Gone fishin' lately? Catholics are hardly known for overt proselytizing, but they do believe in spreading the Good News. A U.S. CATHOLIC survey finds readers prefer to lead by example. (reader survey).

THEY'RE WORSE THAN TELEMARKETERS, because instead of selling credit cards or long-distance phone service, they're selling religion--and they actually show up at your door. Many people pretend not to be home when they see them coming up their driveways, but a few brave souls invite them in and try to engage in dialogue, only to become frustrated by their overzealousness.

Whether they are Jehovah's Witnesses armed with "Watchtower" tracts or bicycle-riding Mormon missionaries or the street-corner proselytizer pushing pamphlets at passers-by, they all give evangelism a bad name.

"There's nothing so annoying than the holier-than-thou evangelizers of certain denominations or the I've-got-all-the-answers televangelists of others," complains one U.S. CATHOLIC reader.

Given their nearly universal negative reaction at attempts to be converted, it's maybe not so surprising that Catholics are reluctant to try to convert others. Certainly, it's rare to see pairs of Catholics ringing doorbells and distributing literature about their church (although some parishes have adopted this technique). If anything, Catholics are known for their lack of overt outreach to people of other faiths.

But that doesn't mean Catholics don't believe in the gospel imperative to be fishers of men and women. In a survey of 250 U.S. CATHOLIC readers, a whopping 95 percent agreed that evangelization--really just a fancy church word for spreading the Good News--is a requirement of their Catholic faith. To most Catholics, the question isn't if they should evangelize, but how.

The soft sell

Catholics feel compelled to share their faith, not only because Jesus or the catechism says we should, but also because it has made a difference in their own lives. "It's easy to share something you love and are excited about," says Margaret Tanaka of Fullerton, California. Amparo Bererra of Kress, Texas agrees: "My faith gives me great peace, and I really want to share that with everyone."

When asked about the ways in which they have shared their faith, however, respondents chose decidedly non-confrontational methods. The No. 1 answer was by "living my life in such a way that it is an example to others," followed by "serving people without the intention of converting them." The least popular mode was "actively trying to convert someone to Catholicism."

Aggressive attempts at conversion not only make many people uncomfortable, they just plain don't work, say survey respondents. Most Catholics prefer to wait until someone asks their opinion or at least expresses some interest in the Catholic faith--and even then, they prefer a low-key approach.

"Personally, I get immediately turned off with high-pressure sales pitches for anything, so why would I use that approach for something as important as communicating my faith?" says Ron James of Howell, Michigan.

Among the more discreet ways Catholics tend to evangelize are trying to live ethical lives, passing along Catholic reading material, or just letting people know they are regular Mass-goers. One reader noted that her going to Mass while on a business trip opened a conversation with a coworker about the role of religion in his life.

Others are more comfortable with overt gestures such as inviting friends to Mass, talking about the Bible, or sharing their own faith story. But listening to others' stories is just as important as talking, says Jackson Vance of Lewiston, Idaho. "There is so much talk. Evangelization is different from words, words, words," she says. "We need to be the Good News."

Success stories

But is this laid-back, low-key approach successful? Of course that depends on how you define "success." Yet one of the most surprising findings was that almost two thirds (61 percent) of respondents feel they have been instrumental in someone's process of becoming Catholic. A sizeable number also said they may have been but didn't know for sure.

Again, the carrot, rather than the stick, was the preferred method. Sandra Paveglio of Palmyra, Pennsylvania helped a 79-year-old woman enter the church at Easter vigil. "She said my friend and I didn't make her feel guilty for waiting so long ... and that we were welcoming, friendly, and not judgmental."

Michael Carlson of Lincoln, Nebraska also tries to evangelize by example as a volunteer with the Saint Vincent de Paul Society. "I hope my treatment of someone who has sought help grows into a mature faith as a result," he says.

Several readers who are themselves converts to Catholicism also mention the quiet example of others as attracting them to the faith. Betty Stuart of South Bend, Indiana recalls a close friend who inspired her. "She never preached, but was a faithful witness and example," she remembers.

Avoiding the in-your-face approach may not always result in a scorecard full of names of converts, but readers say they are content to plant seeds and pray that they grow. "I can't think of any real successes," says Christine Shannon of Danville, Kentucky, "but I hope some of my lifestyle has rubbed off on others--especially my children."

