THE CLERGY LAITY GAP
is responsible for a lot of tension in the mainline churches -- as well as the loss of 600,000 Latinos from the Roman Catholic Church, every year. "The exodus from the church may be more pronounced among non-Latino Catholics. One alienating factor is what Appleby calls 'xenophobia' among American Catholics — others might call it patriotism — that conflicts with a church overwhelmingly internationalist and pacifist in outlook. 'The fundamentalists are perfectly prepared to take advantage of this,' Appleby says. 'They can take advantage of special-interest politics and people's worldview.'" Link

So, does the church have to be parochial in order to survive? To what extend should the church's values be determined by the surrounding culture?