About CARA

CARA is a national, non-profit, Georgetown University affiliated research center that conducts social scientific studies about the Catholic Church. Founded in 1964, CARA has three major dimensions to its mission:

  • to increase the Church’s self-understanding

  • to serve the applied research needs of Church decision-makers

  • to advance scholarly research on religion, particularly Catholicism.

CARA has more than 60 years of experience in quality social science research on the Catholic Church (for more about our history see our 60th anniversary blog). We offer a range of research and consulting services for dioceses, parishes, religious communities and institutes, and other Catholic organizations. CARA’s longstanding policy is to let research findings stand on their own and never take an advocacy position or go into areas outside its social science competence. All CARA researchers have advanced degrees in relevant academic disciplines as well as pastoral experience. CARA researchers are active in the academic community publishing and presenting research about the Catholic Church.

Our Services

CARA is a full-service, applied social science research center that studies Catholicism and the Catholic Church. Some of the things we can do for our clients include:

  • Surveys (online, mail, telephone)

  • Focus Groups (in-person and online)

  • Personal Interviews (in-person, telephone, online)

  • Demographics/Planning (diocesan, parish, schools, charities, social services)

  • Trend Analysis, Forecasting, and Projections

  • Mapping

  • Annual Data Collection for Organizations

  • Program Reviews

  • Market Research

  • Experiment Research (e.g., pre-test, post-test)

  • Archival/Historical Research

  • Grant Research (i.e., conducting research for a client’s grant project)

  • White Papers

  • Presentations/Speaking

  • Writing and Reporting (academic, Catholic press, news)

  • Data Entry/Database Creation and Maintenance

  • Independent, Tailored Analyses

Our Board of Directors

Board Chair Most Rev. W. Shawn McKnight, S.T.D., Bishop of Jefferson City

  • Jane Belford., J.D.

  • Sr. Maria Cimperman, R.S.C.J.

  • Kathleen Dorsey Bellow, Ph.D.

  • Robert Hurteau, Ph.D.

  • Jenny Kaska, J.D.

  • Christina Lamas

  • Patricia Lloyd

  • Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala

  • Rev. Juan Molina Flores

  • Cynthia Morris, MBA

  • Hosffman Ospino, Ph.D.

  • Rev. Anthony Pogorelc. P.S.S. Ph.D.

  • Rev. Warren Savage

  • Rev. Ricardo da Silva, SJ

Bishop W. Shawn McKnight, born in 1968, grew up in a large Catholic family and attended Catholic schools.

He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wichita on May 28, 1994. He earned a Master of Arts degree and a Master of Divinity degree from the Pontifical College Josephinum (1993-1994) and earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome in 1999.

Bishop McKnight served as chaplain at Newman University in Wichita from 2000 to 2001, where at the same time he was an adjunct professor of theology and visiting scholar at the university’s Bishop Gerber Institute of Catholic Studies. In 2001, he earned a Doctor of Sacred Theology, also from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm, and wrote a dissertation on the permanent diaconate. He later taught liturgy and homiletics at the Pontifical College Josephinum seminary from 2003 to 2008, where he also served as director of liturgy, dean of students, director of formation in the school of theology, and vice-president for development and alumni relations.

Our Staff

CARA's staff includes those working on-site at our offices in Glover Park, Washington, DC, as well as those working off-site in the United States and elsewhere. Our staff is interdisciplinary. We have the combined skills, knowledge, and experience to conduct any type of social science research and consulting for our clients. On-site staff with doctorates are faculty members at Georgetown University.

On-site Staff

CARA Executive Director Rev. Thomas P. Gaunt, SJ, Ph.D. in City Planning. tpg9@georgetown.edu, 202-687-0839

Sr. Thu T. Do, LHC, Ph.D. in Higher Education. ttd9@georgetown.edu, (202) 687-8086

Felice Goodwin, B.S. in Business and Marketing. fmg22@georgetown.edu, 202-687-8080

Mark M. Gray, Ph.D. in Political Science. mmg34@georgetown.edu 202-687-0885

Emma Mitchell, B.A. in Religious Studies. em1600@georgetown.edu, 202-687-1365

Sr. Lavina Rodrigues, AC, M.A. in English

Jonathon L. Wiggins, Ph.D. in Sociology. jlw8@georgetown.edu, 202-687-1290

Off-site Staff

Sr. Gloria Maluwasa, SBVM, Master’s Student in Midwifery and Women’s Health

Sr. Margaret Mary Ajebe-Sone Dione, SST, M.Ed.

Sr. Lucy Dora Akello, LSMIG, Ph.D. in Educational Science.

Sr. Hellen Bandiho, STH, E.D. in Education.

Julie Bourbon, M.A. in Pastoral Studies.

Sr. Victorine Atsufui Afi Dorkenoo, SMMC, M.A. Applied French Linguistics.

Sr. Florence Emurayeveya, EHJ, M.A. in Education.

Rev. Stephen Joseph Fichter, Ph.D. in Sociology.

Mary Ellen Fise, J.D. and M.A. in Church Ministry.

Mary L. Gautier, Ph.D. in Sociology.

Sister Aloysia Sebueng Makoae, SNJM, Ph.D. in African Languages.

Sr. Bibiana M. Ngundo, LSOSF, Ph.D. in Religious Studies.

Paul M. Perl, Ph.D. in Sociology.

Sr. Patricia Wittberg, SC, Ph.D. in Sociology.