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Special Report
A Principle Rejected
A special opinion poll commissioned by Catholic World Report demolishes the notion that American Catholics demand new inclusive-language translations of liturgical texts.
By Philip F. Lawler
Even among those who attend Mass at least once a week, the Church teachings on controversial issues command only minority support
There is, in short, no discernible demand for new translations.
The alleged demand for inclusive language is a myth.
Over a two-week period in late January and early February, the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut surveyed 1,000 Catholic Americans, asking them a series of questions about their religious beliefs and practices, and their attitude toward the use of inclusive language. By accepted professional standards, a poll of this size is considered reliable to an overall accuracy of within 3 percent. The Roper Center regularly conducts polls for clients such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.
The results of that poll were overwhelming: By clear and consistent majorities, Catholic Americans indicated their lack of enthusiasm for--in many cases, their outright hostility toward--the use of inclusive language.
Every subgroup within the overall survey sample agreed in the general disdain for inclusive language. Men and women, young and old Catholics, those who frequent the sacraments and those who do not, those who embrace the Church's teachings and those who reject them--all opt for standard English usage. The preference for standard English is most pronounced among the most active and loyal Catholics, and weakest among those who are alienated from the Church, but it is universal.
The results of the Roper poll are often revealing, and sometimes disturbing. In general, the survey reveals:
° there is a close correlation between tolerance for abortion and advocacy for the ordination of women;
° a consistent rejection of Church teaching on contraception indicates the depth of dissent in the Church in America; and
° in spite of their dissent on other issues, a majority of Catholics believe in the Real Presence;
In particular, with reference to the topic of inclusive language, the poll shows:
° Catholics generally continue to be wedded to traditional translations of the Bible;
° the alleged demand for inclusive language is a myth; and
° perhaps because of the passivity of Catholics in the face of constant liturgical change, new translations of liturgical texts would not make a difference in overall Mass attendance.
Troubling results
The poll opened with a question about abortion, and immediately uncovered a surprising lack of support for the pro-life position. The results show that 39 percent of the Catholic Americans "strongly disagree" with the statement that "abortion is never justified," while another 20% "mildly disagree." Only 26 percent strongly embraced the Church's unequivoval pro-life position.
Despite clear and repeated statements from the magisterium indicating that women cannot be ordained to the priesthood, a majority of Catholics dissent on that issue as well, with 42 percent saying that they "strongly disagree" with the Church teaching, and another 16 percent that they "mildly disagree." Only 20 percent strongly agreed.
Not surprisingly, the flight from Church authority was most pronounced in responses to a question on contraception. When asked whether "it is morally wrong to use artificial methods of birth control," 57 percent strongly disagreed, and another 16 percent mildly disagreed, yielding an overall 73 percent rejection of Catholic teaching.
Predictably, Catholics who frequent the sacraments regularly are more likely to accept the teachings of the Church. But even among those who attend Mass at least once a week, the Church teachings on these controversial issues command only minority support. In that category, even when those who "mildly" agree are included in the calculations, only 46 percent accept Church teaching on abortion; 43 percent accept the all-male priesthood; and a paltry 30 percent recognize contraception as morally wrong.
The poll also shows a lax attitude toward attendance at Mass. Barely more than half of Catholic Americans--57 percent--attend Mass every week, while 28 percent attend monthly or less frequently. The statistics are even more distressing regarding the sacrament of Penance: only 10 percent go to confession at least once a month, while 33 percent go less than once a year, and a shocking 10 percent volunteer that they have never been to confession.
Catholic educators can take some comfort in the fact that--in contrast to some recent polls--the Roper survey found that most Catholics believe in the Real Presence. A refreshing 82 percent agreed (strongly or mildly) with the statement that "the bread and wine used at Mass are actually transformed into the body and blood of Christ."
No appetite for change
Perhaps despite their rejection of embattled Church teachings, or perhaps precisely because of that dissent, Catholic Americans believe that the Church should take new steps to teach the faith and to encourage spiritual growth. In overwhelming numbers, respondents indicated that the Church should: improve religious education for young people (93 percent); provide better preparation for couples before marriage (82 percent); increase devotion to the Eucharist (76 percent); encourage priestly vocations (75 percent); and stop the decline in Mass attendance (70 percent).
