As fewer people attend mass in the Catholic church, some blame old scandals and busy lives, while others see more young people and strong believers keeping the faith alive. According to the Trustandhope.org, only 83% of Catholics participate in the sacramental life of the church, and according to the Pew Research Center, only 29% of Americans are religiously affiliated.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of modern life, some Catholics find themselves attending church less frequently.
Abby Williams ‘25 captures this sentiment by describing herself as a ‘Chr-Easter.’ She explains, “I feel like people are just so busy these days. there’s so much going on that they just get caught up in other things…I’m a ‘Chr-Easter.’”
This is a statement that was often said by Mounties when asked how often they go to Church. The popularized term, “Chr-Easter” generally means that the person considers themselves culturally Catholic, but they only attend mass on Christmas and Easter.
In addition, the abuse scandals within the church have also been seen as another reason why mass attendance is declining.
“I think the scandal turned a lot of people away. A lot of people feel that there’s hypocrisy in the church and they feel that going to church doesn’t necessarily make you holier or better than people who don’t go to church.” Mr. Anthony Nardini, Social Studies teacher, said.
On the other hand, some argue that the core of American Catholicism remains resilient. Theology teacher, Mr. Michael Nevadomski, believes that many people continue to practice their faith regularly.
“The trend in American Catholicism is actually very steady,” Nevadomski said.
Mr. Nevadomski explains that people often go to church when it is more easily convenient to them, and when it is not, they often tend to not go.
“The closer that you live and the more easily accessible it is to a place the more you’re going to go there, it’s kind of like a gym,” Nevadomski said.
While some see a decline, others notice a resurgence in youth involvement.
Izzy Mellos, an active member of the Mount liturgy service team, shares her observations, “I go to church three days a week. Sometimes it’s three days a week, sometimes never… I feel like our generation didn’t go as much but I feel like now there’s more of a tick. Now I see more people my age compared to like five years ago.”
The church served as a support system for people when the pandemic hit globally. Losing structure in their lives, many people were searching for something else. This has trickled into a recent uptick in youth participation in the church since the pandemic.
“I think people need to reconnect to a lost history. We are all being asked to really understand the time that we are living in, and realize that God is offering us something and we each have a chance to take part in it,” Sister Charlene Diorka said.
Theology teacher Mrs. Maureen Furletti encourages young people, especially Mounties, to get involved in their church. She also encourages those who have their license to drive themselves to mass to experience their faith in community.
“As a Catholic, I believe that Christ is in the Eucharist. Mass is the summit of our Catholic faith. By going to mass I’m meeting Christ in Eucharist. It is also about being in relationship with God and others. At mass on the weekends, I’m with my family, I’m with my community,” Mrs. Furletti said.
When touching on the topic of how to get people to come back to the church, Sister Charlene said, “You see how things fluctuate, how people come back, that’s the mercy of God. God says ‘I don’t know how to be any different but to be loving and merciful, so if you give me a nod in that direction I’m going to be there for you.’”
