Immigrants help fill Catholic Church pews

The American Catholic Church, often described as “a church of immigrants,” is still precisely that. The Pew Research Center reported this spring that four in ten U.S. Catholics are immigrants – 29 percent – or children of immigrants – 14 percent. This is a startling reminder at a time when immigration has become a loaded word, sparking debates and protests throughout the church, country and the world.

The immigrant-nature of the U.S. church is only one insight that Pew researchers discovered and reported on in March. Others include:

The percentage of Americans who self-identify as Catholics has fallen slightly since 2007. Then, 24 percent of the population described themselves as Catholics. Now 20 percent do so. Pew estimates there are about 53 million Catholics in the U.S.

Latino Catholics are on the rise in the church. White Catholics account for 54 percent of the population (down 10 percentage points since 2007). Latinos are 36 percent (up 7 points from 2007). Asian Catholics are 4 percent of the population. Blacks are 2 percent.

Catholics are older than Americans in general. Six in ten Catholic adults – 58 percent – are aged 50 and above, in contrast to 47 percent of all U.S. adults.

Catholics live relatively evenly across the United States. About 29 percent live in the South, 26 percent in the Northeast, 25 percent in the West, and 20 percent in the Midwest.

More than a third of U.S. Catholics (35 percent) have bachelor’s degrees. About 27 percent have some college credits, while 38 percent have high school or lower level education. 

About a third of Catholics (29 percent) say they attend Mass weekly.

Of Catholics who say they are registered voters, 53 percent identify with or are inclined toward the Republican Party; 42 percent with the Democratic party.

While the Catholic Church itself opposes abortion, 59 percent of Catholics say it should be legal.

More details of the Pew Research Center study on U.S. Catholics is available online.

Pixabay image.