On Many College Campuses, Some Students Are Turning to Catholicism
Over the last few years, young educated adults are finding Catholicism more attractive than other forms of Christianity. Even at secular universities, these young men and women have settled on the Catholic Church, drawn in by its 2000-year-old intellectual tradition and beauty.
At Stanford University in California, the nation’s top producer of tech entrepreneurs, the local parish has seen a three-fold increase in the number of converts this year compared to 2025. As future members of Silicon Valley, Stanford students are not known for taking initiatives in faith, especially a faith as traditional as Catholicism. But on weekends, over 600 students attend Mass there.
Stanford isn’t alone. The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults is the program that the Catholic Church uses to welcome adults and children past the age of seven into the church. According to data from the prayer app Hallow, college campuses saw the number of students participating in OCIA increase by 115% from the 2024-2025 school year to the 2025-2026 school year. This includes schools like Texas A&M, University of Southern California and Harvard.
READ: Americans Who Attend Church Also More Likely To Believe In Curses
Kyle Lynds, a Southern California native working on a startup, returned to the Catholic faith he grew up in after graduating from Babson College in Massachusetts in 2023. Asked about growth in the Catholic Church, Lynds said, “I think people are fed up with the meaningless pursuit of pleasure.”
He acknowledged the rocky history of the Catholic Church, including recent clergy sexual abuse scandals. Nevertheless, young adults have been drawn to Catholic churches. He said that being connected to something older and bigger than one’s self is a big part of this.
“There is a deep tradition that builds on top of itself. When people get a taste of that, and it feels a little contrarian, they are attracted to Catholicism,” he said.
Bailey Clark, a senior studying Computer Engineering at Union College, a private school in Schenectady, New York, will be confirmed into the Catholic Church this coming Easter. His journey started his junior year, when he began to question the limits of moral relativism and science.
“As an engineer,” he said, “I am often focused on the next thing and the next thing. ‘How can I be more efficient?’”
But, he said that the repetition of Sunday Mass, where the same prayers are done every week and the content focuses on one eternal truth, has provided a steady base for him.
Clark initially became interested in Catholicism after reading the Bible cover to cover and engaging with online Catholic influencers. Specifically influential were Father Mike Schmitz and Bishop Robert Barron, two Catholic prelates with a large online following. Alongside theological discussion, both men often engage with popular movies, music, and media on their platforms.
Lynds said this type of cultural engagement by Catholic intellectuals is owed to a long tradition within the church.
“The tradition often reminds me that God doesn’t just show up in churches,” he said.
For him, Stanford University literature professor and Catholic René Girard, who died at age 91 in 2015, does this.
“He is known as Silicon Valley's philosopher,” and “his ability to relate modern fiction to Gospel and Old Testament stories feels special, even if I don’t understand it all.”
Catholicism’s ability to speak to young intellectuals steeped in a scientific, rational world on both the East and West coasts reflects one way the church has defied odds. But, more astonishing is its growth at Southern colleges, where there are strong, historic evangelical Christian roots.
At Baylor University, a Baptist University in Waco, Texas, the Catholic student center just launched a $10 million campaign for a new 450 seat chapel. This year, around 60 students were confirmed into the Catholic Church at the Great Vigil of Easter. In 2027, 130 students plan to be confirmed.
The rector at St. Peter, Baylor’s Catholic student center, is Father Henry Finch. He grew up going to a Baptist church and converted to Catholicism during his college years at Texas A&M University.
Finch said that the “Catholic tradition has benefitted from Evangelical tradition, especially in the South, where there is a higher percentage of evangelical converts.”
This includes emphasis on a personal relationship with God, emphasis on personal Bible study, and a tradition of strong teaching, he said.
But Finch also clarified that the Catholic tradition offers something unique, especially for young converts.
“There is so much that is ugly in the world,” he said, “and it’s not just current events, but it’s media, music, and all sorts of things.”
He said that “students’ desire for the consolation of beauty, which can provide a glimpse of the world to come, has drawn them in.” The auditory, visual and gustatory details of Mass are distinct from daily life. Some of these elements include the beautiful, sacred music, relics on the altar, colorful sanctuary, and ancient liturgy. At the center of every Mass is the Eucharist, in which Catholics believe Jesus Christ is truly present in the wine and bread they consume.
Zoe Erlenborn, a junior on the pre-law track at Baylor, found interest in Catholicism after studying Biblical texts while abroad at St. Andrews University in Scotland. There, she gained further understanding of what she appreciated about early Christianity.
Upon her return to Baylor, she found that the Catholic Church met her most in her spiritual need. “[The Catholic Church] helps guide us, helps us be the hands and feet of God,” she said. “I lead myself astray often.”
The Mass, she added, helps because “it requires recognition that I am wrong, getting down on my knees, and seeing what is good and right.” When she goes to Mass, she said she often feels awe.
Dr. Charles Ramsey, the university chaplain at Baylor, noted that there is a “renewed interest in this generation in liturgy.” Students are going to Mass because they “enjoy the sound, the beauty, the depth,” he said.
About 20% of every class at Baylor today is Catholic, almost the exact same number as Baptists.
On Sundays, over 1000 students attend St. Peter, with many students overflowing outside of the sanctuary, unable to find seats. Across the nation, there are similar stories. A tradition that has always been at odds with popular culture is now attracting young crowds for that exact reason: it is at odds with popular culture.
“Because the Lord has become man and redeemed humanity, in Catholicism everything is of significance,” Finch added. “And the church will continue to speak to culture in light of her competence.”
Luke Reinkensmeyer is a student at Baylor University and an intern at Religion Unplugged.