In marked contrast to those figures, most Catholics frowned on Church efforts in the political realm. Only 48 percent felt that the Church should take an active role in the public fight against abortion and euthanasia, while merely 31 percent supported Church efforts to lobby for increased government spending. The wide range in support for various initiatives--from a high of 93 percent to a low of 31 percent, surprised Kenneth Dautrich, the associate director of the Roper Center. Ordinarily, he observed, when a survey contains such a list of proposal, the approval ratings fall within a narrow range. The marked differences in the responses to this survey suggest an unusually strong divergence of opinion.
Catholics seemed similarly unenthusiastic about new changes in the liturgy. Asked whether the Church should use a new translation of the Scriptures in religious services, only 43 percent supported the idea. Intriguingly, the lukewarm support for that idea was constant; the responses of those who attended Mass regularly or rarely, and of those who accepted or rejected Church teachings, varied by only a few percentage points. Again, that 43 percent figure contrasts sharply with the 93 percent support for stronger religious-education programs. There is, in short, no discernible demand for new translations.
Since the introduction of the new rites mandated by Vatican II, ordinary Catholics have been buffeted by a series of liturgical changes, both authorized and unauthorized, in the celebration of Sunday Mass. Given the wide variety of experiences at the parish level, it is only logical that Catholics would be split on the question of whether the liturgy has changed during the past ten years. In fact, 48 percent have noticed a change, while 47 percent believe the liturgy is the same. (On paper, at least, the latter are correct. There have been no significant changes in the liturgy, as approved by the Church, during the past ten years.)
Most Catholics are not perturbed by the changes, real or imaginary, which they perceive in the liturgy. A solid 56 percent report that the alleged changes have helped them to get more out of the Mass, while only 16 percent say they are disturbed by the changes. These statistics may in fact reveal the extent of confusion among Catholics with respect to the Mass. Changes in the Mass, authorized or unauthorized, have become the accepted norm of ordinary parish life, and Catholics have become conditioned to accept constant change.
The myth of inclusive language
However, when they are asked to comment on specific proposals for change--at least in the translation of the Scriptures--Catholics dig in their heels. While they are not generally familiar with the Scriptures (only 30 percent read the Bible more than once a month), Catholics still cherish their favorite passages, and cling to familiar translations.
The Roper poll asked respondents to compare four pairs of translations, matching one passage from the New American Bible with new "inclusive-language" renditions suggested for use in the Revised New American Bible or new liturgical texts. In every case, the majority of those who expressed a preference opted for the standard English version. Strong preference for the familiar translation hovered between 35 and 50 percent, while strong preference for the inclusive-language version never exceeded 22 percent. Although men were more emphatic than women in their choices, women too chose the standard translation in every case.
When asked to comment on the general principles that undergird the case for inclusive language, respondents were even more assertive. By a convincing 71-24 percent, Catholics rejected the notion that "terms such as 'man' and 'mankind,' when used to refer to all people, seem to exclude women." When asked whether the Church should avoid the use of those masculine pronouns, respondents dismissed that suggestion by a resounding 69-21 percent margin. Here too, the responses of women were only marginally different from those of men; women rejected those propositions by margins of 69-26 percent and 69-22 percent respectively. The alleged demand for inclusive language is a myth.
How would Catholics respond if new inclusive-language translations were introduced? The Roper survey posed that question, and found that most Catholics would not respond at all; 81 percent reported that they would be neither more nor less likely to attend Mass at a parish that used the new translations. That indifference stretched across the board; in every subcategory studied by the Roper poll, between 77 and 83 percent said the new translation would make no difference in Mass attendance.
Moreover, the Roper poll showed that any "pastoral" attempt to accommodate even the minority of Catholics who demand inclusive language would be in vain. In a perfect bell curve, the 8 percent of Catholics who said they would be more likely to attend Mass in their parishes if an inclusive language translation of the lectionary were introduced was exactly balanced by another 8 percent who would be less likely to attend.
* This issue of Catholic World Report concentrates on the primary purpose of the Roper survey: the measurement of Catholic attitudes on the use of inclusive language. Future issues will examine several other interesting poll results.
The full results of the Roper survey may be obtained by interested readers, at a token price to cover the costs of reproduction and handling. Please send requests to Survey, PO Box 567, Dedham, MA 02027.
Throughout this story, all answers are expressed in percentages. In some cases, this article simplifies the results of the survey by eliminating categories such as "don't know" and "refused to answer," or responses which account for less than 1 percent of the sample. Because of this simplification, and because all responses were rounded to the nearest full percentage, the total responses may not total exactly 100 percent.
Philip F. Lawler is the editor of Catholic World Report.