CARA

Frequently Requested Church Statistics

U.S. Data Over Time

World Data Over Time

Frequently Asked ?s (...Most Recent Answers)

• Is the U.S. Catholic population growing, declining, and/or changing? (1, 2, 3)
• How does Catholicism differ by geography in the U.S.? (1, 2, 3, 4)
• How often do U.S. Catholics worship and celebrate sacraments? (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• How do U.S. Catholics vote and think politically? (1, 2, 3)
• What do we know about vocations? (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
• Do Catholic school matter? (1, 2)
• What do we know about converts to Catholicism? (1, 2)
• What do Catholics believe? (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• How much are people in ministry paid by the Church? (1, 2, 3, 4)
• Are allegations of clergy sexual abuse of minors increasing? (1, 2, 3, 4)
• What do you know about the global Church? (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Most Recent Regular Statistical Reports

• Ministry Formation Statistics 2018-19 (trends for seminaries, deacon formation programs, lay ministry formation programs)
• Ordination Class of 2019 (survey of ordinands; those preparing to be priests)
• Profession Class of 2018 (survey of sisters and brothers professing their perpetual vows)
• Entrance Class of 2018 (survey of men and women entering religious life)

Recent Special Reports

• International Women Religious in the United States
• Supporting Training for Women and Men in Religious Life
• Science and Religion in Catholic High Schools
• Catholics' Opinions about Faith and Science
• Science and Religion in Seminaries
• Women Religious in Africa
• Disabilities in Dioceses and Charities
• Disabilities in Parishes
• Associates and Religious in the United States
• The Impact of College on Vocational Discernment
• Population Trends among Religious Institutes of Men
• Population Trends among Religious Institutes of Women
• Nurturing Vocation to Religious Life and Priesthood

Recent Working Papers

CARA occasionally produces working papers on topics on themes of more general interest, drawing from CARA research.

#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. This paper provides a review of evidence from survey research conducted by the CARA. It primarily summarizes results from ten national telephone polls of adult self-identified Catholics conducted since January 2001.

#9 Catholicism on Campus: Stability and change in Catholic student faith by college type

In this paper, CARA analyzes data from a longitudinal survey of college students provided by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). These data include 14,527 students at 148 U.S. colleges and universities and were collected from students as freshman in 2004 and again to these students as juniors in spring 2007. CARA's analysis focuses specifically on Catholic students and we find that previously estimated negative effects of attending a Catholic college have been overstated. Catholic colleges and universities appear to be doing no harm—certainly in comparison to other types of higher education institutions—and at a more subtle level may be increasing their student's Catholicity.

#10 The Perceptions of U.S. Bishops and Deacon Directors Regarding the Work of the Papal Commission of Study on the Diaconate of Women

In 2016, at the request of representatives of the International Union of Superiors General (the Vatican sanctioned representatives of Religious Institutes), Pope Francis established a Papal Commission of Study on the Diaconate of Women. The Commission was tasked to review the theology and history of the office of deacon in the Roman Catholic Church and the question of whether women might be allowed to become deacons. In fall 2018 CARA completed a survey of the bishops leading each of the 197 dioceses and eparchies in the United States and a near identical survey of the deacon directors in each diocese and eparchy.  This report focuses on the attitudes of bishops and diocesan directors of the permanent diaconate about the possibility of women as permanent deacons should the Holy See authorize the sacramental ordination of women as deacons.

#11 Shelter from the Storm: The Parish’s Role in the Faith Life of Vietnamese American Catholics in the United States

With their robust participation in parish life in dioceses across the United States and the disproportionately large number of religious vocations they contribute, Vietnamese American Catholics have had an impact on the U.S. Catholic Church that belies their relatively small numbers. Signs that their presence continues to grow include the increasing number of personal parishes specific to Vietnamese ministry across U.S. dioceses, the expanding number of Vietnamese-language Masses being celebrated, and the more than 100,000 people who annually attend Marian Days, a festival and pilgrimage for Vietnamese American Catholics in Carthage, Missouri. This study, generously funded by the Project Grant for Researchers at Louisville Institute, explores an aspect of their immigrant experience: the roles their religious institutions have played in helping first-generation Vietnamese immigrants to the United States reconcile their traditional family roles with those they encounter in the United States. After a brief literature review, this working paper examines their relationship to their parishes, some possible explanations for their high levels of religious vocations, and their struggles adapting to the new culture in which they find themselves.