CV NEWS FEED // A recent survey found that Catholics who attend the Traditional Latin Mass tend to defy stereotypes that portray them as factionists or sedevacantists.
Stephen Bullivant, a theology professor and researcher, and Stephen Cranney, a data scientist, conducted a survey among 446 Catholics who attend licit Traditional Latin Masses (TLM) at least once per year. The purpose of the survey was to flesh out limited data regarding the TLM community to later compile into a book on the subject.
As rumors that the Vatican could soon impose more restrictions on the TLM begin to circulate among faithful Catholics, the survey found that TLM-goers generally felt hurt by what they viewed as Pope Francis’ “persecution” of the liturgy but still recognized his authority.
Most TLM-goers agreed with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, but some remained neutral. According to the survey, 49% agreed or strongly agreed with Vatican II, 15% somewhat agreed, and 15% neither agreed nor disagreed. Only 4% strongly disagreed, while 17% disagreed or somewhat disagreed.
Bullivant and Cranney also conducted interviews with roughly 20 TLM Catholics, which they said helped explain why responses concerning Vatican II were so varied.
“A very common theme found in our interviews was distinguishing between what was actually in the Vatican II documents and how it had been carried out or interpreted,” they wrote, later adding, “Even with how Vatican II has developed they exhibited ambiguity, often seeing both bad and good things arising from the Council at the same time.”
According to the survey, many TLM-goers saw sedevacantism as “spiritually dangerous” and 95% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I believe the Pope is the Vicar of Jesus Christ.”
The survey also found that TLM-goers tended to lean Republican (77%) and were extremely pro-life, as 85% said abortion should be illegal in all cases and 13% said it should be illegal in most cases. Only 1.6% said that abortion should be legal in most cases, and less than 1% said it should be legal in every case.
In addition, TLM-goers believed in the Real Presence, with only 2% of respondents claiming that the Eucharist is just a symbol.
In regards to SSPX, which does not offer licit TLMs, many TLM-goers empathized with them but had reservations about the group and similar traditionalist factions.
Bullivant and Cranney concluded that more research should be done on TLM Catholics, adding that the survey suggested that “the TLM community, while drawn to a different ascetic than the typical parish experience, hold onto the beliefs of the Catholic faith more consistently than the wider population of Catholics, including regular Novus Ordo Mass-goers,”
They continued:
That is not to say there are not questions that can and should be asked about how TLM Catholics live their faith, but the caricature of the TLM community as near-schismatics threatening the authority of the papacy is itself questionable. More studies and surveys that are transparent in methodology need to be conducted before conclusions should be made that impact such a dynamic population of the Catholic Church.
