Roman Catholic Church Remains Largest and Fastest-Growing in U.S.

[Metaron]

Good News for Roman Catholics:

…In 1997…the Church had an overall increase in membership of over ten million, only a little more than half of which can be accounted for by baptisms under the age of seven, and an increase in spite of the loss of members due to death and defection.

And the Catholic Church is growing not only in the world at large but in America in particular. In 1998—the most recent year for which national statistics are available—the U.S. Catholic population had an overall increase of 455,000, including 162,000 conversions to the Catholic Church (i.e., cases of people joining other than baptisms of those below the age of seven).

It may be important to point this out to those who commit the “fastest-growing” fallacy and wish to represent the Catholic Church as stagnant or declining in membership. It is especially valuable to know the number of adult conversions per year, since an anti-Catholic might attempt to dismiss American Church growth as due only to infant baptisms or immigration.

Needless to say, the Catholic growth rates in both the United States and the world dwarf what any other church is doing. Nobody else in the world gets an net increase of ten million people in a year, and nobody else in America gets a net increase of half a million people in a year. And remember that these represent net increases in membership—after deaths and defections have been factored in—so the actual number of converts is significantly higher.

Even if we look at just U.S. membership growth without infant baptism, nobody else in America gets 162,000 new non-infant members in a year, nor does any other American church have an overall increase of half a million members a year. When you really look at the numbers, the picture that those who commit the “fastest-growing” fallacy often wish to paint of a stagnant, declining Catholic Church simply won’t hold up.

Bad News for Protestants:

Protestantism in America has been declining at least since the 1980s, the researchers said, when about two-thirds of Americans identified themselves as Protestant. Scholars have debated the causes of the decline, but said it might be due in part to low birth rates among mainline Protestants and difficulties among mainline Protestant churches in retaining the children of their members.

Good News for minority faiths:

…growing fraction of Americans identify themselves as unaffiliated with any religious tradition, and a small but increasingly significant number say they are Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Orthodox Christian.

 

[justasking4]

Good News for Roman Catholics:

Bad News for Protestants:

Good News for minority faiths:

I was listening to a catholic program today on this very issue and they catholic host and guest were extremely dissappointed in this study. One thing they spoke of is the large number of lapsed catholics in this study. Here is a quote from it:

"-- The Catholic share of the U.S. adult population has held fairly steady in recent decades. What this apparent stability obscures, however, is the large number of people who have left the Catholic Church. Approximately one-third of the survey respondents who were raised Catholic no longer describe themselves as Catholic; this means roughly 10% of all Americans are former Catholics. These losses, however, have been offset partly by the number of people joining the Catholic Church but mostly by the disproportionately high number of Catholics among immigrants to the U.S. The result is that the total percentage of the population that identifies as Catholic (roughly one-in-four) has remained fairly stable.

There are serious problems in the catholic church not only in lapsed catholics but in the loss of priests here and worldwide.

 

[Hesychios]

I was listening to a catholic program today on this very issue and they catholic host and guest were extremely dissappointed in this study. One thing they spoke of is the large number of lapsed catholics in this study. Here is a quote from it:

"-- The Catholic share of the U.S. adult population has held fairly steady in recent decades. What this apparent stability obscures, however, is the large number of people who have left the Catholic Church. Approximately one-third of the survey respondents who were raised Catholic no longer describe themselves as Catholic; this means roughly 10% of all Americans are former Catholics. These losses, however, have been offset partly by the number of people joining the Catholic Church but mostly by the disproportionately high number of Catholics among immigrants to the U.S. The result is that the total percentage of the population that identifies as Catholic (roughly one-in-four) has remained fairly stable.

There are serious problems in the catholic church not only in lapsed catholics but in the loss of priests here and worldwide.

From my own experience, I believe that you (and the Catholic host of that program) are correct. Since it is a serious issue, it needs to be discussed so that it can be properly addressed and remedied.

