US Area with Most Observant Catholics?

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Hello. I have been trying to find state-based statistics for the percentage of Catholics in Catholic communities per state which are religiously observant, i.e. with the highest weekly Mass attendance, but I can’t find anything. Does anyone know, from experience or statistics, where are the most observant Catholic communities? I know looking for ‘number of Catholics’ is very misleading, since that is only people who claim to be Catholic even if they never attend Mass. Thank you for your help.

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I know it might seem a bit odd to say, but probably California. Now, I didn’t say it was the highest percentage, but it probably is the state with the most, just because of the sheer amount of people. I am of course, assuming that you mean US state and not something like Australian state.
 
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Thanks for pointing that out, I edited the title to be US State.
 
CARA - the Center for Applied Rsearch in the Apostolate does research for the Church (primarily for the bishops). They do sampling on matters such as this, but I am not aware of any report covering each state.

From their studies, they have done one a few years ago which sorted out Mass attendance by age group (adults, as in those 18 and over) and the overall picture was not pretty. However, I have doubts they have attempted to do that survey as a state-by-state comparison. Anything else is pretty much a wag (wild a$$ guess).

The survey noted above is no longer part of their FAQ, and I don’t know if you can get a copy or not; it was at least publicly available some time ago.
 
alcuin18 said:
I have been trying to find state-based statistics for the percentage of Catholics in Catholic communities per state which are religiously observant, i.e. with the highest weekly Mass attendance
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Almost certainly California, specifically Orange County.

Religious observance is generally much higher in recent immigrants from Latin America and Asia. Orange County has a very dense concentration of both, probably the highest in the country for a county that size.

If you mean to limit yourself to native born white Americans, then you will find small pockets here and there, predominantly in the Midwest. Mercer County, Ohio, is one such pocket.

Looking at the state level is a waste of time. You have to go down to the county level, and even below.
 
Even at the county level, I postulate that it is impossible to really tell.

At the county level - particularly some rural counties - the numbers could be skewed by something as simple as a particularly loved or effective (or ineffective!) pastor who gets people to come out to support the church; he leaves; attendance wanes.

I think it is virtually impossible to determine what OP asks, with one exception: IMHO Franciscan university in Steubenville OH is probably the “most catholic” university in the USA and it likely supports a very devout community. I think this based solely on thirdhand info.
 
To get this number we would need to be able to peer into the souls of the Catholics in each Diocese. We can’t do that. The end.
 
Canvas said:
To get this number we would need to be able to peer into the souls of the Catholics in each Diocese. We can’t do that. The end.
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I’m sorry, I didn’t mean the holiest Catholics. I meant Catholics who actually regularly participate in the sacraments, per our obligation as Catholics.
 
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VonDerTann said:
IMHO Franciscan university in Steubenville OH is probably the “most catholic” university in the USA and it likely supports a very devout community.
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It doesn’t. There is a very sharp contrast between the campus and the town. The university is in its own little bubble.
 
Thanks. Again, I want to be clear that I didn’t know this firsthand so I’ll defer to you.
 
You might find some relevant stats in this Pew survey. Although it does not give the breakdown of Mass attendance by state they clearly have the data. If you contact them it might be a matter of moments for them to crunch the numbers for you. My guess is that there is little variation at the US state level and that you would have to get down to county level to show up significant differences. It would surprise me if the Bishops Conference did not have this data - any large NGO should know this sort of thing.

 
CARA’s 2008 report is available:


There is a geographic breakdown by region, not by state.

And I think the regional results are more influenced by other Christians than by differences among Catholics. Catholics in the South “do not doubt” certain dogmas more readily than those in other areas for example, but that is likely because of the behavior of Baptists and other Evangelicals in the South.
 
I heard that Rhode Island has a fairly high percentage of Catholics but not sure about it’s mass attendance statistics
 
Krisdun said:
I heard that Rhode Island has a fairly high percentage of Catholics but not sure about it’s mass attendance statistics
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My brother lives in Providence, and I live nearby. There are a lot of people who say they are Catholic there, but, like most urban places in the NE (and RI is purely urban), most are cultural or nominal Catholics, and rarely attend.

Few of the younger generations are practicing Catholics. Practicing Catholics tend to be either elderly or Hispanic. And by far most practicing Catholics are progressive or liberal, or moderate conservative, with few Traditionalists or ultra-conservatives to be found. Pretty much the same as anywhere else in the Northeast.

The local Bishop is more conservative than most, and therefore a bit out of step with most of the local Catholic population, even those who are practicing regularly. There is some tension and controversy, especially over LGBT-related matters. Providence prides itself on being LGBT-friendly.
 
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