Pew Study on Faith in Flux – The Catholic Data

April 27, 2009

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released a study on April 27, 2009, titled, Faith in Flux – Changes in Religious Affiliation in the US.   

The report identifies several interesting statistics for Catholics in the US.   

Childhood practices and commitment appear to be pivotal in influencing whether a person remains a member of their childhood faith.  A total of 46% of current adult Catholics who were raised Catholic say that they had very strong faith as a child and 96% worshiped weekly as a child.  In addition, 71% attended religious education as a child and 25% attended Catholic high school.

Examining the reasons why individuals chose to become former Catholics is also of interest.  A total of 71% of former Catholics who have become Protestant cite that their spiritual needs were not being met as the reason for leaving.  Nearly two thirds of former Catholics who are now “unaffiliated” cite that their reason for departure was that they stopped believing in Church teaching.  About 60% named teachings on abortion and homosexuality.  About 50% named teachings on birth control.  And about 40% identified issues related to the Church’s treatment of women.  Interestingly, about 71% of former Catholics say that they “just gradually drifted away from [their] religion.”

Currently, 10% of American adults are former Catholics.  In general, the population that has grown the most is that of “unaffiliated” individuals.  This group, however, is very diverse.  Catholicism has lost the most members to this group.  However, Catholicism also has a 68% retention rate of childhood members which is equal to or higher than other faith traditions.  

Interestingly, the changes are often made at a young age.  Approximately 48% of former Catholics who are now unaffiliated made that choice before they were 18 years old.  An additional 30% became former Catholics between age 18 and 23.  These statistics indicate the importance of not ignoring your youth and young adults within the Catholic community.  If we do ignore them, there is a good chance that they may choose to no longer be Catholic.

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Schedule of Catholic Conferences in May or June 2009

April 17, 2009

The following Catholic organizations will be hosting a conference in May or June 2009:

5/26/2009 – 5/29/2009
Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit
RBTE – Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit
St. Charles, IL
Annual gathering of Catholic and Episcopal book publishers and dealers. This gathering includes members of the Association of Catholic Booksellers.

5/27/2009 – 5/30/2009
NALM – National Association for Lay Ministry
NALM 2009 Annual Conference
St. Paul, MN
A professional membership association for lay ministers in the Catholic Church. NALM’s mission is to support, educate and advocate for lay ministers and promote the development of lay ministry.

5/27/2009 – 5/30/2009
CPA – Catholic Press Association
CPA 2009 Catholic Media Convention
Anaheim, CA
The official membership association for Catholic press/media personnel.

5/31/2009 – 6/3/2009
ACHTUS – Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the US
ACHTUS 2009 Colloquium
Chicago, IL
A membership association of Roman Catholic Hispanics who possess a doctoral degree in theology, Scripture, ministry or general religious studies and are actively engaged in the North American Hispanic religious experience. The mission of ACHTUS is to promote research and critical theological reflection with the context of the US Hispanic experience.

6/3/2009 – 6/5/2009
DISC – Diocesan Information Systems Conference
2009 DISC Conference
New Orleans, LA
An organization of diocesan information systems managers, as well as others involved in the use of electronic technology for the work of the Catholic Church. DISC’s mission is to provide data processing expertise and professional service to the local and national church as well as to encourage networking of information and ideas among its members.

6/4/2009 – 6/7/2009
CTSA – Catholic Theological Society of America
2009 CTSA Annual Convention -
Halifax, Nova Scotia
The official membership organization of Catholic theologians (professionals with a degree in theological or related studies and who are or have been actively engaged in teaching and research.) CTSA’s mission is to promote studies and research in theology, to relate theological science to current problems, and to foster a ore effective theological education.

6/7/2009 – 6/9/2009
CHA – Catholic Health Association
2009 CHA Assembly
New Orleans, LA
The official membership organization of Catholic health care sponsors, systems and facilities. The mission of CHA is to support the Catholic health ministry’s pursuit of the strategic directions of mission, ethics, and advocacy.

6/15/2009 – 6/17/2009
NDCL – Notre Dame Center for Liturgy
37th Annual Conference – “Paul as Liturgical Theologian”
Notre Dame, IN
The Center for Liturgy at the University of Notre Dame seeks to support and enrich the liturgical life of the Church through scholarly research and pastoral education. The annual conference welcomes anyone at diocesan or parish level who wishes to examine the liturgical foundations of spirituality, catechesis, and ministry.

6/25/2009 – 6/28/2009
NACFLM – National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers
NACFLM Conference 2009
St. Paul, MN
The membership association for family life ministers. This includes a variety of ministry areas including singles, marriage prep, respect life, interchurch/ecumenical marriage, families in crisis, separated/divorced, widowed/bereaved, older adults, and special needs families. NACFLM’s mission is to offer support and professional enrichment for those who minister to and with families, to be a voice and advocate for families, to promote the development of family life ministry and to foster a family perspective in Church and Society.

Visit the ActiveParishioner.com Calendar for more details and future events.

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Pope’s Prayer Intention for April 2009

April 1, 2009

Every month, the Pope prays for a specific intention. You are invited to join the Pope and Catholics from all over the world in praying for this intention.

For the month of April 2009, the prayer is “that the Lord may bless farmers’ work with an abundant harvest and sensitize the richer populations to the drama of hunger in the world.”

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