TY - JOUR
T1 - Saint Peter's Leaky Boat
T2 - Falling Intergenerational Persistence among U.S.-Born Catholics since 1974
AU - Hout, Michael
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 The Author.
PY - 2016/1/1
Y1 - 2016/1/1
N2 - Since the 1950s, one-of-four American adults has been a Catholic. That constant fraction hides substantial change. Higher fertility, more immigrants, and a relatively young age distribution implies growth, not stasis. The demographic advantage is reflected in the growing fraction of adults who were raised Catholic. The fraction raised Catholic exceeded one-of-three Americans in recent years. The difference between one-of-four and one-of-three means substantial defection. More than ever, people raised Catholic are leaving; most drop out of organized religion altogether. Measures of core beliefs and strength of identity changed less, overall, implying that it was inactive and weakly identified Catholics who left. Identities, beliefs, and practices among millennials with no religious preference, but Catholic roots underscore the degree to which changes are rooted in disaffection with organized religion. Among people who were raised Catholic, the traditional sexual ethic continued to Erode, but papal authority has not changed across recent cohorts.
AB - Since the 1950s, one-of-four American adults has been a Catholic. That constant fraction hides substantial change. Higher fertility, more immigrants, and a relatively young age distribution implies growth, not stasis. The demographic advantage is reflected in the growing fraction of adults who were raised Catholic. The fraction raised Catholic exceeded one-of-three Americans in recent years. The difference between one-of-four and one-of-three means substantial defection. More than ever, people raised Catholic are leaving; most drop out of organized religion altogether. Measures of core beliefs and strength of identity changed less, overall, implying that it was inactive and weakly identified Catholics who left. Identities, beliefs, and practices among millennials with no religious preference, but Catholic roots underscore the degree to which changes are rooted in disaffection with organized religion. Among people who were raised Catholic, the traditional sexual ethic continued to Erode, but papal authority has not changed across recent cohorts.
KW - Catholicism
KW - attendance
KW - beliefs
KW - demography
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U2 - 10.1093/socrel/srv057
DO - 10.1093/socrel/srv057
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84964296234
SN - 1069-4404
VL - 77
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review
JF - Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review
IS - 1
ER -