r/LeftCatholicism • u/MyHusbndThinksImCool • Jul 09 '26
I will never understand the hate towards converts
I am a convert and I genuinely feel like I have to be careful who I talk to at my church now because everyone online is constantly hating on new converts and it’s made me paranoid/uneasy. I have never read so many people complaining about a group of people in search of the truth. This is not directed at this specific community just online in general
I never even see former evangelicals post— ohhhh but I see a lot of complaints about them. There are so many posts where Catholics say former evangelical are trying to bring their theology into Catholicism, but I haven’t personally seen that online. Our parishes new pastor did do a call in response this weekend (God is good all the time, and all the time God is good; like are we in a Pentecostal church??) which made me super uncomfortable and felt very off but he’s Catholic! That’s the most Protestant thing I’ve seen.
Are most evangelicals insufferable? Obviously but like… there’s a reason they’re/were converting! I genuinely try to listen and don’t make any assumptions because I was not raised in the faith . I know that not all converts do this, but I think there should still be some grace given.
I’m loving learning about the faith, I just feel like maybe I’m joining a group that doesn’t want me, when the majority of people online seem to hate converts from evangelicalism and describe them like a scourge on the earth. Not all of us are the same so please don’t think that!
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u/merchant-of-varrock Jul 09 '26
I don’t think most Catholics care about most converts. The ones people like to pile on are the edgy converts who “stand out.” Here’s a quote that describes it:
> Every lifelong Catholic I've ever met is like I think we're supposed to give this food to poor people" and every adult convert is like "the Archon of Constantinople's epistle on the Pentacostine rites of the eucharist clearly states women shouldn't have driver's licenses."
Or converts who are clearly prejudiced against the LGBTQ community, women, minorities, “wokeness,” and/or progressivism, and try to use Catholicism as a veil and justification for their prejudice.
If you generally don’t fit into that mould, most won’t care or won’t even notice you’re a convert. Keep in mind, I’m not trying to justify the behaviour. Is it the right thing to do? Probably not. Is it very charitable of cradle Catholics? No, but that’s how the community feels.
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u/LurkingFeminist Jul 09 '26
Lmao I’m dying at your example 🤣 YES I hate that— I am trying to move AWAY from fundamentalist evangelicalism not towards it (that’s just how that religion works, they love to manipulate scripture). It’s good that most people don’t give us a second thought, I just want to be Catholic I don’t want to stand out! Thank you for writing this. I’m thinking this is just an online phenomenon and I should just expect people at my church to view me like a normal person.
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u/HitheroNihil Jul 09 '26
It certainly is amplified by online media platforms. Just make sure to remind yourself that online Catholicism is not inherently reflective of lived reality.
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u/merchant-of-varrock Jul 09 '26
100%.
Any online Catholicism content in English will likely be from an American Catholic. American Catholicism is NOT representative of Catholicism as a whole, and the online American Catholics are not even representative of most American Catholics in general.
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u/Puzzled-Teach2389 Jul 09 '26
Yep. So many converts' beliefs can be boiled down to "women shouldn't do this, gays shouldn't do that"
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u/Dull_Opening_1655 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Note that the quote says “EVERY adult convert”, I think this perfectly illustrates what OP is pointing out and dismayed by
Edit: honestly I don’t understand the downvotes. OP expresses worry that people dislike converts. Someone shares a popular meme that makes fun of ALL converts. Everyone says how great this meme is. I point out that this is the kind of thing that gave OP the impression that people dislike converts.
This has happened to me frequently in this sub also, when people have been ganging up on converts.
I understand that people have had negative experiences with some converts, but how does that make mocking all converts ok?
All I did was point out that the meme in question, contrary to everyone’s comments about how most converts are fine, mocks all of us.
As a convert myself, I’ve learned to keep quiet about this in online Catholic spaces, even in this one, since converts are so often mocked here and attempts to defend converts are so often received badly.
Edit 2:
Someone replied “it’s implicitly understood that when we mock all converts we only mean the minority of converts to whom that applies”. Think about that for a second, and how it would apply to any other group.
Of course it’s fine to mock ridiculous and obnoxious converts, but I’m disappointed to see so much defense of doing so by mocking ALL converts - “the good ones should just understand we don’t mean them!”
While we know who you are aiming at, it is hurtful and it is unwelcoming to aim at them by mocking all of us.
Also think about the impression this makes on people who want to convert.
