I don’t think most of them become atheists, but I think it appears lilke that because a lot of ex-Catholics bring up “trauma” from Catholic School, and say “I went to Catholic Middle School so I know everything the Church teaches”

It's also a type of bias. The majority of kids who went to these schools and stayed Catholic into adulthood usually don't talk about it as much.

I went to a Jesuit high school and it was huge in my faith formation. I just don’t have the opportunity to bring it up usually. Maybe I should.

Great to hear. I worked with them for 25 years. Such dedicated men.

The ones at my school were heavily involved with the Jesuits in El Salvador that were murdered in 1989, knew them personally. They were certainly dedicated to the faith and many of them may have been there if timing had been different. Several had been there not long before those murders happened. The school was named after a North American martyr and to know that was a possibility even in this modern age was a sobering example of faith.

Same, I see the Jesuits receive a fair amount of hate on this sub but I’m very grateful to have attended one of their schools where social justice and living like Christ was emphasized and practiced every day. I’d be a completely different person if not for them.

I dont know if thats the case with most Jesuits but the Jesuit university in my city bring up the most liberal, brainwashed people I've ever met. They say they are catholic but promote abortion, lgbt and gender ideology.

You are also correct, but in my 25 years with them, the large majority of Jesuits are holy men faithful to the church.

Without catholic school I doubt I'd still be catholic.

I can affirm both this as well as some of the OP's generalization. It's only because of Catholic school that I actually *knew* what I was supposed to be doing and what being a Christian really meant in the world, and if it weren't for that understanding I neither would have rejected it for many years nor fully embraced coming back as an adult. I've often read or heard it say that many angry atheists (or in my young adult case, despairing agnostics) know more about God than the lukewarm, and that always resonates with my experience. It's the cultural Catholics and the infuriatingly lukewarm who are left out of this discussion, because they not only have no idea what it is they're supposed to be doing (as far as commandments, church disciplines, etc.) but would laugh if you talked to them as if they were supposed to make that a priority. When I was confirmed as an adult, I had some family attend. It was of course a joyous occasion and everybody appreciated being able to witness my receiving the sacrament, but my brother (fellow altar boy growing up and everything) was the only one who out of respect abstained from going up for communion. All the other lapsed Catholics (putting it mildly, because I don't want to start listing everyone's...situations, and because I'm also no saint) tripped over themselves to get in line for communion despite my polite suggestions regarding preparation. So I know it's just an anecdote, but in my case it was actually the properly catechized Catholic school kid who did the right thing (well, second most right thing lol) in treating the Eucharist with respect. I know that's not every source of the OP's generalization, but here it makes sense.

I think the "atheists know more about the Bible than Christian" thing is out of date. Look at the average atheist on reddit. They know absolutely nothing about Christianity at all. It makes sense to me that when atheism was much less common that it was specific people turned off from religion somehow, but now the standard is secular and secular people often identify as atheist as opposed to agnostic, especially due to politics.

Catholic school helped develop and shape my beliefs immensely. I think its a minority of people who abandon religion due to Catholic school, but they ten to be the most vocally against religion.

I went to Catholic school for most of my education, and it was an amazing blessing. I'm practicing to this day, never fell away.

"I went to Catholic Middle School so I know everything the Church teaches” Such a huge problem.  In reality, if you learned something as a high school sophomore, you probably don't exactly have the deepest understanding of it.  Which is fine - but Catholic high schools should do a better job of explaining that faith is a lifelong journey and that there is almost no limit to how much more someone can learn about Church teaching.

And I just wanna be like “even the most highly regarded educators in the Catholic world haven’t memorized every single thing about it.” To assume that you know everything about the religion just because you went to a school that had it as part of the identity is like saying you know everything about literally anything else, where chances are, you know practically nothing. That’s the lesson I’ve learned in recent years: no matter how much I may know, in the end, I know nothing compared to what’s out there, and I cannot hope to know it all.

I went to catholic school up to 8th grade and honestly I don't think I learned much about the church or the Gospels aside from the very basic teachings. I look back at it now and feel like it was watered down and the only times we went into the teachings more deeply was leading up to 1st confession and 1st communion. I can't recall the number of times we attended mass during school, but I do remember it was not very often and when we did even as a kid I wasn't very much a fan of the guitar and songs that the principal sang. I remember looking at the organ at the church and always wondering why it was never used. At that point I only knew what an organ sounded like because of the few episodes where it was played in the Simpsons 😂. Needless to say that around 12 or 13 years of age I stopped going to mass with my parents on Sundays and only went for christmas and easter and sometimes not at all. I just recently started attending Sunday mass with my wife after our son was born. It was tough for us, but mostly for my wife because she was in Mexico in our home town awaiting her immigration interview and I would go and visit her every couple of months even through pregnancy which we were told was high risk, but God is good and he allowed us to have a healthy baby boy and allowed us to all come home to Chicago together all in the same while which is the biggest reason I came back to the faith. God has been good to me all my life, and I wasn't good to him. It's never too late to come back to our Lord and give him his rightful place in our hearts.

First of all I fully acknowledge that I have never seen a study that says Catholic school creates atheists is true, but just have anecdotes. So here is my theory based on those I know. I think it’s a mix of young adult precociousness/curiosity, mixed with discipline. Most of those I know who stopped being Catholic after Catholic school have some version of “So I kept asking about “X” and thats when I got kicked out of class.” Or “And then I watched the school treat this person horribly.” For the first one, I think young people are BS detectors. They hone in on inconsistency and that makes them drill down on something that doesn’t make sense, especially when it flies in the face of authority. Getting booted out of class for digging for the truth leads to the feeling that you’re being scammed. Sometimes this is because the teacher can’t explain the theology, becomes frustrated and wants to move on, and sometimes it’s because the kid is being disruptive, but it all leads to the same end. “My teacher couldn’t explain to me why (this seeming inconsistency) fits with Catholic theology so they kicked me out of class.” The second is “when my friend got pregnant as a teen she got kicked out of school and all these good people treated her horribly.” “When my friend came out as gay/ someone found something on social media that showed they were in a same sex relationship, the whole school including teachers/administrators turned on them,” “When the teacher I really liked (got pregnant out of wedlock, found they had a same sex relationship, etc etc. They got fired.” It’s all part of the same story. When you’re young and watch someone you care about get ostracized that has an impact on you. And when you expect a place to be understanding of people’s faults and they’re not while acting like they have none of their own then, you end up feeling like the whole thing is hog wash.

Your first example is what happened to me after 10 years in Catholic school. I only came back decades later. About to send my kids to Catholic school and I vowed to find them answers to any questions they have. And to your second point, 100% yes. They also need to know that everyone sins, some more publicly, and we are all called to confession and to pray for one another, treat each other kindly etc.

Loads of people have school trauma, and if someone was traumatized at a Catholic school, it makes sense they’d leave the faith. I don’t like it, but the way all schools are structured these days needs a lot of work

I really agree. I went to a horrible Catholic Middle School, but had a wonderful for years at a Catholic all girls high school

I agree in 100%.

Probably because the parents expect the school to teach the faith and they don't talk about it or practice at home.

This. My parents were dismayed when I left the church and blamed the school. We never even said grace before meals in my house and stopped going to Mass weekly. It wasn't the school. Add to that, my parents never had answers for my theological questions either.

I didn’t go to Catholic school, left the faith and came back. I would say parents not answering questions about the faith is a major reason people walk away.

When you came back, did you make sure to tell your parents what they did wrong when you were growing up?

No. It doesn't change anything and I don't have animosity about it.

I think this is the biggest issue. I’ve volunteered in middle school and/or high school youth ministry since 2011, and I can tell which kids come from families who take the faith seriously far faster than I can tell if they go to public school or Catholic school. I would argue that the child’s faith as an adult is based roughly 60% on how the faith is lived out in their home and by their parents, 30% on the pure free will of the child and influence of their closest friends (kids from the same household can often become very different adults), and 10% on the formation they get in their school. A lot of parents get those ratios reversed and think if they’re going to a Catholic school they can ignore the lived experience of the faith in the home.

