Is the catholic church growing or shrinking in the USA

[falisrm]

Are parishes losing or gaining members in your area. What general area are you in? What are the statistical trends?

 

[panoikei]

I don’t beleive too many people will openly respond to this because is reveals their general location and that my friend can be scary.

However, that said. We are growing in the BIble belt…Our RCIA class was the largest in the Diocese. So not only are we getting converts, we are getting lots and lots of reverts. In fact we have one of those Anglican parish converts. There is a lot of eccumenical work taking place. But we are busting out of the seems it seems.

 

[TriuneUnity]

Are parishes losing or gaining members in your area. What general area are you in? What are the statistical trends?

In general, across the U.S., the three fastest growing Christian Church bodies are Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Confessional Lutheranism.

 

[Rolltide]

In my state of Alabama, Catholicism has grown overall from 3% of the population to 6% of the population in just the 8 years between 2000-2008 (mostly from Hispanic immigration). It is indeed rapidly growing in the Bible Belt. That said, Catholicism is staying at about 25% of the population overall nationwide. Many Americans are leaving the Catholic faith, but right now, they are being equally replaced by Hispanics immigrating into the country. According to the recent Pew Report, about 10% of all Americans are former Catholics, and about 2.5% (about 6-7 million people) are converts to Catholicism.

 

[panoikei]

What’s really interesting with what you said. The Histpanic increase will end up being a major aspect to consider. There is a major influx in apologetics teachings being made available to the Hispanic population now. The more English speaking population has already been feeling the flux from what I see. I left in 1989 after 4 years military and watching the Church internally destroy itself by scandal upon scandal. Why? That’s not really important because the leaders in the Church opened their eyes and are beginning to rapidly address some of the lame brain mistakes…crude way of putting it but true to. They have a very difficult job. But just as in Marin Luther’s Day, St. Francis Day, Austine’s Day, etc. we also have the same problem. What’s amazing is that the Church still moves on and grows. That truly facinates me. My dad told me several years ago that the Catholic Church has died before I ever got a chance to see it. He said all of the post VCII stuff is just not the Church. Though wrong, he convinced me too that this was a dead church…and so I ran off to rediscover the truth in the Catholic Church. I left as one and came back as 5. Remember, the gates of hell can not prevail against it.

 

[Mark77]

Don’t worry about number, polls or popularity contests.

I left the Church for 30 years but have returned with a renewed passion because the Truth that Jesus taught is the Truth.

Eternity is the only true measure.

Today, yesterday and tomorrow are irrelevant int the context of God’s Eternal Truth.

Listen to the “small quiet voice” that speaks to your heart. That is all that really matters!

“EGO SUM PANIS VITAE”

Love,
Mark

 

[PaulDupre]

My diocese in Southern California is growing very quickly. Not only through births and immigration, but through convert baptisms

I attended the RCIA Rite of Acceptance this year. I was there as sponsor for my adult son who has converted. The church holds 1200 people and was jammed full.

1200 / 2 = 600 converts and reverts (half the attendees are sponsors like me)

Then I found out that only one third of the parishes in the diocese were represented on Saturday, and that there will be two more in the next two weeks. There are so many catechumens and candidates that it takes three rites to accommodate them all.

3 * 600 = 1800 converts and reverts to Catholicism this year in our Diocese of Orange, CA.

Paul