Many long-time Latin Catholic families are virtually wiped out as participants, and the younger generations are coming up as unchurched. I think that anyone who is on the “envelope” list is still counted as a parishioner, that may be the only contact the church has with them.

It could go several years before anyone even makes a phone call to the average non-participating family, perhaps never. That is a critical period, when some method of connection should be attempted by the church, but the community is really a large anonymous block of people, who in most cases are not missed at all when they skip liturgy. Parish priests typically cannot greet most of the attendees at Mass by name.

People may go through a serious spiritual crises without anyone else in the parish knowing or caring about it.

As noted in another thread, the introduction of immigrants into the mix is not necessarily helpful. They amount to a net loss for the exporting country, which is usually reeling from aggressive proselytizing from evangelical Protestants, mostly homegrown itinerant missioners.

The immigration boom should be helping the church climb well above it’s earlier percentages of the population, but there has been a slight decline of previous generations. I believe that in the first half of the 20th century the percentage of the population was as high as 27%, today (60 to 80 years later) it may be around 23% or 24%, and these numbers are not as solid in practice as those previous generations.

To be fair, all churches are taking a hit in this ‘post-Christian’ era we have been sliding into. It is a Christian problem, not a specifically Latin Catholic problem.
*
Michael*

 

[puzzleannie]

you did not provide a source for your quote and link

interesting that your thesis contradicts claims made on the latest Pew Research study of religious affiliation in the US and world, which is being discussed currently elsewhere on this forum

 

[guanophore]

There are serious problems in the catholic church not only in lapsed catholics but in the loss of priests here and worldwide.

Is this statement part of your insidious campaign to criticize the Catholic Church? How do lapsed Catholics create “serious problems” for you, ja4? Are not lapsed Catholics more malleable to your pursuasion to become Bible Christians?

How on earth is a priest shortage a “serious problem” for you? You dont’ even believe in the priesthood! I think you are just looking for opportunities to take pot shots at the Catholic Church.

 

[justasking4]

Is this statement part of your insidious campaign to criticize the Catholic Church? How do lapsed Catholics create “serious problems” for you, ja4? Are not lapsed Catholics more malleable to your pursuasion to become Bible Christians?

How on earth is a priest shortage a “serious problem” for you? You dont’ even believe in the priesthood! I think you are just looking for opportunities to take pot shots at the Catholic Church.

This maybe one topic you don’t want to get into. I don’t blame you-

 

[notself]

you did not provide a source for your quote and link

interesting that your thesis contradicts claims made on the latest Pew Research study of religious affiliation in the US and world, which is being discussed currently elsewhere on this forum

Here is a link to the actual report. You can read it for yourself. It does say that the only reason the numbers for Catholics in the US do not show a dramatic decline is because of immigration.

religions.pewforum.org/reports

Here is a quote from the report.

While those Americans who are unaffiliated with any particular religion have seen the greatest growth in numbers as a result of changes in affiliation, Catholicism has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes. While nearly one-in-three Americans (31%) were raised in the Catholic faith, today fewer than one-in-four (24%) describe themselves as Catholic. These losses would have been even more pronounced were it not for the offsetting impact of immigration.

Here is a link to all sorts of charts and demographics from the report. I find them very informative.

religions.pewforum.org/comparisons

 

[SantaBenito]

It’s nice to see we are growing.

 

[Contarini]

It’s not “anti-Catholic” to suggest that the growth may come from immigration more than from conversion (or even, these days, large family size, though no doubt that still plays some role). When reasonable questions are ruled out as “anti-Catholic,” the quality of conversation really suffers.

Here’s an even more “anti-Catholic” but still legitimate question: just what does it take for a fallen-away Catholic to stop being counted as a Catholic? On what are these numbers based? Isn’t it extremely likely that many of the people being counted as “Catholics” do not in fact regularly attend Mass? Isn’t it quite possible that very many of these people are no longer practicing Catholics at all?