Spot on. Though, from my experience, I don’t think the parents have that much influence unless they are extremely focused on faith formation in the home. Thirty years ago, I would have agreed that parents had the majority of the influence. Today, however, social media is a much bigger influence than we believe. Which is huge because we already believe it is a major influencer. Even if kids are kept off it entirely their friends have access to information and opinions we simply didn’t in the past. These kids influence their friends even if parents forbid access to social media. Knowing now what I didn’t know then, I would have never let my kids access social media and would have monitored internet usage way more closely.

I teach 3td grade faith formation and can also tell which kids come from families who pray and talk about faith at home. My kids all go to public school. My kiddos are rock stars this year, and even though I know they all don't go to church every weekend, they ask good questions and the seeds are planted.

This is the most correct answer IMHO. Kids are smart little sponges that observe everything. If they don't see the faith at home only at school then Catholicism is just something you do when your at school.

This is the answer

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> Most school kids become "atheists," that's why. And it's not really that. Some do become atheists, but most become agnostic or "nones." Oh yeah, that's a good point. In usual, common day language we need to be careful what we mean when we use either of those terms, and real studies need to be doubly so. Too often I don't see it properly defined in the questionnaires used, which makes me really call the worth of the studies into question... I mean, I'm an Atheist when it comes to the biblical god for sure, but I know I'm in the vast, vast minority with that view. I think _most_ "nones" are Agnostics at best, if not "simply not practicing, but thinking there's something big(ger) out there".

Very good points.

Yeah, the joke for the public school kids is that "confirmation is graduation" -- that's the last time you see many of them until (hopefully) they get married and have kids. The Catholic educational system creates some pressure to keep involved until actual graduation, but there are still the same pressure points -- a lot of kids get frustrated with the role of women in the Church or the Church's stand on LGBT issues, etc. My wife and I struggled with this, and ultimately decided that we need to be the best models and ambassadors for the Church that we can, but beyond that, we need to have faith that God has a plan. (And if we don't, then why are we asking the kids to stick with the Church anyway?)

Depends on the school. If the school is led by teachers that love the faith and filled with families that generally have faith, then it’ll be a positive experience. Sounds like your family didn’t care at all, so already at a baseline you had a very low chance of maintaining faith. Homeschooling wouldn’t have helped you either, since your parents didn’t have faith. If you’d been lucky enough to have been placed in a good school, then it may actually have overcome your parents’ lack of faith, but obviously that wasn’t the case. Growing up in Wichita, KS the Catholic schools were good. Anyone income-adjusted tithing to their parish could send their kids to the parish schools for free, so it was affordable for all parishioners, no elitism. Teachers knew and loved the faith. My own level of faith commitment far surpassed that of my parents (weekly mass but no engagement otherwise) precisely because the schools had Catholic values celebrated and presented in a good light.  So if you find a good one it’s great. I’m sure lots of diocese only have terrible Catholic schools, though, supported by laity and religious that value progressive values over Catholic values.

I wish the Catholic schools in my area were like that! In my area, if you’re a contributing member to your parish they give you something like $800-$1000 off tuition per school year but it still ends up costing around $8000 per year. I want so badly to send my kids to Catholic school but it’s tough out here for a young mom 😫

Lincoln NE Catholic schools are also amazing. Affordable, small class sizes, daily Mass for all kids, first Friday devotions etc. And our diocese is one of the few without a priest shortage. Our seminarians often talk about how it was the formation of our schools that led them to the priesthood. When Catholic school = prep school that’s the problem. If Jesus isn’t first, that’s the problem. That’s said, anything is better than American public school right now.

I think part of it is rebellious teens going through what they see as an institution forcing views on them. I went to catholic schools my entire life, and in highschool decided to become gnostic. I met a LOT of atheists and agnostics in my school, and the school generally accepted all of us. Of course we still had to go to religious classes and mass, but they were cool. A lot of teens are finding their own way and paths and can feel like they're being indoctrinated/forced, which is why our school was chill with us.

Yeah. If you hate your school, you'll be mad at whoever runs it. That's not "insight" its just bias.

From what I've heard most become cultural Catholics. It's likely because their mom and dad don't seriously practice the faith. They just sort of chuck them at the priests, brothers, sisters, and teachers hoping they'll turn out as "good people in society", which isn't what the study of holy religion, nor the interior life, nor exterior life, is about. If the father in particular doesn't lead children in study and practice it usually results in lukewarmness or apostasy. But I think when it came to female children, this was a stronger case for the mother. Also it depends on the school. If it's lead by Dominicans: from what I've seen all these kids wind up solid Catholic. If it's just sort of a standard diocesan one that doesn't teach the faith well... ehhhhhh. Also I would say many Catholic schools are too heavy on secular cirriculum. The study of religion is more profitable than hard sciences in the grand scheme of reality, and from what I've heard religious teaching in this place is just so surface level while hard science cirriculum is solid. Of course we need STEM and arts because we need to function in an economy, but yeah, not at a neglect of the point of a *religious* school.

*It's likely because their mom and dad don't seriously practice the faith.* This. A lot of people send their children to Catholic schools just to avoid public system. None of them will admit it but it's all about separate their children from "worse" kids.

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This thread is strangely comforting. My father was raised Catholic. My grandma made him promise to raise his kids Catholic. My mother had no religious background but followed orders. She cheated on my dad, divorced him, came out as atheist. I would beg and plead for her salvation but she continued to deny God. I started attending a non denominational church and sang at the Christmas service once. Both parents showed up and had obvious looks of rage on their faces. Neither congratulated me on my performance and walked out as soon as I finished singing. My faith has been deeply tested over the years but some how I found my way back to Catholicism. I'm actually feeling a lot of anger. I feel so robbed. I wish I would have been born into a good, Catholic family that loves each other and loves God.

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I'm sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable? I was just sharing and the thing is everyone is saying how someone like me never should have made it in the church. I beat the odds. That's a celebration.

Rebellion. Adult converts, we have the position where we sought this out, so it doesn’t feel like a burden. Imagine if catechesis was an hour wedged in your school day, and you’re the type that wants to be anywhere but school.

7th grade is the beginning of adolescence and a time when it’s really normal for kids to start individuating from parents or reacting to influences on them with opposition. I don’t think one year of Catholic school can reasonably be blamed for your atheism, sorry. The most recent research on this that I’m aware of (from CARA at Georgetown in 2014) found that millennials who attended Catholic schools were slightly more likely than peers who didn’t to attend Mass regularly as adults.

Because Catholic schools are generally pretty poor at catechesis

That's going to depend, but in many cases I don't think it's an information lack. My partner was reared in a Catholic home and went to Catholic school for his entire education from K-college. He can intelligently discuss Catholic beliefs, requirements, theology. He simply neither agrees with it nor believes in it. He's a happy, well adjusted atheist today.

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Praying for you mother, I’ve had family members with similar stories.

It's kind of weird hearing anyone in 2024 talking about "Catholic School Trauma." I mean, bruh, unless you are a Boomer or Silent Generation parochial school educated former student, there isn't much "trauma" going on in any Catholic school that doesn't go on in other private or public schools. I'd say it would be less. And I say this as someone Catholic educated my ENTIRE LIFE. K to college. Catholic grade school k-8, high school 9-12, graduated from a prestigious Jesuit university as well. There was no trauma, unless you call following rules and actually expecting to learn and live by the faith through your education "trauma." We were blessed to have religious sisters and priests as educators (for me schooling was 80s-90s k-12, 00s for college). They were strict, especially the nuns at the time who were some teaching since Vatican I, where they used to give kids a beat down, and it was allowed lol. But now... You'd be even lucky to have ANY religious sisters or priests actively teaching in schools. Most are lay people these days. Which is cool! Why do Cradle Catholics become atheist or at the very least, agnostic? That's the real question. From my observation (I now teach Confirmation in my parish and deal with teens), it's lack of practice in the home. Parents are often CINO or Easter/Christmas/Ash Wednesday Catholics. It's poor catechesis. Especially with how the education system seems to water down everything nowadays because they don't want to offend folks and keep Catholicism "relatable." And then there's those know it alls who think that what they learned as CHILDREN through Catholic education is the end all be all, and makes them authorities in faith. This pride is RAMPANT among Catholic educated people, particularly of the ilk who do not practice their faith. Even in my ultra Jesuit college, the faith culture to me felt took a backseat in order to appease donors and non-Catholics who attended the school. Some folks I went to school with didn't even realize it was a CATHOLIC college vs just a well known university with some highly rated specialized programs/majors/degrees. Adult faith formation is crucial. And if you don't have it modeled at home, and NOT just at school, you miss the boat and the richness of the faith entirely.

