to be fair, modern Protestant churches have changed, also. I grew up Presbyterian (PCUSA), which...again, is dying. And yet...
for a while there, lots and lots of people were Presbyterian. I think membership peaked in the early 60s? So...one sees this in pretty much every long term, established religious organization ever...
society changes. the churches changes. the church may be in a position to exert some influence over society, so then society changes. and then the church changes. who will win? LOL
Overall, the trend seems to confirm the secularization hypothesis. Scientific and psychological explanations win out over religious, supernatural explanations. The shrink, not the priest. The scientists, not the ministers. That kind of thing. And so...
back to PCUSA. Unlike the catholic church, PCUSA and I think (?) most other modern Presbyterian denominations viewed marriage as a -contract- , not a -sacrament- . That's why even way back, when one saw Protestants take over an area, suddenly divorces and legal separations became possible, even if initially the process excluded all but the upper classes. -Contracts- can be dissolved. In traditional Catholicism, marriages could be -annulled- , because the only way out was to declare the sacrament somehow invalid or defective to the point of being non-binding. And now...
Marriage was/is understood as a contract, albeit one that occurs in an important religious and social context. Children were understood to be important, but not -required- as part of the important contract. So...over time...Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and other mainstream Protestant groups gave the a-OK to contraception (first for married couples), then to abortion under limited circumstances. Divorce is still understood to be undesirable, but permissible when needed...generally not for elders and other church leaders (at least, that's how it was when I was a kid). Fast forward...
after decades upon decades of that sort of thinking, plus social changes and secularization -within- the established church...the higher ups of PCUSA (and some other churches) decided that same sex unions could be celebrated and affirmed within the church. Marriage is a -contract- , and as society became more accepting of same sex unions, the logic seems to be that the church should be there to affirm the expanding concept of the -contract- . Something like that, anyway.
Pope John Paul II has an excellent essay about "the culture of death." He basically juxtaposes modern culture -- which, to him, include many more "progressive" Protestant groups -- and the catholic church. Modern culture has a death wish, as shown by homosexuality, divorce, abortion, contraception, materialism, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse. The Catholic Church -- again, its a Pope writing, so this is the 1 true church, etc. -- is a beacon of light in a a dark and dying world. Agree, disagree, or...just take a moment to read and reflect, without forming a strong opinion...it is a beautiful essay. As a Christian, I enjoy it. As a Christian who grew up in a now dying Protestant denomination, the essay makes me think about how powerless and pointless church is without the saving power of Christ and The good news.
rambling...point is (I have one, I promise), all established religious groups exist within a social context. There's an entire subfield, the sociology of religion, dedicated to the interplay of religion and the rest of society. I think...the Catholic church has done better in -some- respects with retaining The good news and a sense of the sacred, of the otherworldly vs many Protestant groups. And then...
Jesus saves -individuals- . A Protestant church I attended here and there would say that their job was to facilitate Jesus' work in peoples' lives. He saves, they're there to help make it happen. The Catholic church is open about the very real possibility of -not- making heaven, not even making purgatory...
but the Church makes the sacraments available, makes the doctrine and dogma available and accessible, too.