Coincidentally, children were the most oft-mentioned example of failed attempts at evangelization, and many readers admit heavy-handed tactics may have been part of the problem. "Trying to force my children into going to church pushed them farther away," says Mary Rakosky of Morton Grove, Illinois. Nagging didn't work for Catherine Kelly of Sioux Rapids, Iowa either. "It's all in the way it's presented," she says.

Rick Drevecky has met with more success by focusing on Jesus rather than on his love of old church traditions. "I was trying to convince others of their beauty without realizing that these people had never had that experience," he says.

A Pennsylvania religious ed teacher also learned that the best-laid lesson plans sometimes need revising. "Young people need a link to their lives, rather than starting with the Christian message alone," says Ed Zarger.

Timing can be everything. For example, people experiencing grief and loss are often open to hearing about how God can offer healing or solace during difficult times. John Barkay shares his faith with "persons who seem to be sincerely seeking answers to life's problems, especially when they are enduring a trial in life," he says. Another young woman says she initiated a dialogue with a neighbor by merely offering to pray for her dying mother.

Many ways to God

Readers who complain about being on the receiving end of overzealous evangelization attempts take issue not only with tactics but also with the overall premise. Holly Wiegman of Schenectady, New York remembers one heated debate with a Bible-thumping acquaintance.

"I felt my own relationship with God was belittled and deemed `wrong' because it was not exactly like this person's," she says. "One's relationship with God is extremely personal. As a human being, I am not qualified to judge another's relationship to God simply because this person does not express that relationship through a Catholic faith."

In fact, for many U.S. Catholics, sharing the Good News is not equated with conversion to Catholicism. Half of the survey respondents said they didn't believe in trying to convert people from other faiths, although evangelization to unchurched people is OK.

Several even took issue with the terminology, insisting that one person never converts another. "I convert no one--churched or unchurched. God does the converting," says Ruth Chronister of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Willie Padilla of El Paso, Texas doesn't call it converting either. "I see it as giving people information and then having them choose," he says.

Of course, fledgling believers often appreciate a little companionship during their conversion process, says Valeria Day of Bayside, New York. "Our stance toward someone who inquires should be one of openness, affirmation, and support of someone on a faith journey."

That journey needn't have the Catholic Church as its destination, according to several readers who have taken to heart the teaching that salvation is possible outside the Catholic Church.

"We do not all have to be Catholics," says Mary Catherine Ryan of Hawthorn Woods, Illinois. "There are many ways to God." Mary Tatman of Cleveland agrees: "Whatever faith a person is, I encourage them to be more fervent in their own faith."

With the motive of conversion off the table, faith-sharing can become a two-way conversation beneficial to both parties. Barbara Sidari of Stuart, Florida discovered that through an ongoing dialogue with a Greek Orthodox friend.

"We are learning from each other," she says. "As we walk along the beach and talk, we are both open to each other's point of view and sharing our faith experience with tolerance and love."

Reluctant recruiters

But there is concern that all this tolerance has been taken too far. According to a majority of respondents (58 percent), the Catholic Church doesn't emphasize the importance of evangelization enough. And nearly all--91 percent--admit that Catholics are generally less inclined to evangelize than members of other faiths.

The relatively insular attitude of today's Catholics may be partially attributed to our immigrant past. Marginalized for their faith, immigrant Catholics were reluctant to be seen as pushing it on others. "Some of us `oldsters' were brought up to avoid discussions of religion outside the home or church," says a Wisconsin woman.

Plus, evangelization in the Catholic Church traditionally has been the arena of priests, nuns, and missionaries to foreign lands, and several readers noted that the tendency to "leave it to Father" persists. The whole idea of evangelization "has a Protestant ring to it," says Mary Romo of Tiburon, California.

Catholics' tendency to be private about their faith also was mentioned by several respondents. "We feel uncomfortable baring our souls in public," says a Massachusetts reader.

Yet the most common explanation for Catholics' tendency not to evangelize was the assertion by respondents that Catholics either are or feel inadequately informed about their faith to share it with others.

"Catholics are afraid to evangelize because it means they have to work at knowing their faith," says James Olsovsky of Livingston, Texas.

Others perceive a lack of education. "Many feel that 12 years is enough," says Mary Katherine White of Newport News, Virginia. "After graduation, they see no need for more in-depth examination of church teachings."

