Wikipedia

List of former Catholics

(Redirected from List of former Roman Catholics)

Former Catholics or ex-Catholics are people who used to be Catholic for some time, but no longer identify as such. This includes both individuals who were at least nominally raised in the Roman Catholic faith, and individuals who converted to it in later life, both of whom later rejected and left it, or converted to other faiths (including the related non-Roman Catholic faiths). This page lists well-known individuals in history who are former Catholics.

One 2008 Pew Research Center study estimates that 10.1% of people in the United States describe themselves as former Catholics in some sense. In total the study reports that 44% of Americans profess a different religious affiliation than the one they were raised in. A majority joined another Christian denomination while a substantial minority are counted as currently unaffiliated.[1] A significant number of former Catholics join mainline Protestant denominations with a similar worship pattern, such as Lutheranism or Anglicanism, while others have become Evangelical Christians.[2][3][4]

Note: The list includes those who leave the Catholic Church including any Eastern Catholic Church which is in communion with it. People such as Eddie Doherty, who were allowed to transfer from the Latin Catholic Church to an Eastern Catholic church, or vice versa are not considered as "former Roman Catholics", while Eastern Catholics who convert to a non-Catholic church or another religion are considered as such, even though Eastern Catholics do not typically refer to themselves as "Roman".

Individuals who converted to other Christian denominations

edit

Eastern Orthodoxy

edit
 
Tom Hanks.

Protestantism

edit

Lutheranism

edit

Anglicanism

edit
 
Henry VIII who made himself Supreme Head of the Church of England

Reformed

edit
 
John Calvin, Protestant Reformer.

Pentecostalism

edit

Seventh-day Adventism

edit
 
Marianne Thieme.

Other Protestant

edit

Old Catholic and Independent Catholic churches

edit

Christian Science

edit

Mormonism

edit
 
Ultra Violet.

Individuals who converted to other religions

edit

God-Believers

edit

The 'God-believers' (Gottgläubig) movement was an unofficial and unorganised religion in Nazi Germany. Most of the top Nazi leaders had already disaffiliated before the Nazi seizure of power, but even some of the lower ranking Nazi bureaucrats and representatives began disaffilating from the Catholic and Lutheran Churches over the course of the 1930s as a direct result the gradual worsening of relations with the churches, whom they accused of meddling in Germany's political affairs. These people stressed they still believed in a creative power who guided the German nation and rejected atheism. However, the movement disappeared shortly after World War II, and was last referenced in Allied occupation documents in 1946.

 
Adolf Hitler and several other key Nazis had abandoned the Catholic Church in their late-teens and early twenties.

Other former Catholics

edit
 
Magdi Allam, left Islam for Catholicism, then left Catholicism.
  • Anne Rice, American writer, converted from Roman Catholicism and made this official through several messages on her website on 29 July 2010. She no longer wished to be referred to as a 'Christian', though retained her belief in Christ, disagreeing with various positions of the Roman Catholic Church.
  • Magdi Allam, Egyptian–Italian journalist who publicly converted from Sunni Islam to Catholicism in 2008, baptised by Pope Benedict XVI himself. He left the Catholic Church dissatisfied after the election of Pope Francis in 2013, primarily because he thought the Church failed to take a tough stance against Islam; he remained a Christian, however.[21]

Buddhism

edit

Islam

edit
 
Diana Haddad

Judaism

edit
 
Campbell Brown

Kabbalah

edit

Raëlism

edit

Scientology

edit
 
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in May 2009

Debatable

edit

This section lists some who, while adopting ideas that some others would consider incompatible with the Catholic faith, may have defected from the Church neither by a formal act nor even informally by an act of heresy, schism or apostasy. Mere attendance at services of another religion or adoption of certain meditation techniques need not signify abandonment of one's own religion. According to a 2009 survey of the Pew Research Center Forum on Religion and Public Life, one in five American Catholics report that they at times attend places of worship other than the local Catholic parish (which does not have to mean non-Catholic places). The same survey noted that some Catholics incorporate "yoga as a spiritual practice", emphasize psychics, and draw on and involve themselves in other religious movements.[59]

