Research
The results of CARA's latest study of Catholic media use are in. In 2012, CARA interviewed over 1000 Catholics 18 years and older with a statistical accuracy of +/- 3%. Here are some highlights:
- "Catholic” online traffic is steady though, in terms of Google usage, searches including the phrase “Catholic” were down 37% from Jan. 2004.
- Only about a dozen Catholic sites rank in the top 10,000 for traffic overall. The site most frequented by Catholics (9%) is their own parish site. Eighty percent say that they visit it at least once a month. Four percent of Catholics who are online also visit a diocesan site.
- These sites include media outlet EWTN as well such as information sources as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Answers, the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, and the Vatican. Publications that receive significant attention online include: National Catholic Reporter and National Catholic Register. Several educational institutions such as the University of Notre Dame, Boston College, Georgetown University, Fordham University and the Catholic University of America get significant traffic. A few Catholic publishers (e.g. St. Anthony Messenger as well as large Diocesan sites (e.g. Washington, New York) and Catholic Match.com round out the list of most popular destinations for Catholics online.
- Eight percent of the adult Catholics who regularly use a digital device indicate that they use at least one Catholic related app.
- While over 18 million Catholics have an online social network profile, only 5% of these read a Catholic related blog. Most of these Catholics do so to learn about church teaching or to grow in their faith and stay current with Catholic news and events. These viewers most want Catholic resources online to be informative, timely and entertaining.
- Among the top three concerns regarding the church’s online presence, sited in the study include: the lack of a system of validation for authentic Catholicity, lack of civility, and a reluctance on the part of Catholic leaders to use the internet. About one third of Catholics say that they want their pastors and bishops to blog.
- Many Catholics are unaware of any significant Catholic presence online. Approximately one half of respondents still rely on the parish bulletin or diocesan newspaper for information about the church. Slightly more rely on the television for news and religious content.
- The average Catholic online indicated spending almost 3 hours on the internet. Millennial Catholics spend almost 4 hours while pre-Vatican II Catholics spend less than 2 hours. The challenge for the Catholic Church is to reach the many younger inhabitants of the digital continent who are far less likely to attend church but spend significant time online.
- Catholics online are looking for more historical content about the Church along with information on the saints, answers to moral questions, stories about the church, prayers, scripture, religious music or inspirational messages in that order. More older Catholics express interest in this content than younger ones. And while 70% of Catholics use Youtube, only 6% say that they seek religious content on Youtube.
November 2012
In the 21st century, belonging leads to
believing, more often than believing leads to belonging. Faith remains primarily a relationship. It is the opportunity for a personal relationship that is the greatest predictor of worship attendance. According to Pew, the majority of older Catholics today are not sure that such a relationship is possible.
Consensus is forming that cultural Catholicism is dead as a retention strategy if the trends reported by Pew Research are accurate. According to the most recent research reports, if someone leaves the church, that person is unlikely to return. Won’t they return to get married? No, Catholic marriage rates are plummeting. We can no longer count on rites of passage or peer pressure to bring the majority back. The priest shortage will be irrelevant in ten years if trends continue unaltered.
Those who leave their childhood faith do so in small steps over time. Few if any wake up one morning and decide to leave the church. It is a gradual process with many small steps not one large leap. People feel dissatisfied and consider leaving for several years before taking the first steps. Most of those who leave do so in several steps and go through a few religious changes before settling into a new spiritual home.
According to Pew research, participation in a program – youth group, religious education, etc. made no difference in whether or not a teenager stayed Catholic. Parishes are host to a significant number of people who, while spiritually open, are not committed to Christ or do not claim a Catholic identity, despite having progressed through all the sacraments of initiation.
We are mistaken to presume that because someone attends Mass even regularly and leads a life of relative upstanding conduct that they are committed to Christ. We are equally mistaken to presume that someone who is away from the church is spiritually seeker. Many Catholics are sacramentalized but not evangelized. They are catechized but not evangelized. They attend church and lead reasonably moral lives but they do not have an intentional and committed relationship with Christ. They simply do not know how. Our task is calling the unbaptized to discipleship equip those who are disciples to be apostles.
