Culture

The American Catholic Church?

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In 2026 and I find myself asking if there will be a splinter American Catholic Church. I think this worth analyzing because of so many factors. The Pope outright takes on the Trump Administration in his preachings, social media posts, and actions. Catholics protests in the streets. Some Bishops disagree with the Pope, as do some prominent Catholics despite, you know, Catholicism. I could go on, but if you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in religion like I am and have followed some of this, even if involuntary.

In short, could a bunch of Conservative “Catholics” spin off their own Church?

Now I’ve been thinking this over for awhile, because an American Catholic Church would be a major cultural change, and because it’s fascinating to analyze. So let’s get to it – and be sure you write me back with your thoughts because this could be important – as well as interesting.

So first of all, let’s get to it – there are people in America that claim to be Catholic but also don’t seem to agree with the Pope or even some general teachings of the Church. The Pople in 2026 doesn’t seem to have any tolerance for this crap, but we also see Catholics (including some Bishops) sort of not listening to the Pope. Again, I mean you’re Catholic, the Pope is sort of your thing.

So I was thinking, what motivates these people who want to be Catholic but you know, not be Catholic. Some of them seem to be converts and opportunists, but there’s a chunk of Catholics that seem to want to be something else. So why be Catholic – either becoming or staying?

  • Catholicism is old and has history. People thus attribute stability, accuracy, and endurance to it. People assume old is right. I’d argue timeless is more likely to be right, but in their case age is good.
  • Catholicism has a reputation for organization. It’s got your ceremonies and your penances and stations of the cross and all of that. If you like structure, they’ve got you covered.
  • Catholicism also has class and style. You’ve got gorgeous churches, amazing relics, stately robes, great music, and more. I think converts and the like are getting into Catholicism because it’s classy and they get to feel superior to your average American Evangelical. Is it a class thing? Probably.
  • If you want to be selective you can find Bishops and thinkers and writers who will back whatever weird right-wing control freak beliefs you have.

Catholicism has it all for people who are into control, and you get to have all sorts of dignified and cool ceremonies and churches. Throw in the reputation, and yeah, a certain kind of person might gravitate to it.

Of course I think the various people gravitating to the church, the converts, essentially want to be Evangelical Protestants. That seems to be the mindset they’re coming with. It’s just there’s some people there ready to welcome them – just not this Pope.

So I think there are people who want to be Catholic but not BE Catholic and all that you inherit with it. A spinoff splinter Church in America sounds perfect for them. Think about what you get!

  • You get your own Church. You can basically band together some thinkers and bishops and congregations automatically! It’s prefab.
  • You can get ahold of some Church finances, probably. The Church seems loaded anyway.
  • You get to steal the reputation and rituals and fame of the church. Plus the controversy gets you more attention.
  • You can try to become a new rallying point for conservatives and religious authoritarians. All of the above make it easier.
  • If you help found this new American Catholic Church, you get a big halo effect. You get fame and attention and maybe the suggestion you’re guided by your god.

So there seems to be no reason for people not to try to create an American Catholic Church. I figure at some point between 2026 to 2030 there’s going to be a possible schism. More so if the Pope keeps going hard at American policy, and he doesn’t seem to want to back down.

Now is it going to succeed? Almost certainly not.

First, even if a split happens I have no reason to believe that it won’t be abortive or small. Any effort to do this would have to be organized, large-scale, well-funded, and well-attended to succeed and hope to have any impact. That takes time, organization, and willingness to risk because if it fails you’ve humiliated yourself, so people will only do it if they think it will work.

However, even if enough people do rally the famous people, the Bishops, and the money to pull it off, I don’t expect it to survive.

Bluntly, any attempt to create an American Catholic Church is going to be creating yet some other “Conservative” political interest group dressed up as religion. It will be home to a bunch of grifters battling with other grifters in the religion scene. The amount of corruption, infighting, and backstabbing resulting will ultimately be destructive.

Meanwhile, while people jockey for power in the American Catholic Church, there will be other authoritarian religious groups against them. They will want the power. They will want the influence. They also will probably draw on previous anti-Catholic sentiment. An American Catholic Church will have enemies within their own political sphere.

Meanwhile the Pope – the Pope – and Catholics around the world will look down on them.

So I expect if an American Catholic Church is created – enough of a possibility to consider – it won’t survive. It’ll fragment from grifting, loose people, find itself at odds with others, and so on. The result will probably be a shrinking denomination that merges into others.

Will it be a wild ride if it happens? Yes. It’ll also be kind of stupid and sad in the end.

So what are your opinions on the possibility of an American Catholic Church?

–Xenofact

For We Are One On The Journey

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When it comes to religious and spiritual interactions, we’ve all experienced both deep connection and deep conflict. I’d like to talk about the connection, specifically how is it that we can connect with people on seemingly different spiritual paths? I’m sure we’ve all experienced something like that, where there’s a theological disconnect, but a deeper connection anyway.

