CARA Catholic Polls:

National Portraits of the U.S. Self-identified Catholic Population

Since 2000, CARA has been surveying Catholics nationally.

CARA conducted 43 of these surveys from 2000 to 2024.

  • Survey Parameters

    - Interview by telephone

    - Self-administered online surveys

    - Probability-based sampling

    - Opt-in online panels

  • General Cost

    - $18,000 for stand-alone survey

    - More affordable option if opting-in to CARA planned national survey. Client may buy in with small number of questions.

    - $65,000-85,000 for probability-based sampling

    *in addition to national, CARA can also survey at state and regional level*

  • Design Process

    - Collaborative review process - CARA provides advice based on experience and expertise

    - Ultimately, questions are determined by clients

    - Extensive library of existing, tested questions

    - Can develop new questions for topics yet to be explored

  • Report

    - Narrative report of findings for each survey

    - Includes: tables, figures, and maps based on survey

    - Analysis of major sub-group differences of statistical significance (typically generational, racial, ethnic, and frequency of Mass attendance)

    - Clients own the data and report

    - Client chooses whether to release findings publicly

From time-to-time, CARA also conducts studies based on its own research interests, when funding is available to do so. This fits within our mission to 1) increase the Church’s self-understanding 2) to serve the applied research needs of Church decision-makers; and 3) to advance scholarly research on religion, particularly Catholicism. CARA regularly publishes books, research articles, and presents at conferences using our own data or data that our clients allow us to work with publicly.

To inquire more about conducting a survey, contact Dr. Mark Gray at 202-687-0885 or mmg34@georgetown.edu.

Archive of Recent Publicly Available Reports

  • U.S. Catholic Attitudes about Immigration, Migrants, and Refugees

    June 2024

    Read Here

  • American Catholic Views on Climate Justice

    March 2024

    Read Here

  • Eucharist Beliefs: A National Survey of Adult Catholics

    September 2023

    Read Here

  • Catholic Media Use

    June 2023

    Read Here

  • Future Faithful Families Project: Successfully Raising Catholic Children to be Active Catholics as Adults

    November 2023

    Read Here