Most Catholics who leave either drift away or say that their spiritual needs were unmet in the church of their youth. A majority of those who leave Protestant churches leave for a better worship service. Few leave because of divorce or separation. Those who leave the church, leave early in life. Perhaps most profound is the finding that non-affiliated adults and Catholics have the greatest similarities of any population surveyed by the Pew Research Center.
Everyone is transformed at three levels – an internal process of personal commitment to Christ, relational process of commitment to a faith community and the external process of active practice, sharing faith and mission to the least, last and lost in society. Some Catholics neglect the internal process. Others compartmentalize faith from their lives.
A strong adult faith IS the most significant factor insuring church attendance. Becoming a protestant is the best guarantor of stable church attendance for those raised Catholic. It is extremely difficult for someone to believe or live out something that is neither seen nor openly shared. We have to cultivate a new culture of intentional Catholicism.
Consensus is forming that cultural Catholicism is dead as a retention strategy if the trends reported by Pew Research are accurate. According to the most recent research reports, if someone leaves the church, that person is unlikely to return. Won’t they return to get married? No, Catholic marriage rates are plummeting. We can no longer count on rites of passage or peer pressure to bring the majority back. The priest shortage will be irrelevant in ten years if trends continue unaltered.
Those who leave their childhood faith do so in small steps over time. Few if any wake up one morning and decide to leave the church. It is a gradual process with many small steps not one large leap. People feel dissatisfied and consider leaving for several years before taking the first steps. Most of those who leave do so in several steps and go through a few religious changes before settling into a new spiritual home.
According to Pew research, participation in a program – youth group, religious education, etc. made no difference in whether or not a teenager stayed Catholic. Parishes are host to a significant number of people who, while spiritually open, are not committed to Christ or do not claim a Catholic identity, despite having progressed through all the sacraments of initiation.
We are mistaken to presume that because someone attends Mass even regularly and leads a life of relative upstanding conduct that they are committed to Christ. We are equally mistaken to presume that someone who is away from the church is spiritually seeker. Many Catholics are sacramentalized but not evangelized. They are catechized but not evangelized. They attend church and lead reasonably moral lives but they do not have an intentional and committed relationship with Christ. They simply do not know how. Our task is calling the unbaptized to discipleship equip those who are disciples to be apostles.
Most Catholics who leave either drift away or say that their spiritual needs were unmet in the church of their youth. A majority of those who leave Protestant churches leave for a better worship service. Few leave because of divorce or separation. Those who leave the church, leave early in life. Perhaps most profound is the finding that non-affiliated adults and Catholics have the greatest similarities of any population surveyed by the Pew Research Center.
Everyone is transformed at three levels – an internal process of personal commitment to Christ, relational process of commitment to a faith community and the external process of active practice, sharing faith and mission to the least, last and lost in society. Some Catholics neglect the internal process. Others compartmentalize faith from their lives.
A strong adult faith IS the most significant factor insuring church attendance. Becoming a protestant is the best guarantor of stable church attendance for those raised Catholic. It is extremely difficult for someone to believe or live out something that is neither seen nor openly shared. We have to cultivate a new culture of intentional Catholicism.
June 2012
According to Lee Raines and Barry Wellman, authors of The New Social Network Operating System, a defining characteristic of people today is that we are networked individuals who long to share our stories. Why? Because we inhabit a hyper-individualist society. We are hard-wired to connect, share our stories and find meaning through those stories. To be human is to share one's stories. Relationships are not a nuisance. Relationships are a need. Relationships are where we encounter God.
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April 2012 - The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reports that Americans change religious affiliation early and often with about half of Americans having changed at least once in their lives. The Catholic Church has suffered the greatest net losses from this dynamic.
Currently 16% of adults in the U.S. are unaffiliated. The vast majority of these report to having been raised in their religion as a child. According to the Pew Forum, former
Catholics are just as likely as lifelong Catholics to have participated
in religious institutions, practices such as religious education or
youth groups.In response to yes-no questions, over 70% of those who left the Catholic Church indicated that they "just drifted away". Many were dissatisfied in some way with church teachings related to sexuality and very few noted leaving as a result of an event in their lives (e.g. death, divorce, relocation or marrying someone of a different faith).
