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July 28, 2006
More Catholics; Fewer Sacraments
The latest stats on Catholic life in the US, courtesy of the 2006 Official Catholic Directory:
The Catholic population rose about 1.3 million last year, to 69,135,254, the directory said.
However, the number of students in Catholic high schools dropped to just under 680,000, a decline of 13,000. Elementary schools enrolled 1.76 million children, almost 84,000 fewer than the year before.
The number of teachers in Catholic schools dropped by nearly 8,000, to just under 173,000.
There were some 729,000 high school students enrolled in parish religious education programs, 26,000 fewer than the previous year. Elementary students in religious education numbered nearly 3.5 million, but the total was 81,000 below the previous year's figure.
In all, the number of Catholic children receiving faith formation in Catholic schools or religious education programs last year was 204,000 lower than the year before.
Catholic colleges and universities reported 764,000 students, about 9,000 fewer than the year before.
In key sacramental moments, according to the directory:
---There were only about 212,000 church-recognized marriages last year, 11,000 fewer than the year before.
---Confirmations numbered more than 630,000, down 15,000 from the year before.
---First Communions numbered nearly 833,000, a drop of almost 40,000.
---Infant baptisms totaled 943,000, down by 34,000.
---Adult baptisms and receptions into full communion totaled more than 154,000, about the same as the year before.
---There were 438 priestly ordinations, 29 fewer than the year before.
The article notes one typo: The Diocese of Brooklyn has 800 orphanages - imagine that.
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
Comments
It's interesting that the only number not dropping is adult receptions and baptisms. A breakdown on adult vs. 8th grade confirmations would also be helpful. If our diocese (San Francisco) is any indicator, adult confirmations are hitting records each year. Adult confirmation has most often been tied to contracting marriage. But now it is very often tied to a return to the faith of young and middle aged adults whose parents dropped the faith for themselves and their children prior to confirmation.
Posted by: Jack Smith at Jul 29, 2006 12:25:12 AM
I wonder what the confirmation rates for children in different dioceses based upon age of confirmation.
I always worry that using confirmation as a "carrot" to keep people in Religious Ed means less children get confirmed. I know of some Dioceses which confirm as old as 17.
I know of many unconfirmed Catholics who do not continue in the faith, because of embarrasment of not being confirmed (silly, I know, but it happens). Especially since most parishes make you jump through so many hoops to get confirmed as an adult (and as a child, for that matter.)
Supernaturally, it also makes no sense to confirm people AFTER their primary religious education...that is, if we believe Confirmation does what we say it does.
Posted by: Charles Collins at Jul 29, 2006 7:04:56 AM
No surprise that fewer people are sending their children to so-called catholic schools due to expensive, substandard religious education and same as public school academics. Why pay for largely the same content to garbage ratio as a public school when you can get that for free. Many parents who care about their children's religious and academic formation are homeschooling.
The seas are churning, the sky is storming-- time to follow the example of the barque in St. John Bosco's famous vision.
Posted by: tim at Jul 29, 2006 11:40:09 AM
Just out of curiosity, anyone have any stats on Catholic home schooling numbers for the same period?
Posted by: SouthCoast at Jul 29, 2006 1:02:36 PM
Although it's probably impossible, I would love to see stats on the Sacrament of Reconciliation! I'll bet that's scary!
Posted by: Mom of 22B at Jul 30, 2006 8:26:04 AM
