The sixth national American Catholics in Transition survey shows that, after decades of decline, the commitment of Catholic women to the Church stabilised in 2017 and, since the last such survey in 2011, the number who are enthusiastic about their faith has increased slightly, writes Michael Sean Winters.
In 1987, more than 50 per cent of Catholic women attended Mass weekly. That number dropped to 31 per cent in 2011, and remained approximately the same in 2017.
The percentage of women saying that the Church is “among the most important thing in their lives” rose from 35 per cent in 2011 to 39 per cent last year. The percentage of women who said they would never leave the Church rose from 55 per cent six years ago to 60 per cent today.
However, Catholic men in the US stayed on a par with women only in the last category – those who say they will never leave the Church. The percentage of men attending weekly Mass and who consider the Church one of the most important things in their lives continued to decline – to 29 and 35 per cent respectively.
Younger Americans of all denominations appear less attached to religion than their elders, and Catholics are no exception. Only 21 per cent of millennial Catholics, those born since 1979, attend Mass weekly. Within that age cohort, women continue to outpace men by significant margins: 57 per cent of millennial Catholic women report they would never leave the Church compared to only 50 per cent of their male counterparts, while 36 per cent of millennial Catholic women say the Church is among the most important things in their lives, compared to 33 per cent for men.
Explaining the survey of over 1,500 Catholics, Sociology Professor Michele Dillon said in an article in the National Catholic Reporter that it would be facile after years of decline to attribute this stabilisation to the leadership of Pope Francis. “Our survey was not designed to explore any ‘Francis effect’ on American Catholics – and indeed any study with that intent would be very complex and difficult to execute,” Professor Dillon noted. However, 86 per cent of all Catholic women and 83 per cent of Catholic men report being satisfied with the Pope’s leadership, and 62 per cent of women and 52 per cent of men report being “very satisfied” with the Pope. Conversely, only about one quarter of Catholics, male or female, report being “very satisfied” with the leadership of their local bishop, and only one fifth report such satisfaction with the bishops of the country as a group.
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