Who are the "Unaffiliated"? What are they like? And what do they think about us? They are quite diverse and as group they are growing more quickly than any other particular religious grouping. About half of those who became unaffiliated consider religious people to be either hypocritical, judgmental or insincere. Those who left the church of their childhood tend to be enamored with scientific explanations and tools. They have suspicions about any religion that makes exclusive claims to the truth. Of those who leave the Catholic Church and remain unaffiliated, 79% do so by the age of 24 and 97% do so by the age of 35. Of those who leave the Catholic Church to join another Christian denomination 66% do so by age 24 and 91% do so by age 35. While half of Americans are likely to leave the church of their childhood only 9% are likely to return.
Who are the "Unaffiliated"? What are they like? And what do they think about us? They are quite diverse and as group they are growing more quickly than any other particular religious grouping. About half of those who became unaffiliated consider religious people to be either hypocritical, judgmental or insincere. Those who left the church of their childhood tend to be enamored with scientific explanations and tools. They have suspicions about any religion that makes exclusive claims to the truth. Of those who leave the Catholic Church and remain unaffiliated, 79% do so by the age of 24 and 97% do so by the age of 35. Of those who leave the Catholic Church to join another Christian denomination 66% do so by age 24 and 91% do so by age 35. While half of Americans are likely to leave the church of their childhood only 9% are likely to return.
April 2012 - The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding has launched a new website
with plenty of research and resources on technology for everyone in the
family. This site includes fact sheets and
articles, a primer on social networks, a parent
guide to cyber-bullying, a family digital covenant of conduct, teen texting, texting acronyms, a primer
on electronic addiction and a parent guide to sexting. There is
research on the three big rules that kids may be breaking - plagiarism,
illegal downloads, underage media usage complete with what it is, why it
is a big deal and how to talk with kids about it. There are articles
on family media management, internet security, mobile technologies,
creating media, consumerism, and other educational issues. The media
page is especially practical and there are suggested readings and
valuable web links.
March 2012 - The National Study of Youth and Religion has released a new report entitled: Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood (Oxford
University Press, 2011) by Christian Smith with Kari Christoffersen,
Hilary Davidson and Patricia Snell Herzog. This report on the darker
side of emerging adult life integrates many implications from previous
works: Soul Searching and Souls in Transition.
Apparently, life on the digital continent (where most emerging adults
live) is less ideal than we digital immigrants (most church leaders) can
imagine. Admittedly, young Christians are waiting longer to marry,
have children, join a church or settle into a career. As a result,
they enjoy more freedom, opportunities and perhaps even personal growth
than previous generations. But this comes at a cost - complexity,
uncertainty, restlessness and instability.
In Lost in Transition, Christian Smith reports on in-depth interviews with emerging adults (ages 18-23) to explore what ails them the most, the perceived causes and consequences for emerging adults and the rest of us. Some of the most predictable culprits include: hyper-consumerism, inflated and expensive educational credentials, individualist-addictions, moral relativism, and economic insecurity. Many young people today: are easily bored, seek little beyond material satisfaction, have shortsighted relational goals, make utilitarian moral choices, and seem disengaged from civic and political life. All of this is actually reflective of broad inconsistencies in the postmodern American culture.
Who is to blame? According to this and similar reports, the blame is shared by many institutions that served as moorings of personal identity, vocational direction and transcendent purposefulness in the lives of young people. The church in particular is becoming more partisan, intramural, irrelevant and inaccessible to young Christians. While young Christians find radical faith just as irresistible as past generations, they are finding it harder to come by - at home, at church, in the workplace and in local communities. This book is a wake-up call to churches. To be relevant we must regain the depth of purpose that made us irresistible to generations past.
In Lost in Transition, Christian Smith reports on in-depth interviews with emerging adults (ages 18-23) to explore what ails them the most, the perceived causes and consequences for emerging adults and the rest of us. Some of the most predictable culprits include: hyper-consumerism, inflated and expensive educational credentials, individualist-addictions, moral relativism, and economic insecurity. Many young people today: are easily bored, seek little beyond material satisfaction, have shortsighted relational goals, make utilitarian moral choices, and seem disengaged from civic and political life. All of this is actually reflective of broad inconsistencies in the postmodern American culture.
