CARA Publications
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CARA regularly publishes its publically available
research on this site, free of charge, as a service to our
supporters. Occasionally, clients will also authorize public
release of research findings and those reports are also available
here. Each report is published in pdf format. You must have
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reports. Acrobat Reader is available free of charge at the link
on the right.
Browse through the list of publically available research by scrolling
down this page. Click on the title to download the report.
You may also browse through these reports by selecting the topic index,
title index, or year index at right. Or click on one of the
headings below to be taken to each section of this page:
Research Reports
Some of these reports are produced by
CARA from its databases and other CARA research. Other reports
are based on CARA research commissioned by CARA clients named
below. Clients have authorized release of these CARA reports as a
public service because they are of more general interest.
1. Sacraments
Today: Belief and Practice among US. Catholics
In February 2008, CARA surveyed
1,007 self-identified adult Catholics
in the United States (±3.1 percentage points). The primary focus
of the
survey is participation in the sacramental life of the Church
as well as beliefs about the sacraments. The poll also
addresses many other issues of importance to the Church, including
other forms of participation in Church life and other teachings of
Catholicism.
2. Catholic
Ministry Formation Directory Statistical Summary: 2007-2008
This statistical summary provides an overview of enrollments of
priesthood candidates at Catholic seminaries and schools of theology,
deacon candidates at diaconate formation programs, and laity in
formation for lay ecclesial ministry in the United States.
3. Marriage in the
Catholic Church: A Survey of U.S. Catholics
In summer 2007, CARA conducted a national poll of
adult Catholics designed to provide a comprehensive portrait of
aspects of marriage for the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops (USCCB).
The survey was completed by 1,008 self-identified Catholics who were 18
years of age or older. This report provides the results of this survey
including: (1) awareness of and understanding of Catholic Church
teaching on marriage, (2) general attitudes about marriage, and (3)
personal experiences of marriage preparation, the sacrament of
marriage, and daily married life.
-Full
Report
-Executive
Summary only
-Summary
of Sub-Group Findings only
-CARA Press Release
A
Response to the Research
By
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, Chairman
Subcommittee
on Marriage and Family Life
United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops
4. Diocesan Level Profile of Campus Ministry
This report was commissioned by the Division of Higher Education and
Campus Ministry of the Department of Education of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). It details a survey of diocesan
level directors of campus ministry.
5. Doing
HIV/AIDS Education in a Catholic Context: Issues and Challenges
This report was commissioned by the National Catholic AIDS Network in
2002.
6. Financing
Catholic Parishes in the United States: A National and Regional
Comparison
This report was produced by Joseph Claude Harris, an independent
researcher from Seattle, WA, and Mary Gautier of CARA in 2002, from
data collected in the National Parish Inventory (NPI) in 2001.
7. Catholic Campus Ministry: A Report of
Findings from CARA's Catholic Campus Ministry Inventory
This report presents a national profile of Catholic Campus Ministry
using CARA's Catholic Campus Ministry Inventory (CCMI), a mail survey
sent to all Catholic campus ministry sites in the 177 territorial
dioceses of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
8. Ministry in a Church of Increasing
Diversity: A Profile of Diocesan Hispanic/Latino Ministry
This report was commissioned by the Diocese of Raleigh in 2002.
9. Women
and Men Religious in Statistical Perspective
Twentieth century trends in religious life in the United States.
CARA Special Reports
1. Special
Report: Catechetical
Ministry
This special report was produced from research commissioned by the National
Conference for Catechetical Leadership (NCCL), the National Catholic
Educational
Association (NCEA), and the United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops
(USCCB). It is based on research carried out by CARA in 1999 and 2000
in preparation for the development of the Profile of Catechetical
Ministry.
2. Special Report: National
Parish Inventory
In
1998, CARA began the first comprehensive database of Catholic parish
life in the United States. Periodically updated since then, this
special report presents a national profile of parish life in the United
States in 2000.
3. Special Report: Priests
of the Archdiocese of Chicago: Moving into a New Century with
Hope and Vision
This survey of the priests of the Archdiocese of Chicago was
commissioned in 1999 by the Archdiocese to help identify the needs and
concerns of the priests of the Archdiocese to support them in their
ministry and life and ultimately all those whom they serve.