Atheism, agnosticism, or non-religious

edit
 
Alex Agnew
 
Marie Curie, double Nobel Prize winner
 
François Hollande
 
Dara Ó Briain
 
Julia Sweeney

This section contains people who rejected Catholicism in favor of a non-religious philosophy, including atheism, agnosticism and secular humanism.[60]

See also

edit

Footnotes

edit
  1. ^ "Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics – Pew Research Center". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  2. ^ Reese, Thomas (18 April 2011). "The hidden exodus: Catholics becoming Protestants". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  3. ^ Farragher, Mike (15 January 2019). "Ma: I'm Lutheran now - Catholic Church scandals did me in". Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  4. ^ Webster, Dan (4 January 2012). "Catholic 'and' Episcopalian". Episcopal News Service. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  5. ^ Terry Mattingly (25 March 2009). "Mattingly: Tom Hanks talks about religion". Scripps Howard News Service. Archived from the original on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Danish Prince Weds French Bride". cbsnews.com. 24 May 2008.
  7. ^ 403 Forbidden
  8. ^ Fr. Edward Beck, CNN Opinion, US Edition, 2 April 2019. ref.
  9. ^ Pierce, Andrew (1 May 2008). "Peter's fiancée converts to save succession". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Melissa Joan Hart wrestled with faith, acceptance when son had question about Jewish friend". usatoday.com. 8 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Marianne Thieme voelt zich thuis in de kerk". EO.nl (in Dutch). Evangelische Omroep. 5 February 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  12. ^ Rhina Guidos (14 June 2017). "James Comey makes appearance with father at New Jersey parish". Crux. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  13. ^ Neill Caldwell (31 July 2013). "Next FBI Director is a United Methodist". Umnews.org. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  14. ^ Slisco, Aila (27 April 2022). "Marjorie Taylor Greene Clarifies How 'Satan Is Controlling' Catholic Church". Newsweek. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  15. ^ Jack Jenkins (23 April 2022). "State Sen. Mallory McMorrow on reclaiming faith from those using it as 'a weapon to hate people'". Religion News Service. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  16. ^ Newton-Small, Jay (29 August 2008). "Transcript: Time's interview with Sarah Palin". Time. Archived from the original on 1 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  17. ^ Eason, Rrian (9 November 2016). "Next VP: 10 things to know about Indiana Gov. Mike Pence". IndyStar. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  18. ^ "Joris A.O.L. Vercammen, aartsbisschop". OKKN.nl (in Dutch). Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  19. ^ Rismann, Michael (2001). Hitlers Gott: Vorsehungsglaube und Sendungsbewusstsein des deutschen Diktators (in German). Zurich: Pendo. p. 94, 95 and 96. ISBN 9783858424211.
  20. ^ a b c Steigmann-Gall, Richard (2003). The Holy Reich: Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919–1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 219. ISBN 9780521823715. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  21. ^ "Magdi Allam, Muslim Convert, Leaves Catholic Church, Says It's Too Weak Against Islam". The Huffington Post. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  22. ^ "From Catholic to Chemist to Buddhist Missionary". tricycle.org. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  23. ^ "The Pema Chodron Foundation – The Buddhist Contemplative Tradition". pemachodronfoundation.org. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason". pbs.org. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  25. ^ "漫畫大師蔡志忠 少林寺落髮出家". cna.com.tw. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  26. ^ De Bary, William Theodore (2008). Sources of East Asian Tradition: The modern period. Columbia University Press. pp. 184–185. ISBN 978-0-231-14323-3.
  27. ^ Magida, Arthur J. (2006). Opening the Doors of Wonder: Reflections on Religious Rites of Passage. University of California Press. p. 203. ISBN 0520245458.
  28. ^ Bhikkhu Nyanatusita and Hellmuth Hecker (2008). The Life of Nyanatiloka: The Biography of a Western Buddhist Pioneer. Buddhist Publication Society. p. 17. ISBN 9789552402906.
  29. ^ 凤凰网：梁文道在佛教中寻找人生方向(in Chinese)