Who is to blame? According to this and similar reports, the blame is shared by many institutions that served as moorings of personal identity, vocational direction and transcendent purposefulness in the lives of young people. The church in particular is becoming more partisan, intramural, irrelevant and inaccessible to young Christians. While young Christians find radical faith just as irresistible as past generations, they are finding it harder to come by - at home, at church, in the workplace and in local communities. This book is a wake-up call to churches. To be relevant we must regain the depth of purpose that made us irresistible to generations past.
January 2012 - Who is minding the exits? Mosaics are leaving. This is the largest and most diverse and disengaged generation that the church has ever seen. Who are they? What are their expectations of the church? Why is this critical to vibrant faith in all of our communities? According to David Kinnaman who wrote You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving the Church and Rethinking Faith the emerging generation that for lack of a better description have been called Millennials or the Y-Generation, might better be called Mosaics. Why? Because there is a far more complex character to this generation than can be summarized by simplistic labels based on calendar or relative position to their predecessors. Some of the defining characteristics in the Mosaic generation include: experimental approach to life which is active and stressed; adaptable and paradoxical approach to processing information; diverse relationships that are in a constant state of flux; a utilitarian ("whatever works") system of ethics; a customized, patchwork spirituality for deriving personal meaning in life; tolerance for the view of others; high expectations for life on their own terms with access and participation using technology to control life and stay connected with others. How does this impact our work of evangelization? Read more from David Kinnaman about Mosaics...
December 2011 - Top Trends of 2011: Barna presents a quick overview of the most significant driving forces that have emerged this year. These include: The Digital Family, Downsized American Dream, Millennials Rethinking Christianity, Women Making it Alone, Maximizing Spiritual Change, Changing Role of Christianity. One of the most significant is the adoption of technology in the American home. This trend crosses socioeconomic lines, though it is dominant with younger and richer among us. Read more...
November 2011 - The Myths about why young adults leave the church are not so surprising. And the real reasons are not so scary. Most of those who do leave do not leave the church as a result of high school disenchantment. College experiences are most significant. There are different reasons for why some stay and some leave, even in the same families. And they will not naturally gravitate back to church to be married or baptize their children as we once presumed. Read more...
June 2011 - Can our churches help young people decide what they want to be when they grow up? According to the latest Barna research, the answer is decidedly YES!. "With the vast majority of teenagers hoping to experience and graduate from college someday (see previous Barna study on this subject), Kinnaman suggested that college and career decisions represent an important opportunity for faith leaders to influence students." Read more...
March 2011 - The Nielsen Social Media Report Q3 2011 has stunning findings about the pervasive and still growing influence of social media on Americans of ALL ages. Did you know that when compared to the average adult internet user, active social networkers are more likely to be at political rallies, review products and trust the recommendations of their peers online. Also they are...
... 45% more likely to go on a date.
... 18% more likely to work out at a gym.
... 75% more likely to be a heavy spender on music.
... 47% more likely to spend alot on clothing.
And did you know?...
... active internet users - 80% of internet users visit social networks or blogs.
... 70% of active adult online social networkers shop online.
... while females are more likely Facebookers, more younger females are finding Tumblr worth a tumble.
... the typical blogger earns over $75K a year.
... over twice as many people 55+ visited social networks on their mobile phones than last year.
... social networking is one of the top categories of apps used by smartphone owners, only exceeded by weather and games (many of
which are multiplayer).
Visit the site to download a copy of the full report.
Thinking that just getting teens to participate in a youth group is the answer to passing on faith? Think again, say the authors of Sticky Faith who have studied what make faith stick during college. You may be surprised to know how important you are in the faith choices made by young adults.
December 2011 - Top Trends of 2011: Barna presents a quick overview of the most significant driving forces that have emerged this year. These include: The Digital Family, Downsized American Dream, Millennials Rethinking Christianity, Women Making it Alone, Maximizing Spiritual Change, Changing Role of Christianity. One of the most significant is the adoption of technology in the American home. This trend crosses socioeconomic lines, though it is dominant with younger and richer among us. Read more...
