Visiting worship in the USA: return to normal after pandemic!

Visiting worship in the USA: return to normal after pandemic!

After the outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic, the number of weekly worship visitors in the United States has stabilized again. Current data from the Center for Apostolate (Cara) at Georgetown University show that 24 percent of American Catholics currently regularly take part in the Sunday mass. This value has not changed since May 2023 and represents a significant improvement compared to the sections of the pandemic when this number fell to only 15 percent. According to Mark Gray, survey director at Cara, the number of worshipers has returned to a "normal" level since Christmas 2024. The number of visitors is still the highest. This development could provide information about the return of young Catholics to the church, emphasizes Gray, since Ash Wednesday, as the beginning of Lent, attracts a particularly large number of young adults, although it is not considered a holiday with a measurement obligation, such as kathpress.at reported.

In the UK, on the other hand, a mixed picture shows: Although the number of visitors to the Sunday mass in 2023 recorded an increase and regularly visited the trade fairs, the numbers are still significantly below the values before the pandemic. The Catholic Bishops' Conference has noted that these numbers are an improvement, but do not show the full return to the pre-crises levels. Professor Stephen Bullivant from St. Mary’s University in London is optimistic about the trend in some areas, such as the increasing number of converts and increased number of visitors on special occasions. Nevertheless, the average number of participants of 829,000 in the years before Covid-19 in England, Wales and Scotland remains an unmatched milestone, so that the Catholic Church is still confronted with challenges. With regard to the influence of abuse scandals, a study shows that a third of regular worshipers have reduced their visits to the trade fair, which could indicate deeper social problems, as Link.springer.com