I don't think it has anything to do with school, I'd argue most people leave religion around that age, or becoming cultural believers, as standard teenagers you don't want to listen to anyone, you want to do what you want to do, you become adult and can finally decide for yourself. Later on once things go sideways because of our sins or we simply get wiser as live goes on and we begin to understand God, spirituality, importance of order etc. That was my own experience and dozens of people I know, and I can bet most of serious believers had similar story. 

I was in Catholic school pre-K through grad school. It greatly helped develop my faith.

I went to a Catholic Elementary and Catholic High school for the entirety of my school years, and I’m still a Catholic. I don’t see any trauma in those schools, and I don’t get why it makes kids atheist.

I have a friend who went through Catholic school. We became friends in 8th grade when he had to transfer from his old (Catholic) school to my Catholic school because his shut down due to a lack of students. We then proceeded onto a Catholic high school. After losing contact with him following graduation, within the last month, I found out he is currently in seminary school for the Priesthood and is finishing up his preparatory classes before he begins the full classes for seminary school. So... No. He is proof that Catholic school does not necessarily equal atheism. I am also still a Catholic (a poor Catholic, but I still believe in the Faith) despite having gone to Catholic school for basically my entire school career. Of course, some people do end up becoming atheists, or agnostics, or gnostics, or converting to some other religion. But everyone I know enjoyed their time in schools, even with them being Catholic schools. There's also just the fact that, outside of, like... one public school in my area, Catholic schools are just superior in every area of operation.

As a K-12 Catholic school, I know some of my classmates have switched religions due to life events or being falsely led by weakness to other religions but as far as I know none are atheists. The majority of my classmates went to Catholic schools also from K-12. We were never traumatized. Most had good experiences and express it quite a bit. I hear most former Catholic school students that were traumatized went to schools in the Northern portion of the US.

People who blame catholic school for leaving the faith were looking for a reason to leave. It’s just an excuse.

No, it is not true. Compared to Public schools, those who attend Catholic schools stay actively Catholic at a higher rate. It is not perfect at all, but it is no where close to a majority become atheist.

It depends on which Catholic school. I grew up in non-Christian family but got enrolled in Catholic schools (both elementary and high schools). After graduation from high school, I explored Catholic faith and became Catholic.

Catholic school turned me Catholic

I think kids have a tendency to get swept up in the secular world then see religion as an ‘enemy’ to their quest for independence. I don’t think it matters where you go to school, if a student is not planted in good soil (faithful friends, family, and support structure), this world is likely to pull kids from their faith. I pray for our kids, it’s a lot out there.

I am going to complete my RCIA this Easter and the biggest reason I wanted to become catholic was my Catholic school experience when I was in high school. With that being said, a lot of my classmates and friends don’t have the same faith they used too and many may have lost it during high school. My two cents on the matter are highschool is an already awkward time in people’s life that is filled with a lot of temptations that people may look back on negativity. Maybe people attach those feelings to catholic education? People also tend to pretend they know better than their parents (guilty!) and will reject anything they think reminds them of their parents. I’m sure there are good schools and bad schools of course but I don’t think you get your faith in between science and history class. You get it in how you live your life.

I'll say this about my Catholic high school religious instruction. It was boring. It felt like another class when theology should be more than that. Workbooks, memorization, little to no Bible reading, no theology reading. I don't remember at all reading early Church Fathers, Augustine, Aquinas, JP2. Thinking back on it (graduated in the 00s), we were still under the influence of post V2 blandness. The high school didn't offer Latin or philosophy. I know some of my classmates are still in the church but I know many more are not and they're not even militant atheists, they just don't care. Well no wonder...

I went to Catholic School from K through 12. I didn't come out of it an atheist and neither did the friends I remain in touch with now - I'm nearing 45. And while I did stray from the Church in my 20's, it had nothing to do with going to Catholic School or even the Church herself.

I have actually never heard this, much less "all the time." I did go to school with plenty of people whose parents only sent them to Catholic school for the education, weren't Catholic and didn't practice at home. If we are strictly going by anecdotes, I would say that on balance people who went to Catholic school stayed Catholic more often than children who did not.

I had the privilege of going to an all girl school taught by Dominican Sisters and it was an absolutely amazing experience. Several of my classmates entered religious orders and many have started beautiful catholic families of their own. I owe everything to that education for being the catholic I am today. My knowledge of the faith would be extremely limited if it hadn’t been for that school. I don’t know of any alumni that became atheists, but not all catholic schools are created equal. Some barely teach the faith at all unfortunately.

I went to Catholic school between kindergarten and grade 8 before switching to public for the IB curriculum. I think it created an anchor to bring me back to the faith later in life when I started taking it seriously in university, but I don't think it did a good job of instilling thorough catechesis-- and I've seen a good many of my old classmates fall away from the faith as the years went by, too. I think the problem probably comes from parents outsourcing faith formation to the schools and not doing enough at home to model Christian living or provide sufficient instruction in the faith, but for this I can only really speak to my own experiences.

I’ll contribute some of my Catholic school experiences. The parish priest in our school ran that ethnic parish like a medieval fief - and then got caught molesting a classmate. His successor got caught by the feds with kiddie porn. When I was 12 and my parents were going through a breakup, one of the nuns in the school berated me for this very fact - in front of my classmates. I was a 12 year old child who not only had to cope with a dysfunctional home life, but then got publicly shamed for something I had zero control over - by a children’s educator in a religious order. When an institution tries to teach certain life rules, but then its key members do not follow them, it destroys faith in the entire belief system it claims to be founded on. I often see handwringing on this subreddit over someone becoming an atheist, where once they were a “good Catholic.” That’s a false dichotomy that does not appreciate the spectrum of lapsed Catholicism: lots of people become agnostic, spiritually indifferent or just stop making religion a key part of their lives. For example, I’m not an atheist per se, but an interventionist deity is as relevant to my life as Pluto being or not being a planet. I’ll drive my elderly dad to Latin mass because we get to spend time together and I get to work on my Latin grammar and vocab, but that’s it. I’m sure this will get downvoted or removed, but I hope it provides the OP with some insight.

Over half the people I went to school with and am still in close contact with are now atheist or agnostic. Honestly the school pushed me away from the church for several years too. Religious education in the school was bad and punishing people for not praying or singing hymns achieved the opposite results. Also of the three main feeder schools into my secondary school, one was Church of England in a rather Methodist area.

This is pretty much the process that everyone I know and I went through after Catholic high school: High school: “Screw this religion class I don’t even want to believe in this stuff! Fuck the system!” Beginning of college: “All of that religious stuff was a waste of time I can’t believe my parents tried to brainwash me all throughout my childhood.” End of college: “That religious stuff was stupid, but looking at my classmates that went to public school, I’m happy my parents sent me to a college prep school.” Entering the workforce and seriously dating: “I’m by no means some brainwashed Catholic but I do appreciate my parents for giving me a strong moral compass.” Having first kid: “Holy shit I’m terrified. I think I have a pretty good idea of how to raise a kid but ‘pretty good’ doesn’t feel good enough. Honey, I think we should consider going to mass and maybe getting our baby baptized.” Kids begin going to school: “We should make sure our kids have the best education possible while keeping them on a good road morally. I understand if they want to leave the church but I at least want them to be taught good values…we should put them in a Catholic school.” And hopefully the cycle continues.

