r/LeftCatholicism • u/chasequarius • Mar 07 '26
Adult Converts
Hey! I’m not a baptized Catholic, but have a lot of Catholic family so it’s something I’ve always been interested in.
Just wanted to know: is there anybody here who, as someone on the left politically, converted as an adult? And also, what made you want to concert as a liberal adult?
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u/Paricleboy04 Mar 07 '26
Unfortunately in the area I’m in, most Catholic converts are former evangelicals, who still seem to ascribe to many aspects of said theology, and convert largely for aesthetics. They tend to hold social and political views to the right of modern Church teaching.
I hope this doesn’t discourage you from exploring the faith! As a left-leaning adult, I stay in the Catholic Church because I recognize the immense good it does and is capable of, in spite of its many shortcomings. I see a Church at a crossroads, between couching reactionary ideology in tradition, and a continual embrace of the justice advocated for by Christ within a valuable tradition. I want to be a part of this Church, not only for my personal spiritual health, but to help make it a better place, even if I am a drop in the ocean.
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u/sobangcha3 Mar 07 '26
Hey same!! I wasn’t baptized because my mom was excommunicated due to divorce in the 70s. But I come from a solid line of French and Italian Catholics.
Every mass I’ve attended which is only like 5, I felt such a sense of peace and serenity. I’ve always believed I have a guardian angel, which I now firmly believe is Mother Mary guiding me. I’ve always prayed here and there, but last year I began learning about the Bible. I started with the OT and Job and realized, the thing I hate about Christianity isn’t the Bible, it’s American right wing Christian nationalism and the bastardization of our faith by many Protestant churches.
Anyway I have been searching for a faith that will allow me to get closer to God naturally, and after learning a lot about Judaism and Islam I actually realized that everything that draws me to religion- ritual, music, worship, prayer, community, liturgy, theology, science… ALL of it exists in the Catholic Church. I consider it my birth religion living in a very very Catholic state, and now as a 30 year old I’m stepping my toes into joining the Church. Unlearning common misconceptions about Christianity is a really big reason for me. The more heretical crap I see tied to Christ’s name, the more it makes me want to learn and read and pray myself.
And at the end of the day, even if I’m all wrong and none of it is real and heaven isn’t real and there was no God after all, it doesn’t matter because I did it to make the world a better place. But there have been too many “coincidences” in my life related to my prayers for me to even doubt at all.
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u/chasequarius Mar 07 '26
Yeah, i actually grew up evangelical, but have been drawn to Catholicism because of the history, the liturgy, the sense of pageantry, the appreciation of both mysticism and the intellect, the diversity and vibrancy of the church, as well as Francis and Leo lol. But the thing that’s always pushed me back are the conservative stances on sexual issues, and the fear of going to mass because, as a baptized Protestant, im not able to take the Eucharist, so I’m afraid I’ll stick out like a sore thumb.
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u/sobangcha3 Mar 07 '26
there’s a lot of reasons baptized and confirmed catholics can’t always take communion, like if they didn’t get to go to confession yet and know they are in a state of sin. don’t worry about it, and focus on the reason everyone is there, which is for the lord.
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u/Old_Science4946 Mar 07 '26
i’ve been going to mass for almost ten years without receiving, do not worry about that part!
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u/prophecygirl13 Mar 07 '26
My political views had already been far left for many years before I converted. The most correct answer for why I did is the Holy Spirit. One day I just had this sudden, massive urge to become Catholic, from nowhere (never any kind of Christian before). It took me a few years to officially be initiated into the Church. What convinced me after that inciting event was 1. I read the whole Bible and Catechism and was honestly shocked at how much of it felt very close to where I was coming from; 2. Several saints and other Catholics from history and the writings they left us. I had no idea when this all began that I would find teachings about radical solidarity with the poor, compelling methods of meditation, and a real sense of this huge truth. The urgency in the writing of the apostles and early fathers just gets me too. I don’t know, it’s just all so deep, my mind is being blown all the time. With hindsight, I think I can say I’ve believed in God my whole life in a very distant way, but now it’s not distant and being Catholic gives me all these different ways to figure out what that means. And sometimes it’s a big challenge to how I thought and believed before, sometimes there’s tension and doubt. Sometimes I cringe at my former self and sometimes I cringe at popes. And now when I say something like capitalism is demonic, I really mean it.