November 2011 - The Myths about why young adults leave the church are not so surprising. And the real reasons are not so scary. Most of those who do leave do not leave the church as a result of high school disenchantment. College experiences are most significant. There are different reasons for why some stay and some leave, even in the same families. And they will not naturally gravitate back to church to be married or baptize their children as we once presumed. Read more...
June 2011 - Can our churches help young people decide what they want to be when they grow up? According to the latest Barna research, the answer is decidedly YES!. "With the vast majority of teenagers hoping to experience and graduate from college someday (see previous Barna study on this subject), Kinnaman suggested that college and career decisions represent an important opportunity for faith leaders to influence students." Read more...
March 2011 - The Nielsen Social Media Report Q3 2011 has stunning findings about the pervasive and still growing influence of social media on Americans of ALL ages. Did you know that when compared to the average adult internet user, active social networkers are more likely to be at political rallies, review products and trust the recommendations of their peers online. Also they are...
... 45% more likely to go on a date.
... 18% more likely to work out at a gym.
... 75% more likely to be a heavy spender on music.
... 47% more likely to spend alot on clothing.
And did you know?...
... active internet users - 80% of internet users visit social networks or blogs.
... 70% of active adult online social networkers shop online.
... while females are more likely Facebookers, more younger females are finding Tumblr worth a tumble.
... the typical blogger earns over $75K a year.
... over twice as many people 55+ visited social networks on their mobile phones than last year.
... social networking is one of the top categories of apps used by smartphone owners, only exceeded by weather and games (many of
which are multiplayer).
Visit the site to download a copy of the full report.
Thinking that just getting teens to participate in a youth group is the answer to passing on faith? Think again, say the authors of Sticky Faith who have studied what make faith stick during college. You may be surprised to know how important you are in the faith choices made by young adults.
In Addition...
Faith Formation 2020: Designing the Future of Faith Formation by John Roberto (Lifelong Faith Associates 2010)
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell (Simon and Schuster 2010)
U.S. Religious Landscape Survey - June 23, 2008 Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life
Faith in Flux: Changes in Religious Affiliation in the U.S. April 27, 2009 Pew Research Center.
Almost Christian: What the Faith of Teenagers is Telling the American Church by Kenda Creasy Dean (Oxford, 2010).
American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS 2008) by Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar (Trinity College, 2009).
U.S. Latino Religious Identification 1990-2008: Growth, Diversity & Transformation by Juhem Navarro-Rivera, Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar. Program on Public Values. Hartford: Trinity College 2009.
American Congregations at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century: The National Congregations Study 2008 by Mark Chaves, Shawna Anderson and Jason Byasse.
Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults by Christian Smith and Patricia Snell (Oxford, 2008).
Lifelong Faith Associates (John Roberto)
Gallup Faith Institute (further implications and resources based on Al Winseman's research on church engagement)
Lost? Twenty-Somethings and the Church (Fordham University Event - Conference Videos)
Faith Formation Learning Exchange(research implications for family faith development from John Roberto)
Pew Internet & American Life Project (trends and social forces)
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell (Simon and Schuster 2010)
U.S. Religious Landscape Survey - June 23, 2008 Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life
Faith in Flux: Changes in Religious Affiliation in the U.S. April 27, 2009 Pew Research Center.
Almost Christian: What the Faith of Teenagers is Telling the American Church by Kenda Creasy Dean (Oxford, 2010).
American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS 2008) by Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar (Trinity College, 2009).
U.S. Latino Religious Identification 1990-2008: Growth, Diversity & Transformation by Juhem Navarro-Rivera, Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar. Program on Public Values. Hartford: Trinity College 2009.
American Congregations at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century: The National Congregations Study 2008 by Mark Chaves, Shawna Anderson and Jason Byasse.
Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults by Christian Smith and Patricia Snell (Oxford, 2008).
Lifelong Faith Associates (John Roberto)
Gallup Faith Institute (further implications and resources based on Al Winseman's research on church engagement)
Lost? Twenty-Somethings and the Church (Fordham University Event - Conference Videos)
Faith Formation Learning Exchange(research implications for family faith development from John Roberto)
Pew Internet & American Life Project (trends and social forces)
innovation, planning, strategic, vitality, evangelization, new evangelization, parish, Catholic, renewal, innovation, pastoral planning, faith formation, young adults, Millennials, Mosaics