Survey: Religious Identity Slips Among U.S. Catholics, by Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA Today, October 24, 2011

Survey: Religious Identity Slips Among U.S. Catholics

By Cathy Lynn Grossman
USA Today
October 24, 2011

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-10-24/catholic-religious-identity-survey/50891152/1?csp=34news

Forty percent of Catholics surveyed say you can be a good Catholic without believing that in Mass, the bread and wine really become the body and blood of Christ — a core doctrine of Catholicism.

An overwhelming majority, 88%, say "how a person lives is more important than whether he or she is Catholic," according to Catholics in America: Persistence and change in the Catholic landscape.

The survey, a comprehensive look at the beliefs and practices of 1,442 U.S. adults identifying themselves as Catholics, also finds that 86% say "you can disagree with aspects of church teachings and still remain loyal to the church."

And 40% say you can be a good Catholic without believing that in Mass, the bread and wine really become the body and blood of Christ — a core doctrine of Catholicism.

That could reflect the decline in Mass attendance. The survey finds it has declined from 44% attending at least once a week in 1987 to 31% in 2011, while those who attend less than monthly rose from 26% to 47%.

When asked why they don't go to Mass more often, 40% say they are simply not very religious, says sociologist William D'Antonio of Catholic University.

This is the fifth such national survey since 1987, conducted by a team led by D'Antonio and published in The National Catholic Reporter.

Catholic support for "teaching authority claimed by the Vatican" is down to 30% for Catholics of all ages, the survey found.

The church's opposition to the death penalty, same-sex marriage and permitting priests to marry "has not persuaded a majority of Catholics," says Tom Roberts, editor of the National Catholic Reporter and author of a new book on Catholic community life, The Emerging Church.

"When it comes to questions of abortion, non-marital sex, and homosexuality," more than half of Catholics, including those most highly committed to the church in their personal practices, say it's their own moral views, not those of church leaders, that matter, says survey co-author Michele Dillon, chair of the sociology department at the University of New Hampshire.

"They see this as their church and they won't be exiled because there is a doctrine they disagree with," Dillon says. "To be Catholic, even for the highly committed, is to keep the bishops at arm's length. The bishops have lost their credibility to be pastoral and spiritual leaders."

This shows up in Catholics' responses on questions related to the sexual abuse scandal, which exploded in the USA in 2002:

•7% of Catholics say they personally know someone who was a victim of abuse.

•12% say they know a priest accused of abuse.

•83% say the issue has hurt church leaders' political credibility at least somewhat.

•77% say it has hurt priests' ability to meet parishioners' spiritual or pastoral needs.

•Only 29% say the bishops have done a good or excellent job in handling the issue.

The survey also finds the face of the church is changing. Hispanics, who were 10% of U.S. Catholics in 1987, are now 30% overall and 45% of all Catholics ages 18 to 31.

The survey was conducted in English and Spanish between April 25 and May 2. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Other authors include Mary Gautier, senior research associate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., the research arm of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Greg Smith, senior researcher at the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.