Every Lent, like clockwork, some propaganda piece makes the rounds breathlessly proclaiming the death of Christianity—especially Catholicism. Usually it's dressed up with a few graphs, some dubious stats, and an anecdote or two from the least Catholic parts of Europe.

But let’s pause for a second and take a cue from something rarer these days: actual firsthand observation.

I recently came across a discussion on the Capturing Christianity YouTube channel featuring an interview with Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin. They discussed the decline in church attendance, religious switching, and whether Catholicism is really on the ropes.

Spoiler: it’s not. Watch for yourself …

Jimmy calmly dismantles the narrative with something far more potent than vibes—global stats and a bit of plain sense.

You know those dire headlines that scream “Around the World, Many Are Leaving Religion”? It turns out that those surveys are mostly sampling secularized parts of Europe and North America. The reality is that huge swaths of the planet: most of Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, weren’t even polled.

Now, let’s consider some counterpoints.

Not only is the global Catholic population growing year over year—it’s growing faster than the world population itself. That means the Church isn’t just holding steady. It’s outpacing the fruitfulness of mankind as a whole.

That’s not to dismiss local issues. Yes, Mass attendance in the U.S. has dropped. Yes, there are lukewarm parishes with more felt banners than families. But the sound bytes claiming universal decline are fiction.

In fact, the notion that the Church is collapsing only works if you limit your scope to the Modernism-poisoned West and ignore the rest of the planet. Or, if you coflate anedcdotes from apostates on r/Catholicism with global trends. It’s an important reminder not to uncritically accept doom and gloom from people who haven’t set foot in church for years, if ever.

Besides, even here in the West, we’re seeing signs of life. One anecdote’s as good as another, and we on this blog have had numerous reports of Masses packed with young families.

The news cycle makes it easy to fall for the “religion is dying” meme. But God hasn’t gone anywhere. Families are still baptizing their children. The sacraments are still being received, sins are still being absolved, and yes—Masses are still being attended, often in standing-room-only parishes.

When presented with sensationalist claims, it’s always important to take several steps back and consider the historical context. The truth is, the Church has faced far worse setbacks and much direr threats than this. Only one person showed up for Easter Sunday Mass in 1789 at Notre Dame Cathedral—which has now been rebuilt, by the way.

And if you ask the folks who are actually converting, exploring, or returning to the Church, the reasons are rarely nostalgic or political. They’re searching for truth. And they’re finding it.

So the next time someone confidently declares that the Church is on life support, ask him when he last saw the inside of one.

Then invite him to Mass.

He might just find that reports of the Church’s death have been greatly exaggerated. The Church is alive. And she’s not going anywhere.

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