Some Evangelicals Are Leaving Protestantism for Other Traditions
A number of high-profile Christians have converted to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. What is driving them away?
In recent decades, there has been a significant and sustained trend of Protestants converting to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. The most notable figure recently is J. D. Vance, the vice-presidential running mate of former president Donald Trump.
But he’s not alone. Vance is just one name in the growing list of high-profile, theologically conservative Christians who have made public shifts away from their Protestant backgrounds (often evangelical) to these more liturgical or “high church” traditions.
A previous president of the Evangelical Theological Society, Francis Beckwith, became a Catholic in 2009, and former Anglican Bishop Nazir Ali, has lately returned to the Catholicism of his youth. Other recent Catholic converts include Cameron Bertuzzi of Capturing Christianity (a popular YouTube channel), historian Joshua Charles, and John Richard Neuhaus, founder of First Things journal. Past prominent converts to Eastern Orthodoxy include Hank Hanegraaff (the “Bible Answer Man”, Lutheran scholar Jaroslav Pelikan, and English bishop Kallistos Ware.
Of course, there are always exceptions to every trend—as is the case with former Eastern Orthodox priest Joshua Schooping, author of Disillusioned: Why I Left the Eastern Orthodox Priesthood and Church, and the Catholic-turned-Protestant Chris Castaldo, who published Why Do Protestants Convert? with Brad Littlejohn last year.
it’s no secret that a growing number of Protestants in the US have become embittered with American evangelicalism. There is, of course, the disillusionment with sexual abuse scandals among well-known leaders and institutions—as well as a distaste for the corporatization and consumerism of the megachurch and “celebrity pastor” model. In addition, the deconstruction movement, mainline progressivism, and many other forces have exerted pressure on 21st-century Protestantism.
A foundational element in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic institutions is a rich tradition with doctrinal clarity. This can be quite appealing when compared to modern evangelicalism, which has often exhibited an amnesia for even its own theological tradition that often leads to ambiguity and divisiveness.
Overall, Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy have done a better job of staying connected to the rich heritage of Christendom,
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, Lutheran scholar Jaroslav Pelikan, and English bishop Kallistos Ware.