Edwin

 

[Ridgerunner]

It’s not “anti-Catholic” to suggest that the growth may come from immigration more than from conversion (or even, these days, large family size, though no doubt that still plays some role). When reasonable questions are ruled out as “anti-Catholic,” the quality of conversation really suffers.

Here’s an even more “anti-Catholic” but still legitimate question: just what does it take for a fallen-away Catholic to stop being counted as a Catholic? On what are these numbers based? Isn’t it extremely likely that many of the people being counted as “Catholics” do not in fact regularly attend Mass? Isn’t it quite possible that very many of these people are no longer practicing Catholics at all?

Edwin

It’s difficult to know what a particular poll really means. Assuming the sampling really is representative, the way the questions are asked, even the sequencing of the questions, means a lot.

Does every person polled understand the same thing by, e.g., “practicing” or even “fallen away”? What portion of the population is, at some point, “fallen away”, but at a later point is not? Polls don’t tell you any of that. This is anecdotal, of course, but I have known great numbers of Catholics who, at some point, could be described as “fallen away”, depending on what one means by that, but very few who have actually become atheists or joined some other religion.

 

[Contarini]

It’s difficult to know what a particular poll really means. Assuming the sampling really is representative, the way the questions are asked, even the sequencing of the questions, means a lot.

Does every person polled understand the same thing by, e.g., “practicing” or even “fallen away”? What portion of the population is, at some point, “fallen away”, but at a later point is not? Polls don’t tell you any of that. This is anecdotal, of course, but I have known great numbers of Catholics who, at some point, could be described as “fallen away”, depending on what one means by that, but very few who have actually become atheists or joined some other religion.

I have known a lot of Catholics who have joined other churches. However, my point rather concerns the first group. All churches that baptize infants tend to have lots of people on the rolls who don’t necessarily attend. (Let me note that I belong to such a church–in fact, I’m officially on the rolls of a parish I no longer attend because I have moved away, although I do attend another Episcopal parish.) So the number of people attending such churches is almost always going to be inflated compared to “believers’ baptism” churches.

Edwin

 

[Cathdefender]

I just find it ironic that whenever one posts something good and true about our holy Catholic church, non-Catholic Christians always have to find some way to discredit the information. Think i’ll just sit back and enjoy this one…again…:coffeeread: :yawn:

 

[Contarini]

I just find it ironic that whenever one posts something good and true about our holy Catholic church, non-Catholic Christians always have to find some way to discredit the information. Think i’ll just sit back and enjoy this one…again…:coffeeread: :yawn:

I wouldn’t have said anything if not for the outrageous accusation that only “anti-Catholics” would suggest that the growth came primarily from birth and immigration.

You guys are your own worst enemies. (“You guys” not being Catholics in general but Catholics who think that any challenge to a triumphalist claim is “anti-Catholic,” and thus create “anti-Catholicism” out of nothing.)

I would be very happy if Catholicism really were growing as you say. Perhaps it is. But the points I’ve raised are valid ones and you need to address them instead of smearing them as “anti-Catholic.”

Edwin

 

[dosdog]

China Catholics throng to church
Sunday, 23 September 2007
Beijing’s Southern Cathedral has the kind of congregation many Catholic churches in Europe can only dream of attracting. There are no official ties between China and the Vatican, despite attempts by both sides over recent months to overcome their differences. But that does not seem to matter to the faithful at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to give the Beijing church its full name. The solid-looking brick cathedral, founded in 1605 by Jesuit Matteo Ricci, is the base of newly-appointed Beijing Bishop Father Joseph Li Shan
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7009165.stm

 

[NDfan]

Good News for Roman Catholics:

Bad News for Protestants:

Good News for minority faiths:

These numbers are so unfounded it’s actually pathetic. No disrespect but the RCC still counts as members former members that have not officially announced their resignation from the church. I still receive plenty of mail from them and haven’t been attending nor do I consider myself RC for years. Rome tries to report 1.2 billion but the real number is around 950 million RCs in the world.

