Young Adult American Catholics

A complete picture of vocation among young Catholic adults today using up-to-date sociological research with contributions from a broad perspective of young American Catholics.

"Leaders of the American Catholic community want to and need to reach out to young adults. But effective ministry to young adults depends on an understanding of the attitudes and the needs of the current generation of Catholics in their 20s and 30s. This is why Dean Hoge, William Dinges, Mary Johnson, and Juan Gonzales began their study of young adult Catholics. How do they actually live their Catholicism? Are they alienated from the church? Are they cynical about the church's moral teachings? Do they take the pope's statements seriously? Do they attend Mass? Have significant numbers left for other churches? Do they want Catholic education for their children?" "Seeking answers to these and other questions, the authors conducted a national survey in 1997, supplemented by a telephone survey and then by personal interviews with over 800 men and women across the country. The interviews put a human face on the information provided, and they form a compelling part of this timely narrative. Of special interest is the focus on Latino Catholics. The authors underscore observations that include the strength and tenacity of Catholic identity in spite of many challenges, the high level of personal decision making among those interviewed and surveyed, and the readiness of young Catholics for institutional reforms."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Best Review at the Catholic Press Association Convention Studies of young American Catholics over the last three decades suggest a growing crisis in the Catholic Church: compared to their elders, young Catholics are looking to the Church less as they form their identities, and fewer of them can even explain what it means to be Catholic and why that matters. Young Catholic America, the latest book based on the groundbreaking National Study of Youth and Religion, explores a crucial stage in the life of Catholics. Drawing on in-depth surveys and interviews of Catholics and ex-Catholics ages 18 to 23--a demographic commonly known as early "emerging adulthood"--leading sociologist Christian Smith and his colleagues offer a wealth of insight into the wide variety of religious practices and beliefs among young Catholics today, the early influences and life-altering events that lead them to embrace the Church or abandon it, and how being Catholic affects them as they become full-fledged adults. Beyond its rich collection of statistical data, the book includes vivid case studies of individuals spanning a full decade, as well as insight into the twentieth-century events that helped to shape the Church and its members in America. An innovative contribution to what we know about religion in the United States and the evolving Catholic Church, Young Catholic America is the definitive source for anyone seeking to understand what it means to be young and Catholic in America today.

Christian Smith, Kyle Longest, Jonathan Hill, and Kari Christoffersen examine the development of the religious and spiritual lives of American Catholic teenagers as they grow up, graduate from high school, and leave home.

This book carefully explores the claim that young adults (18 to 35) are leaving Catholicism in the United States. According to primary empirical research, many young adults stay and do so living their faith in engaged ways. Most, however, do not do it in the traditional context of the parish. Young adult Catholics are living their faith and spiritual life largely in small faith communities, ecclesial movements, faith-based affinity groups, at home, and through individual practice. The description of research findings is supplemented by commentaries from leaders in evangelization and young adult ministry, from both a theological and a sociological perspective. In a church that is more culturally diverse and increasingly Hispanic, this book offers key insights to better understand the spirituality of young adult Catholics today. Contributors include Mark M. Gray, Michal J. Kramarek, Claudia Avila Cosnahan, Allan Figueroa Deck, SJ, Hosffman Ospino, Darius Villalobos, Patricia Wittberg, SC, and Thomas P. Gaunt, SJ.

2023 Catholic Media Association Second Place Award, Pastoral Ministry – Youth & Young Adult 2023 Catholic Media Association Second Place Award, Future Church This book carefully explores the claim that young adults (18 to 35) are leaving Catholicism in the United States. According to primary empirical research, many young adults stay and do so living their faith in engaged ways. Most, however, do not do it in the traditional context of the parish. Young adult Catholics are living their faith and spiritual life largely in small faith communities, ecclesial movements, faith-based affinity groups, at home, and through individual practice. The description of research findings is supplemented by commentaries from leaders in evangelization and young adult ministry, from both a theological and a sociological perspective. In a church that is more culturally diverse and increasingly Hispanic, this book offers key insights to better understand the spirituality of young adult Catholics today. Contributors include Mark M. Gray, Michal J. Kramarek, Claudia Avila Cosnahan, Allan Figueroa Deck, SJ, Hosffman Ospino, Darius Villalobos, Patricia Wittberg, SC, and Thomas P. Gaunt, SJ.

John Fulton, Teresa Dowling, Anthony M. Abela, Irena Borowik, Penny Long Marler, and Luigi Tomasi. How religious are young Catholics today? Focusing on the experiences of young Catholics in the U.S., Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Poland, and Malta

American Catholics Today presents trends in American Catholic opinion from 1987 to 2005, using four identical surveys. These surveys depict trends in Catholics' views of the sacraments, church authority, church teachings in the area of sex and gender, and strength of Catholic identity. This book suggests that the future will see more Catholics making decisions about their own faith and fewer Catholics who are fervently committed to church life.