Research center says Mass attendance steady in recent years

Published: 2005-01-12

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate said Mass attendance by self-identifying U.S. Catholics "remained fairly unchanged" between 2000 and 2004 despite the clergy sexual abuse crisis that intervened. In a report released Jan. 10, the Georgetown University-based independent Catholic research agency said there is a long-term decline in Mass attendance by Catholics, but that trend "is best explained by generational change and not any large segment of the Catholic population changing their patterns of Mass attendance." CARA said it has conducted 10 national polls between September 2000 and September 2004 in which people who identified themselves as Catholic were asked a variety of questions, including, "Aside from weddings and funerals, about how often do you attend Mass?" In September 2000, 33 percent of the respondents said they attend Mass "at least once a week." In September 2004, 31 percent gave that response. In the intervening polls, five produced responses in the 32-34 percent range and three produced responses of 35 percent or higher.

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