In the US Northeast where the RC was once the mainstay of society membership has declined miserably. The only reason the RC maintains its numbers in the US is because of immigration which accounts for why we see the growth primarily in the south and southeast states where immigration is the highest.

Christianity itself is declining which is more alarming. Over 400 Christian churches closed their doors last year in the US.

PEACE

 

[carjack]

They closed many Catholic churches in the diocese in my area. Doesn’t look like growth to me. I feel sorry for the ones who lost their church. They were sad.

 

[dosdog]

The Atlanta Archdiocese recently updated its official Catholic population figure, nearly doubling in size to 650,000 from 350,000. Leaders said the new headcount better reflects reality as the church comes to grips with its 10 years of explosive growth. The new population number for the first time counts people not in the habit of registering as parishioners either for cultural reasons or out of concerns the registry might be used as a tool for immigration enforcement. georgiabulletin.org/local/2007/09/06/pop/

St. Louis Archdiocese ordains largest number of priests in 21 years
May-29-2008
ST. LOUIS (CNS) – When Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of St. Louis ordained nine men to the priesthood for the archdiocese May 24, it was the largest ordination class for the archdiocese since 1987. In addition five other seminarians from St. Louis were being ordained in coming weeks for other dioceses. In his homily at the ordination Mass, Archbishop Burke urged the congregation to pray for the nine men “so that they may always and in everything conform themselves to the grace conferred upon them in ordination, that they may be holy shepherds of the flock whom God the Father entrusts to their pastoral care.” The archbishop urged the nine men to be “attentive to guide God’s people in the way of justice which leads to lasting peace.” He also told them their “priestly teaching and guidance will inspire and strengthen all of the faithful in the transformation of the culture of violence and death, in which we live, into a civilization of selfless love and life.”
catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20080529.htm#head4

 

[carjack]

These numbers are so unfounded it’s actually pathetic. No disrespect but the RCC still counts as members former members that have not officially announced their resignation from the church. I still receive plenty of mail from them and haven’t been attending nor do I consider myself RC for years. Rome tries to report 1.2 billion but the real number is around 950 million RCs in the world.

In the US Northeast where the RC was once the mainstay of society membership has declined miserably. The only reason the RC maintains its numbers in the US is because of immigration which accounts for why we see the growth primarily in the south and southeast states where immigration is the highest.

Christianity itself is declining which is more alarming. Over 400 Christian churches closed their doors last year in the US.

PEACE

That is alarming.

 

[Contarini]

They closed many Catholic churches in the diocese in my area. Doesn’t look like growth to me. I feel sorry for the ones who lost their church. They were sad.

There seems to be a demographic shift from the traditional centers of Catholic population (such as the Northeast) to the South. The Catholic population is booming in the South, whereas in Philadelphia for instance I know there are a lot of church closings. So the fact that you aren’t seeing growth in your area doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Also, church closings may depend on availability of clergy at least as much as on the numbers of people in the pews.

As for Christianity as a whole being in decline, I’m not sure. I think what is happening is that the number of people who want to identify themselves with a particular Christian tradition is shrinking. I strongly suspect that a lot of the “unaffiliated” are non-denominational Protestants. But I could be wrong. My students are mostly devout evangelicals who are very skeptical about “organized religion,” and that may shape how I interpret these polls. I think that pollsters often don’t know how to distinguish between people who are secular or skeptical about religious faith and people who have a very individualistic form of evangelical piety.

Edwin

 

[Cathdefender]

This would make Henry VIII lose his cool, if not his head…
After successfully carrying out the Reformation and foiling Guy Fawkes, the British establishment now faces the possibility that Roman Catholicism will become the dominant religion in Britain.
Media reports earlier this year have told us that a great exodus of immigrants from Eastern Europe means that the number of Catholics in the UK has risen to new and unseen heights.
Figures for 2005 show that there were 4.2 million Catholics in England and Wales.
At present, both Catholic and Anglican churches report about 1 million churchgoers. With the new arrivals, Catholicism may be the leading religion.