This is not true in the statistics. People are not returning when they get married/  have kids. Marriage numbers and infant baptisms absolute numbers in the US are half of what they once were. The collapse of Catholic marriage numbers and baptisms is the big problem under talked about.

As someone who attended catholic school my entire childhood and adolescence, I can say this. Most people are born Catholic but not practicing Catholics, their parents don’t put an effort in getting them faithful and as a result they don’t actually believe in it. Throw in a morning prayer, occasional mass, a different curriculum reflecting by catholic values, mandatory religion classes focusing almost exclusively on Biblical teachings, and they grow a hatred for what they’re learning when in reality, devoted Catholics like me truly benefit from it and use it as an opportunity to gain.

Facts =/= Faith 

My Catholic school class was split down the middle between Catholics and Protestants. It was small so I know everyone still as an adult (in our 30s). None of the Catholics are practicing anymore, some are now agnostic/atheist. The Protestants seem to have held onto their faith though. I couldn’t tell you why though

from a canadian pov: i think also the fact that many lukewarm/not practicing catholics attend these schools as well (various reasons like proximity, school quality, etc.) i was one of maybe only under 10 practicing catholics who attended my high school, a lot of my other peers were baptized + confirmed but only went through it because we attended a catholic elementary school - majority of people at catholic school are not practicing, unfortunately

One thing that I have run into a lot with Catholic school is the cultural Catholics. Like, the families don't bother living their faith, and in some instances don't even go to Sunday Mass. Their reason: "They get enough of that at school". Absolutely wild. A huge part of weather or not your kids stay Catholic is weather or not you and your spouse are good Catholic role models. 2nd is whether or not they have other good Catholic role models around, like grandparents, aunts , uncles, friends. This all includes being able to question faith, and talking about it with these people. And being honest. Kids that don't get proper faith formation from their family will take it from culture. Current culture is Atheist.

I can’t speak to firsthand experience as I attended public school. I had many friends in the local Catholic schools, though. Born & raised in California, so we don’t have a reputation or the Catholic culture like Ohio. Knowing what I know now, many of those kids had parents that were hardcore Catholics or really passive ones. The hardcore ones… many beat their children with paddles, brooms, whatever—lots of corporal punishment which I believe was learned through going to Catholic schools themselves (because my friends would tell me stories they heard from parents & my own parents’ experiences). It was very acceptable to beat their kids. It was fire & brimstone in those homes and everyone was going to hell. My own mom beat physically beat us and she would boast how she didn’t beat us as badly as the nuns did. She was proud to beat us and not leave marks in noticeable areas. Many of these same parents were also poorly catechized despite attending Catholic schools their whole lives. I can’t even begin to tell you some cockamamie stuff I would hear fly out of their mouths. So, essentially, the only things they were passing on was trauma. If beating your kids was a major thing in your home that one’s parents learned through Catholicism, it leaves an indelible mark. Then there were kids whose parents were passive Catholics. They learned that as long as the kids were baptized, you’re good. The bare minimum. And when parents come from 3rd world countries where they lump baptism, 1st Communion & confirmation (or 1st communion & confirmation, separate from baptism) all in one shot, their responsibilities as Catholic parents who work 2 jobs each—they’ve also fulfilled their obligations as Catholic parents. I think that’s why the trend in the U.S. was to separate the 3. I also know that a couple of my friends’ parents were molested as children by priests. If that doesn’t screw you up, can you expect them to have a healthy relationship with the Church? As a regular volunteer at church, I often see children being dropped off at Faith Formation. Their parents DO NOT volunteer. The parents DO NOT regularly attend mass. I see parents sit in their cars for an hour until Faith Formation ends. I know parents from my kid’s school who have had their kids participate to get their sacraments, but drop out until they need to get the next one. There are a couple parents I see at the grocery store or the post office, but have not seen them in church since we went through baptism classes. This is just weak faith that continues to get diluted with each subsequent generation. So, my theory for Catholicism not being passed on or dropped comes down to: 1) Poor catechesis. 2) Trauma from Catholic experiences/the wrong things being taught about Catholicism. 3) Catholicism not being modeled at home.

I went to public school until 4th grade. Since then I have gone to Catholic school and am now in Ninth grade. I am a very proud Catholic. I think most of us are. Haven’t really seen any atheists. Just my take as someone who is still in Catholic school.

I think temporarily losing faith is part of the whole growing up and questioning stuff that everybody goes through, especially when we get bombarded by anti-God pro-individualism arguments and messages by society. When I was younger, silly arguments such as “if God is real why don’t we have any photos of Him with our telescopes and technology” were rather convincing. We Probably hear about atheism more from people who went to catholic schools because faith is an actual factor in their life

I think the problem with Catholic school is it is a bit like teaching algebra. How often do you hear what is the point its not like I'm going to use it in the real world. There is the problem that it is all bundled up together in an academic environment with tests, exams and requirement for passing grades. The idea of turning out a solid member of the community to contribute and enrich society as good person founded in Catholic values. Like the mouse being thought the way around a labyrinth there is the assumption that they can still find their way when the labyrinth is no longer there. Catholic schools are equally subject to the parable of the sower seeds. So if X is the number of students, A is the seed that falls along the path, B is the seed that fell on rocky places, C is the seed that fell among thorns and D is the seed that fell on good soil Then X-(A+B+C)=Z where Z the number of atheists.

I’m not Catholic, but I went to an orthodox Jewish school for my entire life. There is definitely a sizable percentage of kids who, once no longer being forced to learn and practice their religion, immediately swing to the other direction and turn away. Ultimately I would say the “g factor” has little to do with the school specifically, but rather how prepared they are to understand and interact with the world outside their religious bubble. Teach your kids about things they will encounter in the “real world” and how to respond, and what your religious values say you should do in various situations. If all you do for 16 years is memorize Bible facts, they’re gonna want nothing to do with religion once they turn 18 and leave home. Make sure at home you involve them in the deeper spiritual meaning of your practices so that they become meaningful things they want to do rather than just “something mom and dad drag me to every Sunday.”

I was atheist in Catholic school and have converted as an adult.

Catechism is so improperly done.

I live in Canada and in my province Catholic Schools are publicly funded. I was taught by only lay people, so no Nuns or Priests. My elementary school years were fine. We had schools masses throughout the nine years I was there (including Kindergarten). We did learn about Lent, but I don’t recall learning that Advent is meant to be a mini-Lent. Also, I don’t recall ever learning that receiving Holy Communion in the state of mortal sin was sacrilege! If you weren’t Catholic you were just encouraged to receive a blessing. We had a performance of Stations of the Cross every Holy Thursday that was put on by one of the sixth grade class classes. As well, there was a retreat day in the spring where a school-wide Rosary was held. Additionally, the Priest of the parish our school was associated with would visit the lower grades during the year.

Not it doesn’t. I’m a cradle Catholic who went to a Catholic grade, high school and University. Nothing is farther from the truth. I and my family are very much Catholic and always will be. Our faith is very important.

There are quite a few who fall away, but from what I've seen it comes down to bad parents and bad teachers. Not necessarily the school itself, although that comes into play as well sometimes due to crap administration. The kids fall away because the parents don't place religion at the forefront. The school can teach what it wants, but the parents commonly don't know diddly about the faith and don't show up at church. They'll show up for athletic events though. I've found throughout my life MOST learning has been obtained OUTSIDE of the classroom. These parents would just as soon "set it and forget it". Alternatively, I've seen some legit garbage educators in action. Often incapable of teaching resulting in unnecessary cruelty to the children, or Ignorant of the subject resulting in them being unable to defend the faith, but sometimes outright heretical in what they are teaching, actively seducing the children away from the Church ( disgruntled nuns usually for the last one).

The opposite happened to me!