  30. ^ Claire Harvey (31 December 2005). "Free-range soul searching replacing organised religion in NZ". New Zealand Herald.
  31. ^ Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem; Obstfeld, Raymond (2007). On The Shoulders Of Giants : My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance. New York City, NY, US: Simon & Schuster. p. 288. ISBN 978-1-4165-3488-4. OCLC 76168045. S2CID 190584066. ISBN 978-1-4165-4991-8.
  32. ^ "Breaking News, Sports, Weather & More – BND.com & Belleville News-Democrat". belleville.com.
  33. ^ "O'Connor becomes a 'priest'". BBC News. 4 May 1999. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  34. ^ "Qui est Wahiba, la femme de Franck Ribéry ?". MSN.com (in French). 7 April 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  35. ^ Anthony Vickers (15 December 2016). "On Reflection: Abel Xavier – a colourful character who was no stranger to controversy". Teesside Gazette. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  36. ^ "<< stephen j. dubner >>". stephenjdubner.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010.
  37. ^ Van Biema, David (7 December 2008). "Was Saint Augustine Good for the Jews?". Time. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  38. ^ O'Toole, Lesley (22 December 2006). "Ben Stiller : 'Doing comedy is scary'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 January 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2006.
  39. ^ BookBrowse. "Mary Doria Russell author interview". BookBrowse.com.
  40. ^ Literati.net Archived 15 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ Kirsch, Adam (9 November 2010). "Convertito". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  42. ^ Eichner, Itamar (24 April 2018). "The Jews-by-choice of San Nicandro, Italy". Ynet. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  43. ^ a b Barr, Robert (12 May 2013). "Geza Vermes, renowned Jesus scholar, dies at 88". Times of Israel. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  44. ^ a b Ivry, Benjamin (15 May 2013). "Geza Vermes, Hungarian Bible Scholar Who Returned to Jewish Roots, Dies at 88". The Forward. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  45. ^ "Providential Accidents: An Autobiography (Paperback)". Rakuten.com.
  46. ^ Scalamonti, John David (1992). Ordained to be a Jew: a Catholic priest's Conversion to Judaism. Brooklyn: KTAV Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-88125-412-9.
  47. ^ "Ex-Christian ministers now active Orthodox Jews". Jweekly. 15 May 1998. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  48. ^ Carmel, Abraham (1993). So Strange My Path: A Spiritual Pilgrimage (Rev. ed.). New York: Bloch Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-8197-0040-7.
  49. ^ Bernstein, Fred. "Onetime Catholic Priest Abraham Carmel Celebrates His 25th Year as An Orthodox Jew". People.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  50. ^ McLean, Craig (17 October 2014). "Ariana Grande: 'If you want to call me a diva I'll say: cool'". The Daily Telegraph.
  51. ^ "Ariana Grande Reveals Love for Gay Brother Frankie Made Her Question Catholic Faith - MTV". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  52. ^ Barnes, Anthony (9 July 2006). "Kabbalah: is Madonna losing her religion?". The Independent. London. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  53. ^ Clonaid chief backpedals on baby proof, Associated Press. 9 January 2003. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
  54. ^ Grant, Meg (June 2005). "Face to Face With Tom Cruise". Reader's Digest. Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2022. RD: You were Catholic originally. Cruise: Well, we went from Episcopalian, to atheist, to Catholic...
  55. ^ [1] "In 1990 Cruise renounced his devout Catholic beliefs and embraced The Church Of Scientology claiming that Scientology teachings had cured him of the dyslexia that had plagued him all of his life."
  56. ^ "Katie Holmes Returns To Catholic Church". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  57. ^ "David Miscavige: A Biography of, and resources on, David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center". rtc.org.
  58. ^ "Scientology Effective Solutions". scientologyreligion.org.
  59. ^ Editors, "Believers mix their creeds, survey finds", The Tablet, 19/26 December 2009, 53.
  60. ^ If any of them merely ceased to practice the Catholic religion without renouncing it, in the belief, for instance, that their ideas were consistent with the Catholic faith, they could be considered lapsed Catholics, rather than former Catholics.
