{"id":262277,"date":"2025-06-16T13:52:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T17:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=262277"},"modified":"2026-05-01T11:45:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:45:54","slug":"catholic-connections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/06\/16\/catholic-connections\/","title":{"rendered":"7. Catholic connections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-style-plus-icon has-border-color has-ui-gray-light-border-color has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-background has-sans-serif-font-family is-layout-flow wp-container-core-details-is-layout-61b01db2 wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\" style=\"border-width:1px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);font-size:clamp(0.875em, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 0.2em) * 0.009), 0.88em);\"><summary>Terminology<\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout this report, when we use the term <strong>Catholic<\/strong> we are referring to U.S. adults who say they are Catholic when asked about their religion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We use the following terms when referring to people who are <em>not<\/em> Catholic by religion, but <em>are<\/em> connected to the faith in other ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Cultural Catholics<\/strong> say they consider themselves Catholic \u201caside from religion\u201d (e.g., ethnically, culturally, or because of their family background).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Former Catholics<\/strong> were raised in the faith tradition but no longer identify as Catholic, religiously or culturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>People who are connected to Catholicism in other ways<\/strong> are not Catholic by religion or culture, nor are they former Catholics. But they report having a Catholic parent, spouse or partner, or say yes when asked if they ever attend Mass.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the United States, there are almost as many \u201ccultural Catholics\u201d and former Catholics, combined, as there are people who identify religiously as Catholic. In our Feb. 3-9, 2025, survey, 20% of U.S. adults are Catholic by religion, meaning they say they are Catholic when asked about their religion. Throughout this report, we refer to this group simply as \u201cCatholic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, 18% of U.S. adults are <em>not<\/em> Catholics by religion, but they <em>are<\/em> either cultural Catholics (9%) or former Catholics (9%). By \u201ccultural Catholics,\u201d we mean people who say in the survey that they are Catholic \u201caside from religion,\u201d for example, ethnically, culturally, or because of their family background, but who do <em>not <\/em>say they are Catholic when asked directly about their religion. We define \u201cformer Catholics\u201d as people who were raised Catholic but who don\u2019t identify as Catholic today, either religiously or \u201caside from religion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, another 9% of U.S. adults are connected to Catholicism in other ways. These are people who don\u2019t fit into the Catholic, cultural Catholic or former Catholic categories, but who have a Catholic parent, spouse or partner, or say \u201cyes\u201d when asked whether they ever attend Catholic Mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About half of both cultural Catholics and former Catholics are religious \u201cnones,\u201d meaning they describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or \u201cnothing in particular\u201d when asked about their present religion. The remainder of people in these groups identify with a religion other than Catholicism (mostly with other Christian groups).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=262360\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f0f3f4\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f0f3f4;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-01.png?resize=480,554 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-01.png?resize=782,903 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-01.png?resize=960,1109 960w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-01.png?resize=1200,1386 1200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-01.png?resize=1280,1478 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"739\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-01.png?w=887\" alt=\"Chart showing nearly half of Americans have Catholic connections\" class=\"wp-image-262360 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The rest of this chapter provides more information about:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#cultural-catholics-and-former-catholics\">\u2018Cultural Catholics\u2019 and former Catholics<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#why-do-cultural-catholics-say-they-identify-as-catholic-aside-from-religion\">Why \u2018cultural Catholics\u2019 say they identify as Catholic \u2018aside from religion\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#other-catholic-connections\">Other Catholic connections<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#reasons-people-give-for-leaving-the-catholic-church\">Reasons people give for leaving the Catholic Church<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;cultural-catholics-and-former-catholics&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cultural-catholics-and-former-catholics\">Cultural Catholics and former Catholics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, 53% of \u201ccultural Catholics\u201d identify with religions other than Catholicism, including 47% who are part of other Christian traditions and 7% who identify with non-Christian religions. The remainder of cultural Catholics (47%) are religiously unaffiliated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=262361\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f1f1f1\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f1f1f1;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-02.png?resize=480,1260 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-02.png?resize=620,1628 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"814\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-02.png?w=390\" alt=\"Table showing the religious profile of cultural Catholics and former Catholics\" class=\"wp-image-262361 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking at former Catholics, 46% identify with religions other than Catholicism, including 37% who are in other Christian traditions and 8% who identify with other (non-Christian) religions. About half of former Catholics (54%) are religiously unaffiliated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-they-were-raised\">How they were raised<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among cultural Catholics, 44% say they were raised Catholic, while 37% were raised in other Christian traditions and 16% were raised religiously unaffiliated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By definition, 100% of former Catholics were raised Catholic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"their-religious-practices-today\">Their religious practices today<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vast majorities of cultural Catholics and former Catholics are not involved in Catholic practices today. Indeed, 83% of cultural Catholics and 96% of former Catholics say they seldom or never attend Catholic Mass. Eight-in-ten cultural Catholics and 94% of former Catholics say they seldom or never pray the rosary or participate in devotions to Mary or other saints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Furthermore, 82% of former Catholics say it would be \u201cnot too important\u201d or \u201cnot at all important\u201d to them to receive the anointing of the sick if they were seriously ill. This figure is somewhat lower among cultural Catholics (54%). Among cultural Catholics, 8% say receiving the anointing of the sick would be \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d important to them, while 18% say it would be \u201csomewhat\u201d important and 19% say they are not sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;why-do-cultural-catholics-say-they-identify-as-catholic-aside-from-religion&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-do-cultural-catholics-say-they-identify-as-catholic-aside-from-religion\">Why do cultural Catholics say they identify as Catholic \u2018aside from religion\u2019?