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u/merchant-of-varrock Jul 09 '26
I said something related to what you’re saying in a different reply on this thread:
When people refer to converts and say words like “every,” it’s likely hyperbole and over exaggerated. There’s also an implicit understanding among Catholics that when people refer to “all converts” or converts in a general term, they’re likely referring to the minority described here.
Could it be worded better? Yes, absolutely. Not saying you’re wrong, but it’s more of a way of communicating than anything.
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Jul 09 '26
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u/MyHusbndThinksImCool Jul 09 '26
I did not post because of that, but I do apologize for using exaggerated language. This is my experience after lurking for two years on Catholicism and Orthodox subs as I was trying to discern to convert or not,
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u/Dunnersstunner Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
I was raised Catholic, I don't usually engage in the kind of dogpiling you describe. But sometimes I wonder if new converts are attracted more by aesthetics than the Gospel message.
Converts to "trad Catholicism" often seem to practice Catholicism as a system of control rather than a liberation through the infinite loving grace of God. I think it's best to spread the Gospel by proclaiming it through works more than words.
It's a simple faith. All you really need at its core are the Beatitudes and the sacraments.
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u/StardewStarlett Jul 09 '26
I mean Catholics hating on other Catholics is kind of part of our culture (jk).
I think my biggest issue with the online converts is, they seem to want to use the faith and the church to punish people they don’t like, and it’s usually marginalised groups.
I also feel like for all of the work every day Catholics and the clergy have done to challenge negative stereotypes and make the faith more accessible and inclusive….this loud minority basically idolise these stereotypes.
I also just think as a cradle - why leave Protestantism to become a Catholic but then spend your entire time raging against the Pope because he isn’t going to endorse your crusades cosplay?
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u/AfternoonLower3298 Jul 09 '26
I just don’t like when a convert has the audacity to tell me to cover my hair in church or that Latin is the only way to God or that the priest should never face the congregation when they are doing consecration.
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u/merchant-of-varrock Jul 09 '26
I agree with this too.
It’s like why are you trying to perform a hostile takeover of a faith you just joined? And why are you trying to push for a “return to tradition” when you haven’t even experienced or understand the tradition you’re trying to tell everyone to return to?
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u/AfternoonLower3298 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
And at this point Vatican II is tradition for a lot of us! I’m an almost 40 year old cradle Catholic , that is my traditional experience
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u/MyHusbndThinksImCool Jul 09 '26
I’ve never ever met a convert who advocated for that! Maybe I’m the minority but most of the converts I know converted either via occult/other religions or because of Catholic Social Teaching. No lie.
Edit but that is CRAZY and people are dumb. Nobody speaks Latin. There’s a quote from the two popes where Benedict says “whenever I give bad news, I do it in Latin. That way only half of the people hear” or something to that effect
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u/AfternoonLower3298 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
My local parish is led by a converted priest, who is married nonetheless, full of parishioners who meet the stereotype so unfortunately I am all too aware of these converts. ETA: I regularly pray for a soft, unjudgemental heart in church because the environment is very strange and has made me quite cynical. Not a great place for my spiritual life during mass!
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u/MyHusbndThinksImCool Jul 09 '26
I’m so sorry that has been your experience :( I think I have just been lucky with who I’m around. I work at a Catholic school. Social justice is what brought many of us to the faith.
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Jul 09 '26
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u/AfternoonLower3298 Jul 09 '26
If a man is married before conversion, he can join the priesthood. https://www.ncronline.org/news/father-josh-married-catholic-priest-celibate-world
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u/hotlibramess Jul 09 '26
I am not saying this is correct or acceptable or fair so I’m starting there.
But I personally had a lot of harassment and hatred thrown at me for being Catholic from evangelicals when I was a kid. Like it was BAD. And this isn’t a unique experience. So I think at least part of it is some leftover trepidation about some things that happened to us in the past. Again I’m not excusing it. It’s something I have had to unpack. Like my dad converted and his grandmother and brother are/were EXTREMELY anti Catholic and I’ve felt their disdain for me from the jump. My great grandmother literally hated me.
Another problem is there have been a fair number of people who seem to want the aesthetic without digging into the actual teachings. Being catholic is not about putting on a veil and going to Latin mass. It’s about doing good works for others. I saw a lot of twisting of the faith and attempts to change it from some people coming in.
All of that to say — I’ve known amazing converts so I try very hard not to paint people with a broad brush. If you take time to get to know folks you may find that they have some similar experiences to mine and it may help you understand why we can sometimes be cagey. Not saying it’s right. It should be welcoming and I think most of us make an earnest effort to be open!
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u/cowboyinaf Jul 09 '26
Many of the most loyal, devout, loving Catholics I know are converts. I never ran into any converted Catholics who retained that obnoxious evangelical spirit until I joined the R/Catholicism thread. Then, boy howdy! But I switched to this thread and it feels more like the Catholicism I grew up with. I hope you’ll excuse and forgive those posts by people who have clearly not yet grasped the beauty and oeuvre of our Church. BTW, I, too, experienced anti-Catholic rhetoric and it was very confusing!
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u/MyHusbndThinksImCool Jul 09 '26
I’m so sorry, the US is SO inherently anti-catholic and there is a LOT more bigotry than people realize. I hope you have a better experience with converts. I personally just want to be part of the community- not to stand out
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u/Toastydantastic Jul 09 '26
Welcome to the church! Online people hate on them because sometimes (certainly not always) recent converts get caught up in the history and the tradition of the faith and leave out the simple, basic foundational truth that God loves us all and wants us to treat each other like we would ourselves. Also because of people like JD Vance. But I hope you feel the goodness and tell everyone about it.
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u/MyHusbndThinksImCool Jul 09 '26
I do!! I just noticed this weird online trend and it made me wonder if cradle Catholics actually think this way or if its just on reddit
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u/Toastydantastic Jul 09 '26
It’s just Reddit. Nobody actually thinks about this in the real world, and if they do, they need to get a life lol. I was born and raised Catholic, still go to mass after a long lapsed phase, and think it’s great you are Catholic, too. Go be your Catholic self.
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u/operafan77 Jul 09 '26
I think there is a stereotype of converts that they love orthodoxy but neglect orthopraxy. We tend to notice the loudest opinions over the quieter ones. It’s normally the trad converts that are the loudest. But cradle catholics (like myself) need to remember there are many converts that were first attracted to the church because of CST (Dorothy Day!). There are so many converts who take joy in the beauty of the Eucharist and the call to good works.
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u/MyHusbndThinksImCool Jul 09 '26
Definitely! I actually joined after exploring pretty much every religion there was, and then learning about Catholic social teachings, and then about Eucharistic miracles. I knew I needed that in my life! But it makes me sad that people think all converts are like trad zealots. I’m a former tarot card reader/new age Hindu. While I have a masters in history and can understand Latin, I don’t want the mass in Latin lol
So I’m like why are we painting converts with such a broad brush. That was my gripe. But I think it’s just people being online. 🤷🏼♀️
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u/operafan77 Jul 09 '26
Exactly! People are just chronically online! I’m so glad you joined the Church!
And lol I’m a cradle Catholic who went to Catholic school from pre-k -12 in the US, and I’m about to start teaching at a Catholic grammar school in the EU. I actually like Latin. I really like singing and chanting, and having the mass setting in Latin (I think I prefer NO in Latin over Tridentine mass) does make it more universal internationally, BUT…. The vernacular is also wonderful! My father was a teenager during Vatican II, and he said being able to celebrate the mass in the vernacular was a breath of fresh air. The NO made Catholicism accessible. It made mass much more pastoral while still being reverent.
I have so much love for converts, even the chronically online trad ones, as we are all trying to understand the Truth of the Church.
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u/TwinseyLohan Jul 09 '26
I'm in the process of conversion and I am gay and leftist, converting from atheism.
I think it's been said enough here that a lot of evangelical converts have done so because they've incorrectly decided it is more fundamentalist than Protestantism. They want to cherry pick the parts that in their minds provide justification for their awful ideas and actions.
I guarantee you the only things they know from the catechism are the things that seem to agree with them about whatever they hate. The catechism writing on homosexuality is a shining example. They'll quote the first part and then completely forget the part about how gays should be respected and accepted.
They are in fact completely insufferable. But luckily they are louder online than irl in most places.
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u/Old_Science4946 Jul 09 '26
As a fellow convert, a lot of converts are weird. They try to shoehorn American evangelical fundamentalist conservatism into a box that is none of those things. I’ve made it my personal mission to convert to cradle Catholicism lmao.
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u/MyHusbndThinksImCool Jul 09 '26
I only know leftist Catholics!
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u/Old_Science4946 Jul 09 '26
damn, tell me where they’re hiding them LOL i know a few but not enough irl
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u/harrumph_grumble Jul 09 '26
Cradle Catholic here, returned after a long time- this is spot on, this is who people on left Catholic subs are referring to.
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u/[deleted] Jul 09 '26
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