The Catholic Church, once the moral compass and cultural pillar of the West, is now facing one of its gravest challenges in centuries, her decline. In a new survey published by Pew Research Center on June 16, 2025, a startling pattern emerges about the state of Catholicism in the United States. Although nearly half of U.S. adults (47%) claim some personal or family connection to the Catholic faith, only 20% of them are actual practicing Catholics. The remaining 27% consist of former Catholics, cultural Catholics, or people connected to Catholic relatives. This raises serious questions about the future of Catholicism in the country.

Of the 20% who identify as practicing Catholics, only half report praying every day, 28% regularly attend Sunday Mass, and just 23% go to Confession at least once a year. These numbers show a Church that, while still present, has become spiritually stagnant for many of its members. Even among the faithful who still attend Sunday Mass weekly, a majority (62%) now prefer to receive Communion in the hand, with only 21% opting for the more traditional practice of receiving on the tongue. This is a shift that perhaps reflects not just a change in discipline, but a change in belief and reverence.

The most painful statistic is that 43% of all U.S. adults who were raised Catholic no longer identify as such today. While 1.5% of Americans have converted to Catholicism, it is a small gain compared to the massive loss through apostasy. This suggests that the Church is losing more members than she is gaining, and its influence is shrinking even among those who were once in her fold.

In terms of worship preference, only 13% of Catholics have attended a Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at least once in the past five years. Among them, a committed 2% attend TLM every week. Though these numbers are small, they represent a core of Catholics who are often more devout, more generous in vocation, and more open to having large families compared to the average Catholic. These are not insignificant details. They hint at where revival might begin if Church leaders are just willing to listen.

When we expand our view to the global landscape, the picture becomes even more troubling. According to another Pew study published on June 9, 2025, Christianity, including Catholicism, grew by 121.6 million people between 2010 and 2020. In contrast, Islam grew by 346.8 million, the religiously unaffiliated by 270.1 million, and Hinduism by 126.3 million. The main drivers for the growth in Islam and Hinduism are high birth rates. Meanwhile, the growth of the “nones” is a direct result of people, mostly Christians, leaving religion entirely.

If Catholicism wants to survive and thrive in the coming centuries, its leaders must act decisively and wisely. A key strategy would be to encourage larger families and refresh the spiritual lives of the faithful through solid catechesis. But all of this should start with worship. The Holy Eucharist, being the source and summit of the Christian life, must be treated with utmost reverence. Many Catholics today feel disconnected because the Novus Ordo Mass is often celebrated in a casual or even irreverent manner. Reforming the way the Mass is celebrated, either by making the Novus Ordo more reverent or by allowing greater access to the Traditional Latin Mass, could rekindle a Sense of the Sacred and attract back those who are spiritually starved.

These studies mentioned above and also our own parish experiences confirm that Catholics who attend the TLM or belong to more traditional communities are more likely to embrace the fullness of Catholic teaching, live morally upright lives, and raise more children in the faith. On the other hand, cultural Catholics, those who merely identify as Catholic but live no differently from secular society, rarely pass on the faith to the next generation mainly because of comforts life can offer.

The writing is on the wall. If current trends continue, Christianity risks losing its standing as the largest religion in the world. With fewer priests, Sacraments will become less accessible, which threatens the very salvation of souls. Without renewal, Catholicism may one day become just another chapter in the history books, a relic of a once-great civilization.

But God is faithful. We pray that He raises up new prophets, rooted in Sacred Tradition, to lead His people back to the fullness of the faith. May He grant us the courage to preserve what has been handed down, and the wisdom to see that true reform begins not with compromise, but with fidelity. In God’s holy will, may the Catholic Church rise again.

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