Young Latino Catholics

Jesus lives in our personal stories. This is the clear message from the young adult Hispanic Catholic authors in this exciting volume. They candidly share their joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties as they navigate life in the U.S. as Hispanics and as Christian disciples. Numerous young Latinas and Latinos are and want to remain Catholic. Many, however, feel abandoned by the institution and the faith communities that at one point introduced them—and their families—to the living Christ and his Gospel message. If you share in some way that sentiment, the stories in this volume are a reminder that you are not alone. Welcome to a communion of young women and men who find grace in sharing and listening to their particular stories of faith. Pastoral leaders reading this book are invited to listen attentively to young adult Latina and Latino Catholics as they forge fresh ways of being Christian in the United States. “It is so heartening to hear the voices of young Latino Catholics and their stories. Hosffman Ospino and Tim Matovino have assembled an inspiring collection of witnesses who lend hope for the future of our faith—it will be in good hands! All of us can hear the great Story anew through each of these fresh stories.” —Thomas Groome, professor of theology and religious education, Boston College “Young Latino Catholics! These fourteen heartwarming stories of Latino/a young adults call all of us would-be disciples to a life of zealous faith in the Spirit of Christ. Reading this book will stir hearts and ignite energies. The Reign of God Lives!!” —Nancy Pineda-Madrid, T. Marie Chilton Chair of Catholic Theology, Loyola Marymount University

Discusses the growing population of Hispanic-Americans worshipping in the Catholic Church in the United States.

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.

Timothy Matovina and Hosffman Ospino join their voices in this coauthored collaboration that brings together their best insights about ministry with Hispanic Catholics in the United States. Drawing from research and analysis done during the last decade, Matovina and Ospino help us to understand important realities that define the U.S. Hispanic Catholic experience today.

Through dozens of original documents ¡Presente! offers readers the story of Latino/Hispanic Catholicism from 1534 to the present. From the first mission encounters in the sixteenth century, to Cesar Chavez and the UFW, to the beginnings of mujerista theology in the 1980s, this collection offers a unique and indispensable look at the community that has become the largest ethnic component in the American Catholic Church today.

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.

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.

"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