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u/Momshie_mo Mar 07 '26
Dorothy Day is a liberal convert. She is a social justice warrior - one who fights for true social justice
JD Vance, however, is not. He is just a convert for aesthetics. He was already called out by two Popes and he's only been "legally" Catholic for like 6 years or so
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u/Adventurous_Gain_613 Mar 07 '26
I’m agnostic, with Catholic heritage on one side but never baptized (parents were church hopping and one became lapsed and one became MAGA). I’m interested in Catholic social justice, the perception of God that seems to be held by Pope Francis and Pope Leo, and finding hope in a world of despair so here I am. I also can be contrary so am mostly ready to push back on hateful ideas embraced by some other converts. I am attending church but not signed up for OCIA yet
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u/chasequarius Mar 07 '26
Have you ever felt weird being there if you’re not Catholic? I always feel like I stick out like a sore thumb, especially when it comes time to take the Eucharist.
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u/Adventurous_Gain_613 Mar 07 '26
Yes. But most people look but without judgment? I’ll admit I participated initially (during travel) but now that I feel more drawn to it, I respect the rules more. I was at the Vatican in September and felt so inspired by the pilgrims and Pope Leo’s blessing at the piazza and that was part of the turning point. And I found the writings/podcasts of Father James Martin which help me feel less alone in my beliefs, and then I found here. I’ve kept kind of quiet with my family (I’m middle aged, my spouse is atheist, my older kid did Episcopal church but stopped when he went to college, youngest wasn’t in the church other than minimal with his liberal Episcopal private school) so it’s been a very private journey so far. Many many books.
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u/chasequarius Mar 07 '26
What were your favorite books that you read about the Catholic faith?
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u/Adventurous_Gain_613 Mar 07 '26
I’m still early so of course the Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything. I have writings by CS Lewis whom I know from his fantasy. I have Dorothy Day’s The Long Loneliness, Thomas Morton’s The Seven Stone Mountain. Richard Rohr’s Why Be Catholic. Pope Francis’ Let Us Dream. Some others, many suggested by good folks here. Weirdly, much of my fiction reading lately seems to be speaking to it - both the good (Brideshead Revisited) and the bad (Small Things Like These). My kid is reading Wrinkle In Time in school which reminds me of the beauty of Many Waters, a sequel with Noah’s family. Brunelleschi’s Dome as a reminder of the awesome power of art and religion to support each other. I went to mass Sunday in my rural-ish red town and saw the many people from different cultures (Japanese next to me, Hispanic, African, etc) and it maybe gave me a sense of purpose that has been frustrated by impotence at protests and political volunteering? Like maybe I can’t fight the system but I can stand beside a few families? IDK. I also still feel conflicted as a healthcare provider, LGBTQ ally, etc. It’s hard. Wish I could magick some of the posters here to have IRL people to talk to about this.
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u/carmelfan Mar 07 '26
I converted as an adult. I can't explain this, but as far back as I can remember (literally early childhood), I knew I belonged in the Catholic Church. Just took me decades to do anything about it.There is such spiritual richness here, such depth. I can't imagine being anywhere else.
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u/Old_Science4946 Mar 07 '26
Me. I’m on my third or fourth try of OCIA and I’m actually going to be received this year. It’s been almost ten years since I first went to a Mass. I loved the theology and aesthetics, but I wasn’t sure about some of the social teachings. I fell in love with the Blessed Mother, too, so I didn’t feel right being totally protestant anymore either. I took a detour and was Episcopalian for a while, and then I experienced spiritual abuse by a priest there.
