Book Review: Being Catholic in a Culture of Choice by Thomas Rausch, SJ

As a young adult reading Being Catholic in a Culture of Choice, I was challenged by my own adaptation and interpretation of what it is to be Catholic. Rausch states that “there is a discrepancy between the optimistic charting of spiritual interest and the low level of religious practice or spiritual growth.” Rausch’s book is constructed around the fact that Catholic young adults practice what they like about Catholicism and leave what they don’t. The reality that I too adapt and interpret can be difficult to digest. Falling into the target population of this book I turned the pages of Rausch’s text with an acknowledgement that I “take what I like and leave what I don’t.”

Being Catholic in a Culture of Choice calls to task the multitude of young people who claim Catholicism in a deep and prophetic way without actually living in a way that reflects what it is to be Catholic. That Rausch would claim that our dissent is not intentional but uninformed is reflective of his self-identified “culture of choice.” In essence there is an active participation necessary from residents of a “culture of choice.” It is our responsibility to know how we are being influenced and if we find we don’t like the messages placed upon us by the culture, we have an opportunity to step up and act in a counter-cultural expression of lived authenticity. Inclusive of Catholicism we are called to intimate knowing of ourselves, in community and with God. When intimate knowing of self through prayer and reflection illustrates an inclination to claim Catholicism and dissent from Teachings, there can be peace in knowing one is following an ever-unfolding consciousness of being in the world. In this capacity we are living in the Spirit and becoming the expression of participation that challenges necessary growth and change.

Rausch, a professor at Loyola Marymount University, introduces a number of surveys and recent studies on young adult Catholic attitudes toward spirituality and religion. According to these studies and surveys, many young Catholics reportedly see little connection between religion and spirituality; consider being Catholic an accident of birth or personal preference; and are barely distinguishable from mainline Protestants. Many observations can be drawn from this data. Rausch argues that young adult Catholics who have a strong attachment to their faith "need to become more familiar with the rich cultural and intellectual tradition of the Church. Catholicism is a way of life, not just another church."

Laid out in sections devoted to Catholic themes, Rausch presents a book that outlines the faith in a way that is clear, informed, and honest. At the heart of his message, Rausch communicates a Catholic spirit that is filled with imagination and centered on a belief and trust in the spirit working in and through all persons. In this creativity there is a trust in the future of Catholicism rooted in the awareness that the tools to sustainability are in our midst. Choosing to take up these tools with the trust and belief in the spirit is a choice that is ours for the taking.

I am left with elements of illumination and I am also left with larger questions. We live in a “culture of choice” that capitalizes on our material “needs” and pounces on our vulnerability to conform to media projections of acceptability. Here we become consumers not of our own right but of the marketing moguls taking advantage of our desire to be ourselves without being awkward in society. In light of progressive materialism and detachment from ritual and tradition (as Rausch concluded from his statistics) there is an inherent imperative within the pages of this book that suggests that maybe we have not been doing our job as followers of the faith. As Rausch stated, this is a lifestyle not just another religion. When we begin living a lifestyle of the faithful our youth, now grown to young adults, will not have to ask the question of what it is to be Catholic. There will be a lived expression that is Catholic. Our young adults are a product of their parents, religious leaders, communities, etc. Where do the shifts of vision and expression need to take place to halt the progression of intellectually uninformed Catholics? This is a call to action. Do we honor the spirit in our midst by being Catholic in mind, body and spirit or do we choose to let Catholicism be operative on the sidelines, when it is convenient and ultimately, when it feels good?

By Katie Cranor
Katie is a Bernardin Scholar at Catholic Theological Union.

Thomas Rausch, SJ will present at the Partners Conference on September 25 and 26, 2008 at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.  Click here to find out more.