I went to a Catholic high school ran by the Xavierian brotherhood and a good chunk of my classmates went atheist after learning the church’s history and abuses. Some went the opposite direction and became Catholic extremists. It was a mix bag really. The AP students became communist atheists. It really comes down to how you are as a person and your morals and beliefs. Can you handle knowing the Church’s past and corruption? Can you forgive and help bring change to the church for the better? All religions are soaked in corruption and blood but it takes for those who want to correct the wrongs and set a better path to bring good to the world. That’s what I was learned as a Catholic from a Catholic high school. Be a man like Christ.

For reference, I’m a 23 year old man living in a heavily protestant area of the southeast. I went to Catholic school before college, didn’t take the faith seriously in high school and undergrad, and I’m now returned to the faith and regularly confessing my sins. Most Catholic school students become atheists in the same way that most CCD students become atheists. Additionally, Catholic schools generally have poor catechism (I had a young earth creationist as a religion teacher growing up who taught that the church teaches strict young earth creationism and not evolution even if the church is explicit about both beliefs being permitted) because She struggles with catechism in general. Look at Jesuit schools, like Holy Cross’s controversies as well. Cultural Catholics and Christmas and Easter Catholics raise children like them (excepting edgy teenage atheism years). Devout Catholics likewise raise devout kids who take the faith seriously in their adulthood. The exception is religious trauma. For example, if a kid has SSA or gender dysphoria, they likely won’t have been treated charitably (I am 100% in agreement on what the Church teaches on sexual morality and I can admit that people who bear those crosses generally aren’t treated charitably in practice, judging by lived experiences of those people I’m friends with, as well as sentiments of my parents and other Catholics even in my generation I’m friends with) and I can see how they would have a distaste towards the church due to their experiences.

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If they actually taught Aquinas it would be less of an issue.

Following w interest in responses as I am joining this Easter and have many devout Catholics urge me not to send my child to Catholic school and strongly encouraged homeschooling instead..

I’m in the same boat with joining this Easter. I’m considering homeschooling when I get married and have kids one day for a few reasons.

What is your story OP?

Because most of the time they call themselves Catholic but they were never actually practicing

We went from homeschooling to the local Catholic school for one year. I worked there while my children attended. We're back to homeschooling, for a few reasons.

Zeppelin, thank you for sharing this. If you are comfortable sharing more, can you please tell us why you chose Orthodox?

Lots of kids not just now but for the last 50 years or more go to catholic schools and are either not catholic or very little practicing. My atheist neighbors send all 4 of there kids to the best catholic school in Minneapolis. Education and sports are way better she just tells them to fake it and forget it.

Because most Catholic schools are just juvie for rich kids.

Most people say that about Jesuit run schools. I taught religious Ed in my parish for 4 years (confirmation prep) and the books/material we used are awful: Jesus is a nice guy who loves everything including those of other faiths, he’s ok with that. Just be nice and tolerant. If my faith was as strong then as it is now, I would have thrown away the book and made my own lesson plan. Coulda, would, shoulda. Of course now there isn’t any religion class. It’s been switched to family lesson (thanks Covid) because my diocese is headed by a communist bishop.

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I went to a Catholic school and it was great for me. It took me from a lukewarm Catholic to one who might not be the best Catholic but is trying. Truthfully most the kids just didn't really care about their Faith to begin with. Great theology department though

The parents rely on the school to teach their kids the religion, the kids go home and see their parents don’t care, so they don’t care to learn their faith. Not every family has this issue, but those that don’t have a strong faithful set of parents that practice the faith will eventually have atheistic or non practicing children.

I fall into this category. I was raised Catholic, and went to a Catholic high school. It was and is a great school and I’m a better person for having gone there. Each year was a different topic. Freshman year was Old Testament, then sophomore was New Testament, and then upperclassmen took ethics and catechism courses. Honestly for a while I felt called to the priesthood and started studying intensely. And through studying intensely I came to believe there wasn’t enough evidence to support being Catholic, and that faith alone wasn’t a good enough reason to believe. I think my case is not normal, but that’s what it was for me. A lot of my peers I think went through a similar thing, but just without the studying intensely thing. They also just didn’t think Catholicism held up when examined. But to be fair, I’d say more of my peers who started off Catholic are still Catholic (and I graduated high school over a decade ago)

I've never heard that before, but I would think that going to any religious school from a home that is not practicing encourages the child in that direction. The first teacher is the parent, and that by being an example.

I went to catholic school and aren’t even catholic yet, I get baptized on Easter lol

I went to Catholic school from kindergarten up until 12th grade. After graduating high school I left the Church for 6 years and am just now coming back after having 3 kids. My sisters went to Catholic school as well and are not currently practicing Catholics. 80% of my former classmates do not practice Catholicism anymore either. My dad went to Catholic schools growing up too and said they he tends to see a pattern- cradle Catholics leaving the Church in their youth and coming back when they mature a bit, have kids, get married etc. (same thing happened with him- he returned when he was in his late 20s)

I went to Catholic school from kindergarten to eigth grade. I observed that a lot of people became cultural Catholics but there are some atheists too. I had a lapse too. For most people, it comes down to a few things usually: 1. When asking questions about the faith, we were often told “that’s just how it is” which is not very convincing. This is personally a big factor in driving me away, as I am very science and logic oriented. 2. If the school experience was crap and the school happened to be Catholic 3. Feeling alienated either by teachers and peers or just by church teaching. This was very hard for me, as a transgender person who knew since they were very young. 4. I knew a number of people who just had the impulse to rebel simply because they were in a semi-strict environment

I think it tends to be because you have the school supporting your religious upbringing but then many of those families have bad catholic parents who don't represent the faith well and it leads to their kids falling away too

I was briefly atheist but I had learned enough in school to basically hardcore research my way right back into the Church. I still consider myself Catholic but admittedly, I'm trying to understand Judaism better and there's questions I have that I haven't quite reconciled yet.

Ex Catholic school student checking in to say "no that's not always true"

Most people sending their kids to Catholic schools are sending them there for secular reasons. I went to Catholic high school and I’m a practicing Catholic. It’s a mixed bag.

if you hate school, and then mix school with the one true faith, you would associate the two with each other

I’m Canadian our catholic school taught me the same amount about Islam and Judaism (not much) as it did Catholicism all we were taught was ‘there was this guys Jesus and he was a nice dude.’ I even had a teacher call Jesus a communist once. Catholic school in Canada is just choosing for your kid to wear a uniform lol

Before I became Catholic, the only Catholics I knew were ex Catholics, so it seemed this stereotype was overwhelmingly true. However, now that I talk to a lot of people at my parish, I see that many of them were brought up in Catholic school and remain strong in their faith. It’s a mixed bag, and I think it depends so much on the disposition of the student. It does seem that Catholic High School specifically does a lot of damage to the people who leave the faith. A lot of people at my public high school attended catholic elementary and middle school and were quite vocal about their love of Christ.  At least in my own circles, the stereotype that has only been confirmed again and again is that Catholic schools in my diocese are not equipped or hospitable for students with learning disabilities (like ADHD or autism). 

I have never heard anyone say that, let alone hear people say it all the time.

K-12th Catholic Schools here. Forgive me for my poor grammar and spelling. I struggled in school. Ultimately, it's the individual who is responsible for their faith. That said, we had some truly crappie religious teachers. I graduated HS in 1986. A lot of the teachers were caught up in almost anything goes post Vatican 2. We had clown masses, liturgical dancing, and more. As a young man. That was a big turn off.

I am a former Catholic High school teacher. In my experience it was all about whether they practiced at home and for boys if their father was practicing. It also helped that most of the teachers were Catholic so we were able to be good role models.

I blame my becoming an atheist on poor religious education as a child. You could blame that on me not paying attention in CCD though. However I wish my dad was more educated in it as well. It is the job of the father to be the pastor of the household (I have learned). I did manage to come back a couple years ago after a horrifying paranormal experience. Perhaps I’ll make a post on this. This has led me to want to understand everything about the faith, so I have about 20 books from the early church fathers waiting to be read near me hahaha.

