American Catholics ought to be alarmed but, in a way, inspired by some recent statistics on the Catholic faith in the U.S. The Pew Research Center published its Religious Landscape Study recently, including an analysis of the habits, beliefs, and religious practices of Catholics in the U.S. Although nearly a fifth (19 percent) of Americans identify as Catholics, that’s down from nearly a quarter (24 percent) in 2007. It doesn’t get much better.
For example, 61 percent of Catholics who attend Mass every Sunday said that abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances.
As the life of every Saint testifies, prayer is a crucial part of being a Catholic, but barely half (51 percent) of Catholics said that they pray daily. Just over 30 percent said that they pray weekly or monthly and 18 percent said that they rarely or never pray. Then why call yourself a Catholic? Less than a third (29 percent) of American Catholics said that they attend Mass weekly — Catholics are morally obligated to attend Mass every Sunday. Eleven percent said that they attend Mass once or twice a month, 27 percent said that they attend Mass a few times a year, but the highest share — about one third (32 percent) — said that they never attend Mass.
Less than two-thirds of Catholics said that they are sure that God exists. However, while nearly 90 percent of Catholics said that they believe in Heaven, less than 70 percent said that they believe in Hell. Only 21 percent of Catholics said that they consider themselves very religious, 55 percent said that they are somewhat religious, and nearly a quarter (24 percent) said that they are not really religious or not religious at all.
According to these numbers and Pew Research’s 2007 data, Catholicism is on the decline in America. Not only do fewer Americans identify as Catholic, but those who do are less involved in the practice of their faith. In 2007, nearly 60 percent of Catholics said that they prayed daily, as opposed to 13 percent who said that they rarely or never prayed; meanwhile, over 40 percent of Catholics said that they attend Mass every Sunday, as opposed to 19 percent who said that they rarely or never attended Mass.
With such low shares of the Catholic population practicing or really even knowing about their faith, it should come as little surprise that many self-professed Catholics have abandoned the teachings of the Catholic Church. Nearly 60 percent of self-professed Catholics said that abortion should be legal in all or most circumstances and less than 40 percent said that abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances; in 2007, 48 percent of self-professed Catholics said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 45 percent said that it should be illegal. In 2007, 57 percent of self-professed Catholics said that they support same-sex marriage. That share has risen to 70 percent today. The Catholic Church declares both abortion and homosexual acts to be grave sins.
As may be expected, those who attend Mass more frequently tend to adhere more closely to Church teaching. For example, 61 percent of Catholics who attend Mass every Sunday said that abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances. Here’s the thing: that’s still far too low a percentage. The Catholic Church has very clear teachings on the subject of abortion: each abortion is the willful and intentional killing of an innocent unborn child. If even this basic, age-old, well-known teaching is adhered to by less than two-thirds of Catholics who attend Mass every Sunday, then what can be expected when it comes to the Church’s most countercultural teachings? (For example, those on pornography, contraception, in vitro fertilization, immigration, etc.)
There can be little doubt that there is a crisis of belief in the Catholic Church in America. It is up to the priests and bishops of America to remedy that crisis. The Church has no shortage of doctrines and teachings, but perhaps she lacks enough men with the courage and clarity to proclaim and defend those doctrines and teachings.
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