In 2026, I find this question even more relevant. I find myself in agreement with the Pope despite being neither a Christian and having some problems with the Catholic Church. I find myself in sync with Christians sincerely protesting monstrous behavior. I am, as noted, a theist in my own way, but also have many friends who are atheists and we think a lot alike.

I mean I’m a Taoist and syncretic neo-pagan, so my beliefs are inclusive, but still, it’s interesting to see people I feel accord with in a time where religious conflict is oft present. It’s also nice to feel that accord.

So I find myself asking why we have this sense of sibling-hood. I mean I’m glad for it but why does it exist?

I think it’s a question of the sincerity of the journey.

Whatever your spiritual starting point, some people are on the quest. They want to figure out what’s going on. They want to be better people. They want to tune in to the Big Picture. There is something bigger than them, and they are going to do their best to find it.

This also means they start by taking their spiritual path seriously – and that’s actually a good starting point. You have to start somewhere and give it a try, you have to hold to your principles to find out what they mean and ask really hard questions. We’re often asking the same questions on the journey, and facing stark reality.

There’s a camaraderie in this, of all we people on the journey. We don’t start from the same place, we aren’t necessarily in the same place, but we’re all trying to figure “it” out. We can all relate to the journey. We can appreciate that someone cares.

But also everyone on that journey also have places of similarities. We ask the same or similar questions. We’ve faced the same or similar spiritual crises. We’ve probably had similar experiences in spiritual readings and research, even if we’re not necessarily in agreement.

Almost certainly out of these we’re going to find similar values. We’ve asked the questions, done the research, and in many cases come to the same conclusions. I don’t believe there’s some secret perennial philosophy created by an ancient civilization waiting to be rediscovered – but I believe there are similar conclusions we always keep coming to. Also maybe we should listen to those conclusions, because we keep forgetting them.

We’re all on a journey, all trying to figure it out, and our conclusions are often hard-won and surprisingly similar.


There’s a camaraderie in all of this. A similarity because we’re all on a journey.

I keep thinking of the TV series Babylon 5, a show I was a deep fan of back when it first ran. The Episode “Grail” in Season 1 sees a religious seeker come to this space station in the far future, seeking the Holy Grail. An alien ambassador notes her respect for a person on a mission that others may see as mad – a sincere seeker hoping for healing and regeneration for people. I appreciate that message, and I think it illustrated what I found.

Who is my sibling? Someone else on a journey like me.

–Xenofact

But What If We’re No One?

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In 2026 there are two trends that I think threaten people’s sense of identity. I mean there’s a lot of bad trends in 2026, so I need to be clear. If you’re reading this in another decade, I hope things are less terrible.

The trends specifically are AI and Prediction Markets (ie gambling). Both trends are destructive. AI is over-rated, over-exposed use of statistical tools to assemble language that overshadows actual useful technology. Prediction Markets are just gambling, only gambling on anything, and gambling has gotten pretty terrible with Sports Betting. They’re wrecking the economy, used to funnel money to the grotesquely rich, and so on – but also they destroy identity by destroying personhood.

Let’s take a look at AI. AI is pitched as a replacement for not just people but for thinking. You can get rid of workers and then they don’t do what they do, what they do as part of their lives and careers. You also can not need to know anything, just prompt an AI and then get Slop you can pass off as something valuable. AI is about degrading knowledge and degrading thought.

You have to learn something, do something, make something to achieve results. AI replaces that, AI means you’re nothing but a prompt-enterer at best. AI replaces people with something that can’t truly do their job as it’s not about being a kind of person. It also replaces being the kind of person that knows and does things with typing a prompt.

AI removes identity from the equation. AI is about not being anything, just weak connective tissue between pretend intelligence. You’re not a person, you’re not anyone.

The Prediction Markets are about bets, periods. There might be some skill involved, but the core skill is to be able to make bets and predict things. That kind of skill isn’t necessarily being used anywhere else, just to try to get a cash payout. Also some people are just placing bets and seeing whatever happens.

And that’s not including market manipulation, which is an important subject as of this writing. What if you’re placing bets then just manipulating what goes on – playing on insider information, making deals, threatening people? Are you building anything? Making anything? Being anyone?

It’s all odds and odds manipulation. There’s no one home, just desires for payoffs. Nothing is coming of it. No one is being anything, just gut bacteria in the odds market.

AI and Prediction Markets are all about poking buttons, statistics, odds, and not building skills, or relations, or learning things that make you someone. It’s a world of emptiness and voidness. It’s techno-economic trends that dehumanize people in many ways.

Do I have any solutions? Well, yes, be skeptical of these things and work to build yourself and others as people – folks with knowledge and skills, and roles, and citizenship. Be sure to keep people skeptical and aware.

But also as I expect both of these to go very wrong, you can also promote regulation, limitations, community opposition, and of course witty “I told you so’s”.

–Xenofact