The Catholic church Donna Carlton remembered was much different. So Carlton, now 60 and a retired nurse in Pleasanton, didn't know what to make of it when, in the early 1970s, she encountered Mass in English, priests roaming the aisles and altars no longer entirely off-limits. These changes, a result of progressive and controversial reforms spurred by Vatican II in the 1960s,were tough to accept. I felt very left out, though I still believed in my religion, in my roots. She drifted away, rarely attending church and never feeling like she belonged with a parish.
People drift from the Catholic church for many reasons, religious experts say.
Some leave because they disagree with its traditions or tenets. Some turn away because of a slight by a church member or priest. Others mistakenly believe they are no longer welcome, say because of a divorce. And church may no longer be a priority for families amid a fast-paced and stressful modern life. Guilt isn't the only emotion that might be involved, Horn and others said.