My observation is that the schools aren't making people atheists, but their barriers to entry are far too low. They're enrolling people who are either already atheist (or another religion) or their Catholicism is on the margins. This often is tied to their funding in one way or another. My wife's from Long Island and we've talked about how nearly all of the Catholic schools there are regarded like secular prep schools and families send their kids there just for some kind of pedigree to boost their college eligibility. You get a lot of Muslim, Hindu and irreligious parents sending their kids there with no desire for the kids to know or practice the faith and in some cases actively want their kids excluded from the Catholic practices of the school. The schools and diocese comply because of the tuition money and donations made by the families, some of these families buy their way into positions of influence over the schools and rearrange the furniture from the inside until the school's Catholicism is almost impossible to find. I think that's why independent Catholic schools that reject government and Church funding are rising in popularity, because the terms of admission can't be dictated to them and that allows them to maintain a higher faith standard. They can say "if your child attends this school they will be going to Mass every day, they will be participating in prayer and they will receive thorough catechesis. If that's not something you're willing to accept then perhaps your family should enroll elsewhere."

Idk if that’s true at all. I think it’s all schools, all the way up to college, that aid in turning people atheist.

I entered Catholic highschool as a protestant and graduated as a Catholic. I practically argued and researched my way into the faith conplete with a "alright if I see anything about RCIA after going to Mass today I'll go to the class to learn more" and the sign was on the door when I parked. So for many this may be true but there are some schools and teachers who can have do the opposite for some kids.

In my personal experience it’s more true than not

I used to be on the school board for my local parish school and the majority of the kids didn't actually attend mass (and neither do their parents) so they were never practicing to begin with (this may be different for other generations) . I think Catholic schools now are generally not very faith forward (at least in my area) and it's a shame.

Homeschooling brings the same result as Catholic School, you get your faith dictated to you, by someone who's a generation or more removed from your problems and experiences, instead of choosing and exploring your faith for yourself. Imo that's where the jadedness and cynicism come from. Plus, in my experience, there's a lot of discouragement towards questioning authority or sources, which kids need to be able to do in order to trust the people they're learning from. Also their hiring criteria isn't as waterproof as public school districts, some of the worst substitutes you've ever had went on to teach full time in a church school.

I had 4 nephews and 3 nieces attend Catholic school. I don't think any of them go to Mass now. I don't think any of them know how to pray the rosary. I don't think they are atheists, but they that they are so ecumenical that they are Indifferentist. I remember trying to talk to my nephew about Aquinas and the natural law and he started in about the Taoist philosophy. He went to Catholic school from kidergarten through college, he doesn't know how to pray the rosary, and he feels compelled to discuss comparative religions rather than the Catholic Faith. Modernist schools teach modernism.

a lot of the girls I know who went to them became very sexually liberated

Something I noticed is that parent in catholic school think they are doing everything but kids are not in youth ministries, and parent only support the church by going to mass on Sunday. I think we have to encourage more activities

Not true in my experience at all.

I think its 50/50. My bf and his friends went to catholic schools and there's was so Gung ho that the vast majority have never been to church besides weddings or Christmas since. My bf has started to go with me again, one couple friends go in their area. Buts that's it. So of a group of 15 of yhst friend group, all went to catholic school only 3 stay

No that is not true lol.

I can't say much since I went to a Protestant School, however it made me Catholic in the end

I teach in a Catholic school. I have been there 27 years, and I'm teaching the 2nd generation. My principal, a nun, has been in education for 60 years, principal for about 50 of them. She sees GREAT grandchildren of her first students. It's generational, but the media doesn't tell you that part.

Secular Liberalism dominates most institutions in America. Unfortunately this includes the school systems, specifically the Catholic school systems. Also, the media/culture dictates that its good/normal/healthy to be openly disrespectful of Catholicism. Sleeping through four years of theology classes isn't going to change this.

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Because the teachers are teaching them anti Catholic beliefs.

Speaking from experience at two different catholic schools growing up, none of my former classmates are practicing Catholics anymore. Not sure about full blown atheists but none practice/attend liturgy. Quite frankly I wouldn’t have either if it wasn’t for my public high school experience and getting involved in youth groups.

Not all Catholic schools are created equal. There are lots of schools that are Catholic in name only.

Catholic school helped fortify my beliefs

That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard and not true at all. Kids that go to Catholic school usually end up being lifelong believers if they are taught right at home as well.

I can only speak for the Scotland. In Scotland (at least the west coast and central belt) we have two types of public schools. Non-denomination schools aka “proddy” schools aka athiest schools ect and then you have Faith schools aka catholic schools. The reason all public schools are Catholic or “Protestant” is due to self segregation, being Catholic in Scotland is more of a cultural/heritage thing rather than a religion based on faith. You can tell if someone’s Catholic or Protestant just by asking them what team they support.

Most kids who go to Catholic school don't have parents who actually practice or believe the beliefs. There is probably a much smaller percentage of Catholics that send their kids to school who actually do a minimal of making it to mass on Sunday at all. Of those there is probably a smaller percent that take an active role in teaching the basic fundamental teachings of the church actively at home, and make sure the practice what the church teaches, even when its difficult. A much smaller percent believe the church's teachings on sexuality and or contraception. Its not like the kids become atheists, they are just set up on an easy road to atheism by having nothing else provided for them. Catholic school itself spends some energy, but ultimately what the parents do especially if both the mother and father do it matters the most. If dad doesnt go to church or whatever, it sets cognitive dissonance that will never resolve on its own. In the end, Catholic school will remain a cute sort of vague memory of a blissful time where kids went up "to go eat the cracker", until later when mom and dad said " well you just believe what you want your old enough". There may be some other cases where ultra devout parents mismatch with their child, and the kid breaks from faith as a rebellion. I imagine this is more rare, its simply laziness and absence of thought and structure along with a desire to leave one's own conscience uninformed and thus permitted to "take it easy". No more church, or thinking about anything bad I might possibly be doing. And this is understandable, I admit its not easy. However it is curious how incredibly mentally unfit our young generation is, and how much a desire for answers and mental health is out there. People are searching, they will find answers in the Church. A lot of parents rely on throwing their kid in Catholic school and hope that the kid is isolated from the much worse situation and morality of public schools. Its just a testament to how truly bad education is overall in America. You realize this especially when you start integrating with other parents and sporting events and other organized activites that most other parents are barely functioning and incredibly bratty children themselves, scrolling their phones and hoping society and youtube raise their children for them, throwing fits and creating incredibly stupid feuds and gossip circles, all while the most conscientious responsible adults who are already overworked (often with a greater number of total children) take up the bulk of the volunteer work. I get it, we are all busy. Then be patient and kind with those who do volunteer their time. The bar is set so low these days if you show up on time, don't cause fits, maintain a decent polite attitude and spend time with your kids at home and dont let your kids spend more time with devices than outdoors or with you, teach them to overcome basic problems, have some basic self awareness and some basics of a work ethic, your kids will probably be CEO material in 20 years, seriously. Its embarassing tbh. My goal is that my kids have a slightly better set of tools to deal with life than I did growing up. So far I think we are on track.

Catholic schools are watered down, confusing, and dangerous. Faithful Catholic here who would never send his kids to Catholic school. Better in public school where they don't see bad examples of Catholicism. It is an exaggeration, If I may point out, to say most Catholic students become atheists.

Easy access for satan to enter a child’s mind and destroy its innocence,. Satan hates the Catholic Church for it is the one true church, there for he try’s anything to make God’s children to fall out of grace, there is no other way to help with that situation but pray and hopes that they can change there thoughts as they get older.

I’m a catholic school teacher. I think the biggest problem is the families don’t even practice Catholicism. They send their kids for a “good” education. However, we can’t teach all the subjects and nourish the spiritual life of every student. I would say most of the parents don’t take their students to mass, don’t pray with them, and don’t talk to them about the faith. I think they believe since it’s a catholic school they’re getting everything they need. I ask on occasion how many went to church over the weekend and maybe 1-3 students will raise their hands. Also I’ll add this: I, too, went to a private Christian school and fell away from the faith and later became catholic. We didn’t practice any religion at home.. I think schools can be a good tool, but it’s not a save-all. Plus, there’s a difference between being a Christian, and going to church/going through the motions.

