Churches See Growing Presence of Young People Amid Overall Decline in Religious Attendance

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW!

• A recent study published by the American Enterprise Institute and the University of Chicago confirms that the demographic category of 18- to 29-year-olds saw the most dramatic decline in religious attendance since Covid.
• The share of Americans who never go to church increased from 25 percent to 33 percent.
• Some churches have seen a growing presence of young people, which can be attributed to liturgical and doctrinal orthodoxy and a strong community.

The American Enterprise Institute and the University of Chicago recently published a study showing a decline in religious attendance among young adults aged 18-29 since Covid. The study found that after Covid, 43% of this group said they never go to church, compared to 30% before.

The authors predict that the post-pandemic religious decline may portend increasing religious polarization, with more Americans either very religiously active or completely inactive. The overall share of Americans who never go to church increased from 25% to 33%.

However, some churches have seen a growing presence of young people. Fr. Daniel Gee, pastor of St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Front Royal, Virginia, reported that the young adult group at his parish is bigger than ever. Fr. Gee attributes this growth to liturgical and doctrinal orthodoxy and a strong community.

He increased liturgical offerings, not just as a strategic goal, but as a matter of conscience, saying, “How can I not do everything I can to provide a space for everyone to come and worship? It’s just that simple.”

Fr. John Whiteford, pastor of St. Jonah Orthodox Church in Spring, Texas, also experienced a similar growth at his parish. The church got back to normal relatively quickly after a few weeks of functioning at half capacity. Fr. Whiteford said that about 140 congregants come to his church every Sunday, “but the fire marshal says we’re not supposed to have more than 145 people. So we really are running out of space.” Of those 140, about 70 to 80 stay for a meal after the Sunday liturgy.

Fr. John Vidal, a priest of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter and pastor of St. Luke’s at Ignatius Church in Fort Washington, Maryland, thinks that the lockdowns and response from the Church scared a big segment of the population into inactivity, namely the elderly.

He believes that the lesson from this is to “never, ever, ever, ever, ever cancel Mass again and suggest that the Eucharist is not absolutely central to everything we do.”

Source: themericanconservative.com