[rattlesnakedave]

Yeah, that’s the problem. In my estimation a large part of it is because Christianity, especially as practiced in the United States, is a cultural phenomenon. Evangelicalism has won the popularity contest, and it’s not moored by anything. There’s an uptick in new Catholics and Orthodox converts though, which are more “moored” if you will by tradition and at least some kind of doctrinal constraint.

[vkou]

So, since Evangelicals don't meet the bar, but Catholics do, it's not Christianity (the belief in Christ/a singular Judean God) that is the relevant demarcation, it's adherence to canon.

This undermines your thesis, because it's not the mystic woo about virgin birth and transubstantiation and resurrection (which they all profess to believe in) that's important - it's the canon - adherence to which is entirely orthogonal to faith.

[rattlesnakedave]

No, it is just Christianity that is the demarcation. I’m saying that when you have American evangelicalism (which functions as a social club, and is not moored by anything other than “get people in the door”) as your delivery mechanism, you’re less likely to get solid catechisis. This is of course not impossible, I know many bad catholic Christian’s and many good Protestant Christians, but your odds of getting the good news delivered correctly are higher in more orthodox settings.

[vkou]

How does Catholicism not function as the village social club in its DNA?

It can't in large parts of the US because it's a fringe minority, but doesn't it behave in the exact same way in an area where it is the dominant social affiliation?

Its rituals are just as odd and esoteric as the practices of the stranger evangelical churches.

[rattlesnakedave]

It does, but the distinction I’m making is that is not its primary function, unlike many evangelical churches in the United States.

Because this is the case, and because of the hierarchy in place for interpreting scripture and handing down sacred tradition, it becomes less likely that there will be problematic theological dilution or drift.

[tastyface]

I worry the new converts will make Catholicism and Orthodoxy more Evangelical, not the other way around. Just look at the current crop of American Catholics like Thiel and Vance and the vile rhetoric they spit out about their fellow human beings.

Biden was closest to a traditional Catholic and they *loathed* him.