4. Special Report: The
Permanent Diaconate Today
This report was commissioned by the Bishops’ Committee
on the Diaconate of the USCCB and makes use of information from the
1999 triennial survey of the Secretariat for the Diaconate of the
Bishops’Conference which obtained responses from 155 United States
dioceses. Other statistical information was compiled from The Official Catholic Directory and
from CARA’s survey of diaconate formation programs, conducted annually
since 1996.
5. Special Report: Young
Adult Catholics
This report was designed by the Center for Applied Research in the
Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University for the Secretariat for
Family, Laity, Women, and Youth of the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The report is based on recent CARA research
and highlights major findings on the demographic, attitudinal, and
behavioral characteristics of Young Adult Catholics in the United
States.
6. Special
Report: In Search of Best Practices in Ministry with Gay and Lesbian
Catholics
This report was designed by the Center for Applied Research in the
Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University for The National Association
of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries (NACDLGM). The report
is based on a recent study of Catholic dioceses
and parishes by NACDLGM and CARA.
Working Papers
CARA occasionally produces working papers on topics
on themes of more
general interest, drawing from CARA research.
1. Young Adult
Catholics...Living with Diversity
This examination of Young Adult Catholics and how they compare with
Catholics of other generations was prepared by CARA at Georgetown
University. The data for this study come from a national
telephone survey of a random sample of self-identified Catholics in the
United States.
2. Political
Preferences...Public Square Fall 2000
This report presents major findings from a study of America Catholics
in the Public Square. The study was designed by the CARA in
collaboration with the Commonweal Foundation and the Faith and Reason
Institute and is part of the Faith in the Public Square studies funded
by the Pew Charitable Trusts. This part of the study is based on
a national random sample telephone survey of self-identified adult
Catholics in the United States.
3. Campus
Ministry
The Secretariat for Education of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops engaged CARA to examine
the
effects of participation in college campus ministry on several aspects
of
Catholics’ religious commitment. This report does so by analyzing
data from the CARA Catholic Poll 2001, a telephone poll of
self-identified
Catholics in the United States.
4. Ongoing
Formation Among Priests in the U.S.
CARA first released this work as a
report commissioned by NOCERCC, the National Organization for the
Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy. The research was
funded in part by a grant from the Louisville Institute. In
September 2002 NOCERCC permitted
CARA to release the report as a CARA Working Paper in order to provide
for
a wider distribution of the findings.
5. Priests in
the
U.S.: Satisfaction, Workload, and Support
Structures
This CARA Working Paper was prepared
for the national conference on research on priests in the United States
sponsored by the USCCB Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry and held
at the Life Cycle Institute of Catholic University of America on
September
10, 2002. It contains data on CARA studies that have been
sponsored
in part by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and
the
National Organization for the Continuing Education of Roman Catholic
Priests
(NOCERCC).
6.
Profile of the Diaconate in the United
States: A Report of Findings
from CARA’s Deacon Poll
This CARA Working Paper was prepared for the Secretariat for the
Diaconate of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in
January 2004. The report provides information on the
demographics, background characteristics, and current ministry of
deacons in the United States using a random sample telephone poll
permanent deacons conducted by CARA in 2001.
7. Social Justice
Attitudes and Religious Commitment among Participants in the Jesuit
Volunteer Corps
This
CARA Working paper examines how and why social
justice attitudes and religious commitment change among participants in
the
Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC). Data come
from two written surveys completed by 95 first-time Jesuit volunteers
before
and near the conclusion of the 1996-1997 year of service.
Volunteers’ social justice attitudes became
more liberal, especially on welfare reform, an issue of intense public
debate
at the time. Volunteers were
particularly likely to become more liberal on welfare reform if they
got to
know poor people in their neighborhood and if the social service agency
where
they volunteered encouraged a social justice perspective.
Reported frequency of worship attendance
declined slightly, and some religious attitudes became less traditional.
8. Catholic
Reactions to the News of Sexual Abuse Cases Involving Catholic Clergy
Early
in 2002, the issue of sexual abuse among Roman Catholic
priests began receiving
unprecedented attention in the national news media.