  61. ^ Alex Agnew (2009). "Alex Agnew – More Human Than Human – Katholiek Onderwijs". More Human Than Human (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2018. I myself have been raised as a Catholic, and I attended a Catholic school. (...) But if they ask me if I am religious, despite or thanks to my religious upbringing, I usually say: 'No. I don't believe, I'm an atheist.'
  62. ^ Matt Coker (1 March 2007). "Godsmack – Page 3 – News – Orange County". OC Weekly. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  63. ^ Giltz, Michael (22 July 2007). "No one expects Javier Bardem". New York Daily News. Retrieved 22 September 2018. I was raised Catholic by my grandmother". (...) "I don't believe in God, I believe in Al Pacino.
  64. ^ Millea, Holly (15 July 2010). "The Lover: Javier Bardem". Elle. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  65. ^ van den Berg, Floris (2017). Hoe komen we van religie af?: een ongemakkelijke liberale paradox (How Can We Get Rid of Religion?: An Inconvenient Liberal Paradox) (in Dutch). Antwerp: Uitgeverij Houtekiet. p. 96. ISBN 9789089245618. Retrieved 22 September 2018. I'm incredibly happy to have been born in a liberal Catholic nest, where I was spared the subjection to dogmas, authority and rites.
  66. ^ Barton, Laura (12 May 2006). "When albino monks attack". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2018. Bettany was himself raised as a Catholic,...
  67. ^ Adam Rutherford (12 February 2009). "Paul Bettany: Playing Darwin with Creation". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  68. ^ Solomon, Deborah, The Right Stuff, 23 October 2008, The New York Times
  69. ^ Logan, Brian (22 June 2012). "Will Jimmy Carr's career survive the tax avoidance furore?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  70. ^ Smithies, Grant (10 December 2015). "Jimmy Carr talks religion, war and ribald jokes before his NZ tour". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  71. ^ Waxmanta, Sharon (28 September 1997). "George Clooney, Uncowled". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  72. ^ Reid, Robert William (1974). Marie Curie. London: Collins. p. 19. ISBN 0-00-211539-5. Unusually at such an early age, she became what T. H. Huxley had just invented a word for: agnostic.
  73. ^ Bart Zuidervaart (17 September 2018). "Dijkhoff haalt uit naar kardinaal Eijk: 'Monseigneur Eijk, ik schrijf mij uit bij uw kerk. Uit liefde'". Trouw. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  74. ^ "Johannes Grenzfurthner on "Razzennest"", Keyframe, Fandor, 5 May 2023, retrieved 16 November 2023
  75. ^ "The Indoor Kids #58 — Everything with James Gunn (NSFW)", The Indoor Kids, The Nerdist Podcast, event occurs at 49:42 to 52:56, 13 August 2012, archived from the original on 4 March 2016, retrieved 23 October 2016
  76. ^ "Aalmoezenier kan niet lachen met Katastroofclip in Kerkschip". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 7 July 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  77. ^ Beck, Glenn (4 July 2007). "Honest Questions with Denis Leary". CNN. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  78. ^ Seth MacFarlane – Celebrity Atheist List Archived 13 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  79. ^ "Father Ted star reveals she is a confirmed atheist". The Irish Post. 22 March 2020.
  80. ^ Paul Jan van de Wint (2005). "Bioloog minister Ronald Plasterk (1/6)". God bestaat niet (in Dutch). RVU. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  81. ^ Comedian Chris Rush – Media Funhouse (part one of three). YouTube. 13 October 2009. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021.
  82. ^ Interview: Omar Sharif (English translation) Archived 14 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine – El Mundo
  83. ^ Shavershian, Aziz. "What religion are you?". Formspring.me. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  84. ^ Rob Trip | Andersdenkenden @ RKK.nl
  85. ^ Tuccille, Jerome (2006). Heretic: Confessions of an Ex-Catholic Rebel: Jerome Tuccille: 9780595384297: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN 0595384293.
  86. ^ Sebastiaan Quekel (31 August 2018). "Peter van der Vorst woest op priester: Ik laat mij uitschrijven bij de kerk". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 September 2018.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_former_Catholics&oldid=1244014318"