'Recovering Catholics' reveal spiritual journeys

Kristen Kelly was raised Roman Catholic [1], attended Catholic [1] elementary school and considered herself a good Catholic [1], but when she was 21-years-old that changed.

“A coworker asked me if I believe in Jesus Christ,” she says.

Despite spending her entire life in the Roman Catholic [1] Church she couldn’t answer the question.

“I never really got exposed to Christ," she says. "It was more about Mary and the Church and a condemnation of everything I was doing wrong.”
She looked at her coworker and saw someone who appeared to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and decided that was what she wanted.

She said this prayer:

“Jesus I accept that you are my lord and savior, and I ask you to come into my life.”

And from that moment Kelly, now 41 and living in Florida, considered herself born-again, and an ex-Catholic [1]. “I like to call us recovering Catholics,” she says with a laugh.

According to a 2008 study by the Pew Forum on Religious Life and Public Life, 31% of Americans were raised Catholic [1], but only 24% now describe themselves as Catholic [1]. 

That means about 1 in 10 Americans is an ex-Catholic [1]. If they were a denomination they would be bigger than Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans and Presbyterians.

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/19/recovering-catholics-reveal-spiritual-journeys/ [2]