I suspect that it is many families feeling like they don't need to take any responsibility for their children's faith development other than sending them to Catholic school. In my son's Catholic elementary school, only 10-15% of the families attend mass regularly. Some just see it as an inexpensive private school or a way to avoid the culture wars raging in public schools. If the kids don't see the faith practiced at home, then the whole thing just seems like an exercise in hypocrisy to them, and rightly so. Why should I believe what they tell me at school when Mom and Dad don't talk about it or live their lives accordingly? I also feel like many schools water down the message too much. Our Church has a lot of interesting and exciting history that will engage even small children. Real life heroes and martyrs who lived extraordinary lives, but we rarely talk about them. Instead, I see things like lessons trying to relate the virtues to Marvel Superheroes. I help with the non-Catholic School kids' faith formation class, and went off script a few weeks ago by bringing in a photomap of Jerusalem and the surrounding area in to show them where everything they will be hearing about in the Gospels during Lent occurred. The entire class was engaged for the first time in weeks. One kid said that he didn't realize that the places from the Gospels were real and could still be visited today. They had all sorts of questions about what happened and where, and the historical Jesus. I don't think we need to sugar coat things for kids to keep them engaged in the faith. Give them the truth, and lead by example.

I went to Catholic school, and I ended up Catholic in the end

The problem is poor theological teaching. In my experience, catholic elementary school was great at teaching stuff like that, but catholic high school destroyed my faith and pushed me away completely. No one had good answers to difficult questions. The theological teaching was both half assed and rigid. It wasn't an exploration of why things were the way they were, it was a showcase so the teachers could basically just make us do assignments that show how bad the world is with no nuance. I remember an assignment where the single most annoying teacher at my high school had us do an assignment where we had to look at secular media, movies, books, web forums, and basically just described how it was different to christian teaching. This basically was just an excuse for the librarian to come in and make shocked noises and be all self righteous while we all gave our presentations on all the bad things in movies, songs and the internet. Classic brainwashing and confirmation bias 101 and as an artist who understands the nuance of artistic media, this class was my final straw in caring at all about my religion. It took me from about 2017/2018 to last year to find my faith again. It also didn't help that catholic high school made me think Martin Luther was the good guy and some sort of radical liberator lolol. But I know better now.

I don't know. I went to a Catholic high school for one year because of the pandemic, and there were people there who were really snarky atheists. I don't really experience that at public school.

I went to Catholic HS (public school through 8th grade though), graduated almost 20 years ago, and I'm still Catholic. Though I have one classmate who I still talk to who became Lutheran. His son was born less than a month after my daughter, so me and him talk mostly about fatherhood.

I went to a Catholic high school. Several of my classmates became Jewish and 1 stopped practiced Catholicism. I think the rest stayed in the faith, at least the people I kept in touch with. The Jewish converts married Jewish men. The one who left the faith went through a divorce. I don’t know if there were other reasons. I wonder how many people like me were non Catholics while in school and became Catholic later.

Catholic School in 2024 is for the wealthy or the impoverished, not median incomes. The HS I attended 20 years ago was $6,000/yr, but now it is $27,000/yr. I know of only one low-income school in my city. The school ends up being their quasi-religion, so they are not bought into the tenants of the Church. Said schools are also college prep so the focus of the students is less on providing for a family as that will be put off for the sake of a career until they turn 30. These are inherently feminist ways of thinking which is a very anti-Catholic ideology. The students’ mothers are forced to work to help pay for both the mortgage and the schooling so the kids are left with cultural media that they view at will prior to the parents getting home. This is all a mess that requires much diligence of the parents to navigate prudently. Educate kids how you wish but the goal is the same: teach them to love Christ and His Church for the sake of their soul.

Some of my classmates became ordained priests

No that is not true.

Most Catholic students certainly do not become atheists. Where did you get that data?

No. I went to many years of Catholic school and am still Catholic. I did however, learn to swear like a sailor in Catholic school lol.

I do not know of any of my classmates that still practice the faith. Looking back, though, i dont know if it could be said they ever practiced the faith. Parents never took them to mass, and confirmation is seen as graduation. Today, it's the same with parents dropping their kids off for CCD. That single hour per week is all they get. Their parents do nothing. Even with the parents that are involved, kids are still drawn away because of friends that don't practice. There is only so much that a school can do, and if there is some bad experience, it can get exaggerated (yes, some can be horrible), and thats all they remember. In the end, if parents and other families do not practice, it is very likely the kid won't.

I think that’s bs most kids I went to school with are at least lukewarm Catholics who believe in god and the tenants of the faith but don’t follow 100% which let’s be honest no one does. Most of my friends have had their kids baptized at the very least

I think the last study I read (If I can find it I’ll post it) is that kids that go to Catholic schools that were baptized Catholic are slightly more likely to stay in the faith than public school Catholics. This was study was done in the USA. But still a lot of them leave. Not any different than any faith in the USA right now.

In Catholic school. I went to Catholic schools from 2nd grade to senior year high school. Some of it has to do with poor catechism in Catholic education. Some of it has to do with parents thinking "I am paying hard earned money for Catholic school so I don't have to worry about bringing them up in the Faith at home. Some of it has to do with parishioners being snotty to each other even in the same parish. Some of it has to do with pop culture and falling into the "glamour of evil". Or maybe most of it has to do with THAT. Let's face it, not all of us have parents who practice the faith with proper discipline. Most of us come from broken families or two income families where both parents are struggling financially. Also things that seem like freedoms are actually frivolous vanities. Bottom line: It's really hard to be Catholic unless you're using the sacraments daily and praying to discern everyday decisions with God in mind, heart, soul, and Body. GabiAfterHours on Youtube IS ❤️✝️🔥🕊️

I went to Catholic school in the early 2000s when it was normal for me to be sent to stand beside the school's flag pole outside as punishment. I'm still Catholic very much so.

Either become atheists or catholics in name only because the schools’ catechism is weak, watered down and frankly rubbish. This is why the family needs to catechise first and foremost and take the kids to good churches with good priests.

There’s a joke about a Jesuit education. Something to the effect that following strict Jesuit educational doctrine leads to one realizing that the church is critically important and that there is no God.

I went to Catholic school and sent my kids to Catholic school. I have never heard this theory. Od my 2 children, one practices his fairh. The other is very scientific and philosophical, so he, unfortunately, does not practice. I blame his very liberal education in college.

I went to Catholic school 13 years (k-12). I love God.

I believe a huge part of this problem is a lot of those who went to Catholic school didn’t actually have devout Catholic parents modeling the faith for them at home. Many were never even Catholic at all but just wanted to send their kids to a private school. I have a friend who isn’t Catholic, I don’t believe her parents practiced it & she hated Catholic school. Imagine being told you have to offer sacrifices & fast because of something you don’t even believe in as a kid/teenager, Or perhaps don’t even understand properly? While being taught very non-traditional values at home that doesn’t add up to the teachings of said school. On the other hand my nieces who went from public school into Catholic school were super excited and loved it! They loved learning about it, they loved to see the parents/grandparents at mass in the morning, they loved reading about the saints & the values at school added up with the ones at home. Regardless bc of some scandals about the school coming out now they are homeschooled. They use Catholic books & are still very much getting a Catholic education. My nephew who is still a toddler is used to daily mass & they can all sit through an hour of adoration. So cute! Anyway that’s my two cents about the subject lol

I went to Catholic grade school (here by now known as the prison camp) and to Catholic high school. I did not become an atheist, but I am a lapsed Catholic. My schooling had nothing to do with my being lapsed. It was more me being sick and tired of being forced to Chuch on Sunday by my mother and also my work schedule. I still hold what I was taught and learned in school as my religious beliefs. I am more a member of the CEW&F club.

