Feedback on Quiz

I have received much feedback from my quiz What is your style of American Catholicism?

The various scores on this quiz are based on categories of American Catholics developed by Avery Cardinal Dulles and Deacon Owen F. Cummings. My original article on these categories is: The Seven Types of American Catholics.

Although the quiz was first posted here, it has spread all over the Internet.

Based on the feedback I've received:

Radical Catholic - 10% of total

Most priests and Religious find themselves placed in this category. They aren't Radical like the 1960s hippies, but instead are at the 'root' or radix of Christianity. These are true disciples of Christ, spending themselves in His service.

New Catholic - 29% of total

Most priests and religious get high scores in this category too. And most of the folks who write me say that they aren't young at all—they just have a youthful spirit. People in ths category have been strongly encouraged by the evangelization of Pope John Paul II. Reverts to the Faith tend to get this result. This is the second most popular quiz result.

Traditional Catholic - 36% of total

This is the most popular result of the test, which I find remarkable. People who get this answer often say "Of course I am traditional". They were not surprised by this test result. People who want the traditional Mass with chanting, and who take a negative view of the reforms since Vatican II find themselves in this category. I get many comments from people who WANT to attend a traditional Mass, but cannot due to geography. It would seem that there is not nearly a wide-enough availability of the traditional sacraments. But one person mentioned that he just likes the old style of art, and not the theology.

Evangelical Catholic- 12% of total

This is the third most-popular answer and most people are quite proud to be characterized like this. They typically expected to get this answer. Most Protestants who take this test get this category, as do many converts from Protestantism, and those who call themselves ecumenical.

Liberal Catholic - 6% of total

I get very strong reactions from those who score this category, often they reject this categorization or even the quiz itself. Of course, liberals by definition "do not want to be categorized by any artificially imposed categories", so a person who opposes categorization will almost by natural law get categorized like this. How's that for irony? A person who wants reform of basic Church doctrine will get into this category. They tend to be dismayed by my statement that they are too influenced by American culture, since many are strongly critical of the same, however, they have a very American-style of criticism, and so are ironically strongly influenced by American culture.

Neo-Conservative Catholic - 5% of total

Most people who get this answer are shocked and dismayed. They think that they are "good Catholics" but don't realize that they buy into rather uncharitable social theories. However, some tell me that they put forth a huge effort into raising a family, so the test needs to be modified to reflect this. This is a surprisingly rare test result, considering how many people in the Church could be characterized as conservative. I would suspect that the Church's social teaching is very well known these days. Others say that they know that they are strongly influenced by American culture, while others say that they left the Catholic Faith because of the Liberalism in the Church since the Second Vatican Council. I noticed a number of people scored quite high on both Neo-Conservative and Liberal, which seems contradictory.

Lukewarm Catholic - 2% of total

Typically atheists will get this result. My favorite quote from a quiz taker is "Cathlics SUCK". Often people will oppose what they misspell!