Well, as a Pentecostal Christian, and a man at that, I can identify with some of what you say. But of course, we can't overgeneralize, and expect it to ring true with everyone.
The "Happy-Clappy" kinds are found everywhere. And Catholics do not have a market on the "weirdoes" in church.
Someone in the blogosphere wrote about this in the last couple of months. I wish I could track that post down. You see, in general he had noticed many more women than men attending Mass. That is, until he went to the local Latin Tridentine Mass. He found the proportion of men attending this Mass much higher than the typical Novus Ordo Mass. Perhaps the reason is the Tridentine Mass allows communal worship while still maintaining a degree of privacy. There is no expectation you will greet your neighbor, hold hands with your neighbor, or do any emotional gestures. These things make many men uncomfortable. The Tridentine Mass is much more linear. We worship God without a lot of horizontal interactions with those around us. Very straight forward. I am not advocating for the Tridentine Mass but just suggesting aspects of the Novus Ordo Mass that are less appealing to men.
I attend Novus Ordo Masses weekly (daily during the Summer, hurray!) at my parish, and a large proportiona of the congregation are men, I'd guess. Whilst there are occasions in the liturgy that definitely make me wince a bit, on the whole my parish is blessed (especially in this country) in that our priest is really solid and insists on good, reverent liturgy. He has a wonderful sense of the holy.
This and other experiences elsewhere have convinced me that the Novus Ordo can, to pardon a probably out-of-turn phrase, sock it to the extreme Tridentine-fans in terms of "holiness" or "reverence". Yes, I've been to some pretty horrific liturgies in different places, but the really wonderful ones have more than convinced me that a beautiful, heavenly Novus Ordo is possible and attainable :)
Not a man here, full-blooded, non-butchy woman (notice the A?). :-)
It's not just the guys who dislike the (I like the term here) "Oprahesque" atmosphere that pervades many of the weekend liturgies we are served up in N.O. parishes. Us ladies get quite tired of it too. We WANT our priests to be spiritual fathers who can take charge and lead, who can be holy examples to the men of the parish (our husbands and sons), who aren't "swishy", who take the priesthood seriously and won't relegate nearly all tasks, save the consecration, to the laity. I don't want to feel good about myself during Mass, I wan't to feel HOLY. There is a difference...
Possibly it has nothing to do with Fr Philip's amusing anecdotes, but because men aren't wired for it as much as women are. Women always outnumber men in religious commitment, in every major faith, denomination, and regardless of a reality or perception of a male-dominated faith or not.
There was a U Washington study on this some years ago.
The proper pastor/priest is imperitive to the success of any church. Finding one that appeals to both genders is difficult. I've left churches because I couldn't connect with the pastor while my husband thought he was great. Tough line.
But that's how you get butts in the seats. The actual reason, if you're Catholic, is your obligatory worship of God (missing mass without a dispensation from your parish priest is a mortal sin).
It doesn't matter if you like the homilies, the music, the decor or whatever. It's not about you, it's about God.
As a matter of fact, those who have been excommunicated (are denied the sacraments) are still obligated to attend weekly mass.
A professor I had in college (was it THAT long ago?) said that the ancient Caananite and the Baals. They had fertility rites and they engaged in and practiced sympathetic magic. It was probably the last time there was absolutely NO problem getting men to go to church.
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