But readers must not be referring to themselves. When asked if they feel confident enough about their faith to share it with others, 94 percent of respondents say yes.

Those who admitted to lack of confidence didn't attribute it to poor catechesis but rather to the church's poor image with the recent sex abuse scandal" and problematic church teachings. Several say the church must clean up its act before expecting to achieve much in the way of evangelization. Says Tom Roller of Amboy, Illinois: "Vatican teaching doesn't always qualify as `Good News.'"

Others noted that evangelization should start at home, including to nonpracticing Catholics and recent Hispanic immigrants. "The Catholic Church needs to evangelize its own members," says a Minnesota reader. Pedro Pedraja-Santos of Fort Myers, Florida notes, "We are losing [Hispanics] because we have done nothing to welcome them and help them."

Although some parishes and dioceses have embraced evangelization as a priority, creating offices and outreach programs, readers remain skeptical about formal approaches. "Evangelization must be a part of everything we do--an attitude, not another program," says Sister Martha Larkin of New Hartford, New York.

Patrick Whitcomb of Green Bay, Wisconsin agrees: "If the church, both personal and institutional, lives as Jesus did, it won't need programs to evangelize," he says. "Its witness will be sufficient."

AND THE SURVEY SAYS ...

1. I believe our Catholic faith
   requires us to spread the
   Good News to others.

   agree   95%
disagree    2%
   other    3%

Note: Table made from bar graph.

2. I have shared my Catholic faith
   in the following ways: (More
   than one answer allowed.)

94%   Living my life in such
      a way that it is an
      example to others.

76%   Serving people without
      the intention of
      converting them.

67%   Passing on Catholic
      reading material.

58%   Sharing my own faith
      story.

50%   Inviting people to
      experience a good
      Catholic Mass.

46%   Talking to people
      about the Bible.

25%   Serving as an RCIA
      sponsor.

20%   Actively trying to
      convert someone to
      Catholicism.

16%   Other.

3. I think Catholics are
   generally less inclined to
   evangelize than members of
   other faiths.

   agree   91%
disagree    8%
   other    1%

Note: Table made from bar graph.

4. Evangelization to unchurched
   people is OK, but I don't
   believe in trying to convert
   people of other faiths.

   agree   50%
disagree   36%
   other   14%

Note: Table made from bar graph.

5. I believe the following are
   good opportunities for
   evangelization. (More than
   one answer allowed.)

83%   With family or friends.
75%   While volunteering.
72%   At work or school
40%   With strangers.
11%   Other.

6. Currently the Catholic Church
   does not emphasize enough
   the importance of evangelization.

   agree   58%
disagree   38%
   other    7%

Note: Table made from bar graph.

These results are based on survey
responses from 250 U.S. CATHOLIC
readers and Web site visitors.

Join the conversation--online.

In addition to a sample of subscribers,
all are invited to respond to U.S.
CATHOLIC'S monthly Sounding Board
survey at www.uscatholic.org.
This month, join U.S. CATHOLIC
readers as they talk about what
makes a good death.

RELATED ARTICLE: Youthful enthusiasm?

"Are you spreadin' the news?" asked the headline at the top of this survey. "Yes! I am!" Laurel Kaeferlein scribbled in the margin. Then she drew a big smiley face. The 34-year-old seemed representative of younger respondents, whose answers revealed a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about evangelization. "I think people 40 and younger are more likely to evangelize," says Kaeferlein, who lives in Champlin, Minnesota.

Survey respondents under 35 were twice as likely as older Catholics to be open to evangelizing to complete strangers, with 80 percent of younger respondents agreeing. They also were more likely to share their faith by actively trying to convert someone to Catholicism and were less likely to see people of other faiths as off limits for evangelization. Having grown up in a church that stresses evangelism, they also were less critical of the church's need to emphasize it more.

"My faith has made me strong enough to share it," says Jacob Louchart of Flagstaff, Arizona, who checked the "age 26-35" box. So did Joanne Rumolo of Shamokin, Pennsylvania. 1 feel hopeful and joyous with my faith," she says. "I want God to be part of everyone's lives.--Heidi Schlumpf

By HEIDI SCHLUMPF, an associate editor at U.S. CATHOLIC.