The first reason Christians choose their religion is because of which religion their parents are.  That is, at least initially they have no say in the matter.  But at some point, some Christians change their Religion.  Many become atheist or agnostic or simply "non-practising" but others embrace another version of Christianity.  But why do they choose a particular version.  The reason Catholics became Protestant is usually because they dislike one or other of the Catholic Dogmas - and there are many to dislike: teachings on gay sex, sex outside marriage, abortion, priests must not be women, priests must be celibate, literal interpretation of "This is my body", worshipping saints, papal authority and infallibility - the list is long.  Abuses by clergy (hypocritical behaviour) don't help.   Another reason is that some Protestant Churches (e.g. Pentecostal) offer a more emotional experience.  In any case, it is not hard to see why Catholics become Protestant - but why do Protestants become Catholic? Why do Anglicans become Catholic and from a different slant, why do Orthodox Catholics (Greek, Russian etc) not become Roman Catholics?

It's probably true that every case is different but perhaps looking at three examples will help us understand.

Methodist to Catholic
My own father was raised in strong Methodist household but he also went to University and learned to think - he graduated as a Civil Engineer. Then at about the age of 27, he met my mother who was raised in a strong Catholic household and she said: "I can only marry a Catholic!".  Being reasonable, he wanted to check out what the Catholic Church had to say.  Years later he told me that "The Catholic Church has all the answers.  They can rationally explain all the questions you might have about god and the Spiritual world."  Given his motivation, he wanted to be convinced and so he was.   He then "converted" and upset his parents but "won the girl".  He never gave up on his conviction but he convinced me that "rational explanations about god were important and possible".  When I realised he was wrong on this (and like all humans, wrong on a few other things), I gave up on being a Catholic.  So in his case, he was sold on the idea that the Catholic Church was more rational and more correct than Methodists.  Conrad Black is Catholic and a year ago wrote about the Catholic Church in a similar vein  - he said that the Catholic Church has a "scientifically attested to" faith.

Anglican to Catholic
In a recent post on The National Post's Holy Post,  John McKillop has written about his disenchantment with the Anglican Church he has attended for 30 years.  He was obviously brought up thinking being gay was wrong and certainly gay marriage was not allowed.  Yet his Church, the Anglican Church of St. Mary Magdalene on Manning Avenue in Toronto has changed with the times.  I would call them "high Church" and although many Anglicans dislike the division between low and high Church - it is accurate to say that individual Anglican Churches vary in their practices from almost Roman (high) to Protestant (low).  But unlike the Catholic Church, the Church of St. Mary Magdalene now accepts gays - including gay marriages.  So in this case, John McKillop has stayed static in his beliefs but the world (except for Catholics) has changed around him.  In his post, John announces that he will become a Catholic.

Orthodox versus Roman
On the surface, the Orthodox Churches are the same as Roman Catholic except for not submitting to the pope.  Their teachings are superficially the same.  So why don't the Greek, Russian and other Orthodox Churches simply amalgamate with the Roman Church - surely they can resolve the "pope problem"?

The main reason is that the Pope is seen as a major problem since having a pope - especially one who is infallible - implies an authoritarian Church.  One that has all the answers.  To quote Evagelos Sotiropoulos  from a recent Post in The National Post's Holy Post:

Important points of differentiation include the supremacy and infallibility of the papacy and different wordings in the Creed - a minor difference to outsiders but huge difference in terms of theology.

Due to historical and political developments, the Roman Church promoted an exaggerated sense of its authority and assumed a position of supremacy that did not belong to it. Claims of papal power alienated itself from other great sees in the Church; this remains a predicament that will need to be resolved for true rapprochement.

Unlike the West, Orthodoxy does not focus on "scientifically attested to" faith nor does it have a legal outlook requiring clear-cut definitions for things that are simply beyond comprehension. Orthodoxy stresses mystical theology, be it through monasticism (on Mount Athos, for example) or through teachings of the Holy Fathers, because no science, however rational, can attest to the Mysteries of Christianity.

What he is saying is what the rest of the world is saying about the Catholic Church and that is:

Christianity cannot be explained rationally and having a supreme high priest (the pope) make pronouncements on dogma solves nothing.

It seems from these examples, that the Catholic Church tries to be an authority on the world and in the past this even included the physical world (e.g. Galileo).  This "answer for everything" is one of the original appealing features of religion and it continues to appeal.  It is made more attractive by appearing not to change.  It has of course changed since it no longer attempts to explain the physical world.

However, this "authoritarianism" is why some Christians become Catholics.  It is both the reason why Catholic teaching is rejected by some and why it is embraced by others.

| More...