Publications

Report: Is Educational Debt Affecting Vocations?

February 2012

This report presents data collected from 477 religious institutes about the impact of educational debt on vocations to religious life.The units that responded to the survey reported a total of 47,113 perpetually professed men and women religious, approximately two-thirds of all women and men religious in the United States. Many of the institutes or other entities that did not respond appear to be either small, mostly contemplative, communities that may not have had anyone in initial formation for some time, or those who are still in the process of becoming institutes of consecrated life. The survey was conducted for the National Religious Vocations Conference (NRVC).

For a digital copy:

The Profession Class of 2012: Survey of Religious Professing Perpetual Vows

January 2013

CARA surveyed religious who professed perpetual vows in 2012, reaching a total of 108 sisters and 24 brothers, a response rate of 85 percent of the 156 potential members of the Profession Class of 2012 identified to CARA by their religious superior.

The report is availble free of charge from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Click here for the full report

Recent Vocations to Religious Life

August 2009
This report outlines a survey of almost 600 religious institutes across the country. The initial survey was designed to gather statistics about the membership in the institute, including the numbers in initial formation or incorporation; basic information about vocation promotion and formation in the institute; and basic data about the institute's ministry, community life, community prayer, and practice regarding the wearing of a religious habit. In addition, respondents were asked to provide the names and contact information for those in initial formation as well as those who had professed final or perpetual vows or commitment since 1993. The second phase of the research consisted of a survey of "new members," that is, current candidates/postulants, novices, and those in temporary vows or commitment as well as those who had professed final vows or commitment since 1993. The third and fourth phases of the research, which included focus groups with new members and closer examination of selected institutes, were conducted during spring and summer 2009.

Religious Brothers in the United States

April, 2008
In summer 2005, the Religious Brothers Conference (RBC) commissioned CARA to conduct a study of religious brothers in the United States. The study examines various aspects of the life and ministry of religious brothers, with particular attention to what attracted them to religious brotherhood and what sustains them in their life and ministry. The study also explores how brothers see the future of brotherhood and how they think brothers should respond to the challenges they face.

Emerging Communities of Consecrated Life
in the United States

2006

Emerging Religious Communities in the United States

1999

The Life and Death of Religious Orders: A Psycho-Sociological Approach