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The survey asked cultural Catholics to describe, in their own words, in what way they consider themselves Catholic. The most common type of response describes having some sort of Catholic background (32%), such as having been raised Catholic, having cultural or ethnic ties to Catholicism, or having attended Catholic school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-310-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=262362\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f1f1f1\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f1f1f1;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-03.png?resize=480,1239 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-03.png?resize=620,1600 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"800\" width=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-03.png?w=397\" alt=\"Table showing that background and relationships contribute to the \u2018cultural Catholic\u2019 identity\" class=\"wp-image-262362 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many cultural Catholics also describe relationships with Catholics (27%) as contributing to why they consider themselves Catholics. For instance, these respondents point to having Catholic parents, extended family members, friends or spouses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, 23% of cultural Catholics mention beliefs that connect them to Catholicism, such as belief in God or elements of Catholic teaching. And 12% mention practices related to Catholicism, such as celebrating holidays, attending Mass or prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The survey also asked cultural Catholics whether each of a series of beliefs, practices and other traits are \u201cessential\u201d to what being Catholic means to them, \u201cimportant but not essential,\u201d or \u201cnot an important part\u201d of what being Catholic means to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall, 44% say having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is essential to what being Catholic means to them, and 41% say the same about \u201cworking to help the poor and needy.\u201d Roughly three-in-ten (28%) say caring for immigrants is \u201cessential\u201d to their Catholic identity, and an identical share mention \u201ctaking care of the environment.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Compared with Catholics by religion, smaller shares of cultural Catholics say most of the items asked about in the survey are essential to what being Catholic means to them. (For a description of how people who identify religiously as Catholic answered this question, jump to <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/06\/16\/essentials-of-catholic-identity\/\">Chapter 1<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=262363\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f3f3f3\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f3f3f3;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-04.png?resize=480,383 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-04.png?resize=782,623 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-04.png?resize=960,765 960w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-04.png?resize=1200,956 1200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-04.png?resize=1280,1020 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"510\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-04.png?w=1024\" alt=\"Table showing 44% of cultural Catholics say having a personal relationship with Jesus is essential to their idea of Catholic identity, and 41% say this about helping the poor\" class=\"wp-image-262363 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;other-catholic-connections&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"other-catholic-connections\">Other Catholic connections<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall, the survey finds that 9% of U.S. adults are connected to Catholicism in ways <em>other<\/em> than being Catholic by religion, culturally Catholic, or formerly Catholic. To put it another way, people in this group do not fit into any of those three categories but they do have a Catholic parent, spouse or partner or they say \u201cyes\u201d when asked whether they ever attend Catholic Mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than half (57%) of the people in this group have a Catholic parent. Roughly one-third say \u201cyes\u201d when asked whether they ever attend Catholic Mass. And 25% have a Catholic spouse or partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In total, 13% of people in this group have more than one of these kinds of connections to the faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;reasons-people-give-for-leaving-the-catholic-church&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"reasons-people-give-for-leaving-the-catholic-church\">Reasons people give for leaving the Catholic Church<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall, <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/religious-switching\/#net-gains-and-losses-among-religious-traditions\">13% of all adults in the U.S. population<\/a> say they were raised Catholic but that they no longer religiously identify as Catholic. The survey asked people in this group an open-ended question: \u201cWhat is the main reason you are no longer Catholic?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall, 18% of the people answering this question cite changed beliefs as the main reason they left Catholicism or say they hold different beliefs than the church. An additional 10% say they were never particularly committed to the church to begin with, and\/or that they grew away from it. Another 9% say they stopped believing in God or left religion altogether, and 8% mention abuse scandals in the church as the key factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-640-wide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=262568\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f2f3f3\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f2f3f3;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-05.png?resize=480,605 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-05.png?resize=782,986 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-05.png?resize=960,1211 960w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-05.png?resize=1200,1513 1200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-05.png?resize=1280,1614 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"807\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/PR_2025.06.16_catholic-life-in-us_07-05.png?w=812\" alt=\"Table showing the reasons people give for leaving the Catholic Church\" class=\"wp-image-262568 not-transparent\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About three-in-ten are \u201ccultural\u201d or former Catholics, or have other ties to the faith. 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Essentials of Catholic identity","slug":"essentials-of-catholic-identity","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/06\/16\/essentials-of-catholic-identity\/","is_active":false},{"id":262193,"title":"2. Catholic practices and devotions","slug":"catholic-practices-and-devotions","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/06\/16\/catholic-practices-and-devotions\/","is_active":false},{"id":262236,"title":"3. Catholic parish life, culture and community","slug":"catholic-parish-life-culture-and-community","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2025\/06\/16\/catholic-parish-life-culture-and-community\/","is_active":false},{"id":262238,"title":"4. 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