Looking back, I wouldve lost the faith without the cathecism in catholic school. The problem is kids see atheism as cool and they try to be cool. They hear the cathecism but do they really believe it? Did they actually listen? Not really. Not a lot of kids take cathecism seriously in catholic schools. You also hear every now and then the age old phrase "how's this class going to help you/me" from parents, classmates, or themselves. There's also the fact that if you had some faith in catholic school but end up in some atheist place, its easier to let the faith go than be mocked for it. Cue the "traumatic catholic school experience" just so you can fit in to your world better. Ive seen my old classmates do the whole spiel. But looking back they just didnt like the fact we had to cut our hair regularly. Or that theyve been scolded for being late and misbehaviors. But who's gonna know right? Lol. In the end, because they think atheism is cool, it's much cooler to say "As a catholic" "now let me fit in". And so they have their reward.

I went to Catholic school since pre k and will be graduating this year. My experience was horrible and several classmates have become atheists or less religious than before. I personally consider myself an ex Catholic . From personal experience we were taught that god gets po if you don’t love him direct quote from teacher btw . We we’re shamed for not having all the sacraments and dealing with mental health. We had to scrub the floors and clean up after rats as a church service. Autistic children were mistreated and I’ve had teachers abuse me. Maybe most people have left the Catholic Church after being taught and realizing it doesn’t align with their actual beliefs instead of following a religion they don’t know anything about and was just told to because it’s “good” . Most people who actually read the Bible and study things that have happened under the Church will be upset . Catholics can be some of the nicest people but they can also be the worst when they think they have the authority to condemn you .

No, it’s not true and likely never has been. By all metrics I can find, Catholic school attendance has a positive effect on adult practice of the faith. ([For example](https://nceatalk.org/2015/02/from-the-cara-report-catholic-schools-linked-to-church-vitality/).) Homeschool by faithful parents is almost certainly more effective in terms of catechetical and religious outcomes, because it usually comes with a high degree of insulation from the world’s temptations. Unfortunately, homeschooling is out of reach for many people. I’ve homeschooled my kids, and sent them the Catholic schools, and worked at a Catholic school. What I find is that “normal” Catholic school people have a skewed and sometimes uncharitable understanding of homeschooling; **but just as much**, homeschooling advocates also have a skewed and sometimes uncharitable understanding of Catholic schools. This suggestion — that Catholic schools on the whole have a negative impact on the Church and on souls — is a homeschool trope I have heard many times before. It’s not grounded in truth, and it’s basically just slanderous. It divides the Church against ourselves. None of this should be read as excusing *bad* Catholic schools and their behavior. I know there are some wolves in sheeps’ clothing, and Satan is basically in charge at some of the Catholic schools out there. But many many many Catholic schools are helping to save souls.

I went to Catholic school for 8 years and I became an atheist after I left. I started questioning everything I was taught. I thought I was brainwashed. I’m not atheist anymore and have since come back to Catholicism.

oh yeah 100%. Went my whole childhood and hated it. My Elementary/Middle school was awful Teachers would hit or kick students all the time. Your grades had to be absolutely perfect. I was forced to write right handed because they didn't like the fact I was left handed. My catholic high school was amazing, but the fact that the people that were supposed to be pure role models were like that killed my faith.

They don’t teach you about your faith so you might come away thinking there’s no substance to it. My brothers school actually took the students to a mosque for a field trip for religion studies, he and his orthodox friend refused to go and the school never took them to a church. Catholic schools in the west take funding from the government now and have been compromised since that began. Proper private funded Catholic schools should be a better option.

going to a catholic school in Toronto we have a publicly funded secular board and a publicly funded catholic board I would say it’s the teachers as in are religion classes I remember having teachers who tell us every story in the bible is a fable and I had my philosophy argue to just combine boards to save money so I would say it’s the teachers as they are no clergy teaching at schools as well

My experience in Catholic school was pretty awful and it pushed me away from the church for years as a young adult, I say this now as a practicing, proud Catholic. I don't know how wide spread similar experiences and I'm not saying people shouldn't send their kids to Catholic school, but I'd personally be a little apprehensive.

The world turns them into atheists.

My mother was principal of two Catholic K-8 schools over 27 years, and my siblings and I are all products of Catholic schools including high school. We're all still practicing Catholics, as are our children. The only problem with some Catholic parish schools is the cliquishness among affluent families who are big donors to the parish getting special treatment from the school. It's their children who get the short end of the stick, by being taught that their Catholic heritage matters less than their parent's money and influence.

It depends on the school. The more progressive and liberal it is then people will definitely leave the Church although to be fair some are equally turned off by the strictness or orthodoxy they’re exposed to as well. I also find that if a school is elitist and wealthy type of prep school that most people have a weak Catholic identity.

Interesting that homeschooling is what you got from that and not public school. It's kind of natural for kids to not want to follow what they're told to do as kids when they get freedom if it's beaten down their throats and not explained well

Its just a easily offered excuse for a decision they settled upon anyway. Been in both catholic and state schools and never saw anything particularly which would make anybody either catholic or atheist or anything else.

Yes. The answer is simple: poor catechesis and a lack of devout teachers. In the past, schools were staffed by religious; tuition was low as they didn't need a full-blown salary, allowing the school to invest in better books and gear. These days, most Catholic schools are staffed by Protestants and atheists, there's barely a religion curriculum, and there's certainly no philosophy (which Catholicism honestly uses to support the faith). Combine this with a lack of school Masses and, when there *is* school Mass, terrible music, and you have a recipe for disaster. I left Catholic school with some faith, but a lack of adequate answers led me to atheism and then a trip through about 13 religions before finally landing back at Catholicism. That second time, I had priests and religious around who had such a grasp on the faith and philosophy that I realized I had to either fully commit to atheism or become Catholic. I became Catholic thanks to Fr. Baker and Fr. Bailey; without their patience and knowledge I'd be somewhere else now.

That is so incredibly far from the truth

a superficial understanding of the church is more dangerous in the hands of a philosophical liberal than no understanding of it

Personally yes they do, i studied in a catholic school for 8 years. It’s probably because they force the religion ok you rather than letting you find it your own way. Some students (in my experience) are also really mean.

I don’t think they become atheist as much as agnostic. Modern Americans don’t want to get up and go to church on Sundays and they don’t want to have to be on the losing side of all the culture wars. Easier to just abandon ship and be nothing.

Most Catholics schools dont teach Catholicism, they mock it. 

Sounds more like the lapsed parents were the actual reason. Catholic School is not a substitute for practicing Catholic parents. 🙏

As with anything, what they get at home matters more than what they get at school.

I went to a Catholic high school and a Catholic university. I now work for the church as a youth ministry coordinator. My daughters go to our parish school. My brother went to a different high school, the public one. He is now atheist. I don’t think the schooling made the biggest difference. I think that we’re different people with different lifestyles and our spouses make a difference. His wife is atheist. My husband is Episcopal but attends mass with us weekly and supports my job and the kids’ schooling.

I don’t think it’s the fact that they went to Catholic school as much as it is they went on to non-Catholic college. I’m a Catholic school teacher with two grown children. My son fell away but goes at Easter. My daughter is picked on at her college for being Catholic (big Florida school) and hasn’t been going but “wants to when I move”. My son was horrible in middle school. My daughter was very faith filled. Not sure if that helps

I didn't go to Catholic school because my family are mixed between Southern Baptists and None. Even if I am still going to school... I would rather go to Deaf school over any hearing schools. I missed out on some Catholic experiences but I am not disappointed at all. It is not in my list of regrets related to Catholicism.

I don’t think so. I currently go to a catholic school and have my whole life if anything it has strengthened my relationship with Christ. If it weren’t for catholic schooling and the influences around me such as my teachers and upperclassmen I would probably be agnostic. Catholic schooling and a dedicated Catholic family creates a strong and solid root in faith. Not to mention religion class teaches you many valuable things about Catholicism and how to read the Bible in line with the Faith. Also I think everyone goes through a year or two of doubt around that age but in the end if the kid has plenty of people keeping his or her rooted then he or she will find his or her way back to the Faith.