Spotlight On Catholics: Nearly Half Of US Adults Have A Connection To The Faith
NEW YORK — Despite declining religious observance across many corners of American life, Catholicism remains a deeply rooted part of the national fabric.
Nearly half of all U.S. adults — 47% — maintain some connection to the Catholic faith, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. The 94-page report, featuring 1,787 self-identified American Catholics, revealed a complex and diverse picture of Catholic identity in the United States.
While only 20% of U.S. adults currently identify as Catholic by religion, millions more hold cultural, familial or historical ties to the church. Among those who identify as Catholic by religion, levels of observance differ significantly. While some are devout in their practice, others are far less engaged:
— 50% of Catholics say they pray daily
— 28% attend Mass at least once a week
— 23% go to confession at least once a year
— Only 13% of Catholics do all three
At the other end of the spectrum, 13% of Catholics reported never or rarely engaging in any of the abovementioned core practices. The vast majority — 74% — fall somewhere in between, participating in at least one religious activity a year, but not in all three, the report said.
To be a Catholic in America in 2025 means navigating a complex intersection of faith, politics, culture, and identity at a time of significant social change and polarization.
For many, it's about maintaining a traditional set of beliefs in an increasingly secular or pluralistic society, while for others it's about reinterpreting Catholic teachings to fit a modern, diverse context.
Defining religious identity
Like many religious groups, the Catholic Church in the U.S. has experienced declining attendance and vocations. Yet there are also signs of renewal in movements such as the Latin Mass resurgence, youth-focused communities and charismatic renewal groups. The synodal process encouraged by Pope Francis also sparked more lay involvement in recent years.
The survey explored how Catholics define their religious identity. A strong majority — 69% — said that having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is essential to what it means to be Catholic. Another 21% view it as important but not essential, while just 8% consider it unimportant.
Regular church attendance plays a major role in shaping Catholic identity. Those who attend Mass weekly were far more likely to view core Catholic teachings and practices as essential. For example, 91% of weekly Mass-goers said a personal relationship with Jesus is essential, compared to 60% of less frequent attendees. At the same time, 83% of weekly attenders said receiving the Eucharist is essential, compared to 32% among others.
These devout Catholics are also more likely to engage in distinctive Catholic practices like praying the rosary and honoring saints or the Virgin Mary.
Furthermore, a large majority of U.S. Catholics express favorable views of their parish priests – 71% view their priests favorably, compared with 4% who view them unfavorably.
That figure is especially encouraging following the long list of scandals centered around clergy sex abuse that have dominated the Catholic Church over the last two decades. At the same time, a decline in vocations has forced the American church to import priests from Africa in order in order to run parishes.
Overall, 1.5% of U.S. adults are converts to Catholicism. That is, they say they are Catholics when asked about their present religion, but — when asked in a separate question about the religion in which they were raised — they say they were not raised Catholic.
The findings come during a moment of transition for the global church. The survey was conducted shortly before the death of Pope Francis this past April and the election of his successor Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S. born pontiff in history.
This latest report underscores both the enduring presence of Catholicism in American life and the many ways it continues to evolve. While traditional religious observance may be declining, cultural and familial ties to Catholicism remain strong—making it one of the most complex and deeply interwoven faiths in the United States today.
Many people who were raised Catholic leave the faith as adults. Indeed, 43% of all U.S. adults who were raised as Catholics no longer identify, religiously, as Catholic today (though some of them still identify as Catholic aside from religion).
This latest survey asked people who have left the faith, “What is the main reason you are no longer Catholic?”
“Respondents offer a wide variety of answers, the most common of which relate to disagreements with the church’s teachings. Overall, 18% of U.S. adults who have left Catholicism say that they changed their beliefs or that their values no longer align with the church’s values,” the study said.
Pew Research Center analyzed two surveys to uncover these new findings: The 2023-24 U.S. Religious Landscape Study and a smaller, but more recent, survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 3-9, which included many questions designed specifically for Catholics.
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged.