Young Catholic adults go to Mass more regularly and have a better social conscience, but are also more stressed than eight years ago, according to new research.
Regular mass attendance rose by 11 per cent - increasing from 25 per cent in 2009 to 36 per cent in 2017.
Entitled ‘Complex Catholicism’, the new report studied the beliefs and feelings of 1,005 15-25 year-old Catholics in England and Wales, ahead of Pope Francis’s Synod on Youth, The Faith and Vocational Discernment this October.
It found young people tend to prioritise moral behaviour above religious observance with "being a good person", "believing in God" and "following Catholic guidelines about helping others", considered the top three factors in being Catholic. Meanwhile, just over half (52 per cent) of self-identifying Catholics said: "I consider myself Catholic but it’s not especially important for me to go to Mass regularly."
Of those questioned, 40 per cent, most of whom were older, did not identify as Roman Catholic (of these, 60 per cent come from a Catholic family and 40 per cent go or went to a Catholic school). Yet 50 per cent of non-identifying Catholics attend Mass irregularly, one in ten weekly and a further one in ten between weekly and monthly. Plus 64 per cent of this category can identify having had a spiritual experience and 55 per cent say they pray.
Young Catholics in 2017 expressed stronger levels of concern about local and global issues than in 2009, particularly about terrorism and "helping others".
Female young Catholics say that they have taken more action on social issues in the past year than their male counterparts.
Despite 85 per cent feeling happy or excited over the previous week, many also identified feeling stressed or worried over the same period, 72 per cent over study/work, 71 per cent about how they look and 69 per cent about what others think of them. Female young Catholics reported feeling more stress than young male Catholics.
That said, over 8 in 10 young Catholics expressed confidence in their support networks, with 86 per cent agreeing they feel valued by their family and 82 per cent by their friends.
Fr. Dermott Donnelly, Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Chair of the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation commented:
“This research points to the complex landscape young Catholics are operating in. Heightened thoughts, beliefs and emotions characterise this cultural moment. The question for the whole Catholic community is how we best respond to the challenges of increased stress and fragmentation, and how we seize the opportunity of renewed openness to belief and faith.”
The online polling was conducted by Research Now on behalf of the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation and strategy consultancy Camino House in September-October 2017 and launched at a Cafod reception on 12 June. Figures were compared to similar research in 2009 amongst 886 15-25 year old Catholics.
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