How the nation’s lay Catholics were affected
by revelations of clergy sexual abuse and by revelations about Church
leaders’
handling of the problem has been a matter of intense debate since that
time. This paper provides a review of
evidence from survey research conducted by the Center for Applied
Research in
the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown
University. It primarily summarizes results from ten
national telephone polls of adult self-identified Catholics conducted
since
January 2001. Among topics covered include affiliation, Mass
attendance, giving, and confidence in Church leadership.
Research Press
Releases
CARA occasionally releases excerpts of research to the press and public
in brief and informative bulletins.
1.
Mass Attendance Trends
An analysis of self-reported Mass attendance among adult Catholics
between Sept. 2000 and Sept. 2004 using CARA's national surveys of
Catholics.
2.
Catholic Voting Trends, 1952-2004
Survey estimates of the Catholic vote in U.S. presidential elections
from 1952 to 2004 from Gallup, the National Election Studies, and media
exit polls.
3.
'Catholic Vote'
Post-Election 2004 Information
Estimations of Catholic voter
turnout and voting patterns in the 2004 elections.
4.
'Catholic Vote'
Pre-Election 2004 Poll
The CARA Catholic Poll (CCP)
estimates of the Catholic vote for the 2004 presidential election.
5.
CARA Reflections on Pew's U.S. Religious
Landscape Survey
Population
estimates for U.S. adult Catholics released by the Pew Forum on
Religion & Public Life in 2008 are fairly consistent with the
findings of national random sample telephone polls conducted by CARA
since 2000. However, the Pew report of findings and ensuing media
coverage of it failed to take note of comparative information about
retention rates by faith group that show Catholics are
among the most successful at retaining those raised in
their faith. CARA also is concerned with the Pew researcher's admission
that the survey underestimates
the proportion of Latinos who are
Catholic and the resulting effects of this problem on Catholic results
obtained in the landmark project.
Academic Research
Papers
As Georgetown University faculty members, CARA researchers are actively
involved in academic research, which is
regularly presented at conferences and published in refereed journals
or by an academic press. Submissions by current CARA researchers have
been published, or are forthcoming, in: Journal for the Scientific Study of
Religion, Sociology of
Religion, Review of Religious
Research, Journal of
Contemporary Religion, International Organization, Journal of Church and State, Comparative Political Studies, and The Social Science Journal, as well
as volumes published by Oxford University Press, Brill Academic Press,
Loras College Press, JAI Press, and Orbis Press. Below are links
to some of the ongoing academic research of CARA staff:
1.
How Many Hispanics are Catholic?
The proportion of Hispanics who are Catholic and Protestant remains
unclear, partly because of varying survey methodologies and limited
understanding of how that variation affects estimates of Hispanic
religious identification. CARA reserahcers compare results and
methodologies of 11
national surveys conducted since 1990. This review suggests
English-only
interviewing artificially inflates Protestant identification among
Hispanics. Additionally, defining Hispanic ethnicity based on national
origin or ancestry may inflate Catholic identification. We also use
survey data to explore effects of sampling bias, on-coverage
bias, and
weighting on religious identification. We conclude that 70
percent or slightly more is a reasonable estimate of the proportion of
adult Hispanics who are Catholic, and 20 percent a reasonable estimate
of the proportion Protestant or other Christian.
2. Catholic
Schooling and
Disaffiliation
Using event
history analysis of 849 adults raised Catholic, CARA researchers
examine effects of attending
Catholic elementary school and high school on the likelihood one
remains
Catholic. Attending Catholic high school
for at least three years significantly reduces the likelihood that one
disaffiliates from Catholicism, reducing both the likelihood that one
converts
to another faith and the likelihood that one chooses to have no
religion at
all.
3. Religious
Homogeneity in Catholics'
Friendships
The 1988 and 1998 General Social
Surveys (GSS) asked respondents to state the religion of their close
friends. These questions have been used infrequently by
scholars. This paper provides a brief summary of results for
Catholic respondents. The proportion of Catholics’ friends who
are also Catholic remained stable between 1988 and 1998 at 59 and 58
percent, respectively. Several demographic and religious
characteristics are correlated with homogeneity in Catholics’
friendships. Income and education are inversely correlated with
the proportion of one’s friends who are Catholic. This may
reflect upward social mobility, which has probably tended to carry
Catholics out of tight-knit ethnic sub-communities. Controlling
for other factors, those who attend Mass infrequently report lower
proportions of Catholic friends than those who attend frequently.
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