamic sharia law. Sharia law, based on the koran, sira and hadith, condemns liberty and forbids equality and is inconsistent with the laws of all Western nations. As the author and historian Serge Trifkovic states:

“The refusal of the Western elite class to protect their nations from jihadist infiltration is the biggest betrayal in history.”

STAGE 2:   CONSOLIDATION OF POWER

Muslim immigrants and host country converts continue demands for accommodation in employment, education, social services, financing and courts.

• Proselytizing increases; Establishment and Recruitment of Jihadi cells.
• Efforts to convert alienated segments of the population to Islam.
• Revisionist efforts to Islamize history.
• Efforts to destroy historic evidence that reveal true Islamism.
• Increased anti-western propaganda and psychological warfare.
• Efforts to recruit allies who share similar goals (communists, anarchists).
• Attempts to indoctrinate children to Islamist viewpoint.
• Increased efforts to intimidate, silence and eliminate non-Muslims.
• Efforts to introduce blasphemy and hate laws in order to silence critics.
• Continued focus on enlarging Muslim population by increasing Muslim births and immigration.
• Use of charities to recruit supporters and fund jihad.
• Covert efforts to bring about the destruction of host society from within.
• Development of Muslim political base in non-Muslim host society.
• Islamic Financial networks fund political growth, acquisition of land.
• Highly visible assassination of critics aimed to intimidate opposition.
• Tolerance of non-Muslims diminishes.
• Greater demands to adopt strict Islamic conduct.
• Clandestine amassing of weapons and explosives in hidden locations.
• Overt disregard/rejection of non-Muslim society’s legal system, culture.
• Efforts to undermine and destroy power base of non-Muslim religions including and especially Jews and Christians.

Is there a pattern here? Theo van Gogh is murdered in the Netherlands for ‘insulting’ Islam; the Organization of the Islamic Conference demands ‘anti-blasphemy’ laws through the United Nations; France is set afire regularly by ‘youths’ (read Muslims); the rise of (dis-) honor killings…holocaust denial…anti-Semitism…deception re the tenets of Islam; hatred toward Christians and Jews and Hindus and Buddhists.  The pattern for all to see is the rise of Islamic intolerance and the covert/cultural jihad to remake host societies into sharia-compliant worlds – to remove host sovereignty and replace it with Islamic sharia law.  Sharia law that condemns earthly liberty and individual freedom, that forbids equality among faiths and between the sexes, that rejects the concept of nations outside the global house of Islam, that of dar al-Islam.

STAGE 3: OPEN WAR w/ LEADERSHIP & CULTURE

Open violence to impose Sharia law and associated cultural restrictions; rejection of host government, subjugation of other religions and customs.

• Intentional efforts to undermine the host government & culture.
• Acts of barbarity to intimidate citizens and foster fear and submission.
• Open and covert efforts to cause economic collapse of the society.
• All opposition is challenged and either eradicated or silenced.
• Mass execution of non-Muslims.
• Widespread ethnic cleansing by Islamic militias.
• Rejection and defiance of host society secular laws or culture.
• Murder of “moderate” Muslim intellectuals who don’t support Islamization.
• Destruction of churches, synagogues and other non-Muslim institutions.
• Women are restricted further in accordance with Sharia law.
• Large-scale destruction of population, assassinations, bombings.
• Toppling of government and usurpation of political power.
• Imposition of Sharia law

The website www.thereligionofpeace.com keeps track of the number of violent jihad attacks as best it can. The site lists more than 14,000 attacks since September 2001. It is worth a visit. What is occurring, however, that is likely inestimable are events where muslims are bullied by other muslims for not being “muslim enough,” where non-Muslims are intimidated into doing or not doing what they desire, where remnant populations are in a death spiral simply for being non-muslim in a predominantly muslim area. Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists Animists and Atheists meet with death, property destruction or confiscation, forced conversion, rape, excessive taxation (the jizya), enslavement, riotous mobs and various other forms of islam (in-) justice at the hands of muslims in Sudan, Philippines, Kenya, Malaysia, India, etc.  And let us not forget ‘death to Apostates’ the world over.

STAGE 4: Totalitarian ISLAMIC “THEOCRACY”

Islam becomes the only religious-political-judicial-cultural ideology.

• Sharia becomes the “law of the land.
• All non-Islamic human rights cancelled.
• Enslavement and genocide of non-Muslim population.
• Freedom of speech and the press eradicated.
• All religions other than Islam are forbidden and destroyed.
• Destruction of all evidence of non-Muslim culture, populations and symbols in country (Buddhas, houses of worship, art, etc).

The House of Islam (“peace”), dar al-Islam, includes those nations that have submitted to Islamic rule, to the soul crushing, liberty-condemning, discriminatory law of Sharia. The rest of the world in in the House of War, dar al-harb, because it does not submit to Sharia, and exists in a state of rebellion or war with the will of ‘Allah.’ No non-Muslim state or its citizens are “innocent,” and remain viable targets of war for not believing in ‘Allah.’ The Christian, Jewish, Coptic, Hindu and Zoroastrian peoples of world have suffered under subjugation for centuries. The Dhimmi-esque are forbidden to construct houses of worship or repair existing ones, economically crippled by the heavy jizya (tax), socially humiliated, legally discriminated against, criminally targeted and generally kept in a permanent state of weakness, fear and vulnerability by Islamic governments.
It should be noted that forced conversions (Egypt) and slavery (Sudan) are still reported. Homosexuals have been hung in the public square in Iran. Young girls are married to old men. Apostates are threatened with death. “Honor” killings are routine. Women are legally second-class citizens, though Muslim males insist they are “treated better” than in the West. These more obvious manifestations may distract from some less obvious ones such as the lack of intellectual inquiry in science, narrow scope of writing, all but non-existent art and music, sexual use and abuse of youth and women, and the disregard for personal fulfillment, joy and wonder. Look into the eyes of a recently married 12 year old girl to see the consequence of the moral deprivation spawned by Islam.