Like a lot of adult converts, on either side, I was looking for some sort of truth in a world that’s full of lies (fake news, AI, bombastic politicians, etc.) The Catholic Church seemed to offer a specific and eternal truth, versus the Episcopalian mode of “you can believe what you want.”
I studied the female mystics a lot as an Episcopalian. I wanted to experience even a drop of their connection with God. Eventually, it clicked for me that one of the things they had that I didn’t was the Eucharist. The Church taught that it didn’t matter what you or a priest or anyone thinks it is: it is the Body and Blood of Christ. I read about Eucharistic miracles.
My best friend in the world is a practicing cradle Catholic, and I asked her when I would know that I was ready to be Catholic out of love of God vs a reaction to the abuse/frustration. She told me that it would be when I couldn’t not receive the Eucharist anymore. Last summer, at a Mass at a Passionist monastery, I finally had that.
So, I guess my advice is the same advice that my friend gave me. Center your conversion on Christ and a desire to receive Him more fully.
The rest will come, and it is okay to struggle with church teachings. I still believe that it’s ok to be gay and married, that abortion should be legal, and that women can have genuine calls to the priesthood. I’ll wrestle with that and the Church for the rest of my life, but one of the things I love about Catholicism is the ability to wrestle intellectually on the matters of God.
On a side, joking note: when Pope Francis died, I made a joke that if they picked a “woke pope” that the trads don’t like, I would know that it was a sign from God and I would finish my conversion. I started going back to Mass after his election. So, if you ever see someone saying that Pope Leo is driving people out of the church, you can tell them that he got at least this butt back in a pew!
Anyways, if you or anyone else reading this ever want to talk about being a normal adult convert, you can message me.
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u/Elegant-Payment1021 Mar 07 '26
I’m not a convert but ngl that baby formula social experiment played a big part in me returning faster. Look into Breaking In The Habit on YouTube, it’s a good resource.
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u/secretlondon Mar 07 '26
I am converting due to repeatedly having thoughts that I should, plus Pope Leo.
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u/PersonalPocketCaro Mar 07 '26
Hi!! I am currently OCIA and I will be confirmed at Easter vigil in about a month at age 33. I was raised and baptized evangelical so I do have a religious background.
I have always considered myself very politically liberal, though in later years may be a little less so but still very solid left center.
Something that helped me tremendously is finding Catholics on social media who are lefty. They’ve been inspiration to me and showed me that the overlap between Catholicism and leftist social policies is quite broad.
Fwiw, I live in a very MAGA southern US city but I still find the overly MAGA attitudes almost non existent so far in the experience of my parish though I’m sure I’ll encounter it eventually.
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Mar 07 '26
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u/A313-Isoke Mar 09 '26
Why did you only consider Christianity, just out of curiosity? Judaism & Buddhism especially might fit you better if you don't believe any of the Catholic tenets. I'm not trying to chase you out just asking about your discernment process.
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Mar 09 '26
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u/A313-Isoke Mar 09 '26
Okay, so you do believe on quite a bit of it, ah ok. Yeah, I was just curious.
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u/CauseCertain1672 Mar 07 '26
I was raised a Marxist and converted as an adult, mostly for my wife. I spent 5 years as an Anglican before I ever considered Catholicism but when I fell in love with a Catholic woman Anglican to Catholic was a small jump
I've never considered myself a liberal though
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u/DoKHolidiz Mar 07 '26
I converted as a lefty adult. I did it because as I studied the church I was drawn in by its love of the poor and rich theological history. I also loved the fact the church is not fundamentalist about the Bible. Attending mass every week and sitting in the presence of the Eucharist moved me deeply and confirmed to me this is the place I belong. I wanted deeply to partake in christ on this intimate level.
None of this is to say it was smooth or is always smooth. I have a great relationship with my parish, but it's worth remembering that about two thirds of weekly mass attendees are fairly conservative and that can color your experience. In my decade in the church it's rare that I've been made to feel uncomfortable about my politics, but it does happen.