How Do Devout Catholics Grow Their Faith? New Report Offers Insights
Catholic Intentional Discipleship in the U.S.
A Vinea Research and DeSales Media Report
How do devout Catholics grow in their faith? When it comes to their faith lives, where do they feel they can improve? And why does this matter? A recent study conducted by Vinea Research with DeSales Media offers insights on where engaged Catholics are in their faith lives and what that could mean for parishes, ministries, and apostolates who want to better serve them.
About the Study
In 2021, DeSales Media commissioned Vinea Research to learn more about Catholics in the United States who are dedicated to following Jesus. The study was designed to identify unmet needs of those who are intentional about their faith.
Partnering with more than 20 organizations, we surveyed 3,137 devout Catholics to gain insights for the study. Organizations included Hallow, Ascension, OSV, Franciscan University, SENT, Catholify, Damascus, Catholic Leadership Institute, and Aleteia.
The study asked questions around faith life, technology use, spiritual direction, evangelization, and community involvement.
Learn more about the study and download the full report.
Devout Catholics’ Faith Lives: Why It Matters
How do committed Catholics grow in their faith? Where do they feel they can improve? These are two of the key questions the study aimed to answer by asking respondents about their sacramental and prayer practices, as well as other ways they fuel their faith life (such as using Catholic apps).
Why does this matter?
If we know what engaged Catholics are doing to stay energized in their faith, we can better minister to them so they can continue to grow in their faith and more effectively evangelize to others. The results of this study can be beneficial to pastors, parish and diocesan leaders, young adult group facilitators, and anyone wanting to minister to devout Catholic adults with efforts supported by quantitative data.
In addition, we may also be able to recognize a gap between engaged Catholics and those who are not engaged, which could help improve evangelization efforts.
For example, the study revealed a clear correlation between respondents’ Mass attendance and their level of engagement with their faith.
The study does not demonstrate causation—meaning we don’t know whether devotion causes Mass attendance or Mass attendance causes devotion—but there is still a correlation between the two.
Therefore, sharing the importance and beauty of the Mass in a way that resonates could inspire engagement among Catholics who are not as devout.
Respondents’ Faith Lives: Key Findings from the Report
Overall, the report found that: “Prayer and the sacraments are key to the development of the faithful. Also important: print and digital media.”
Here is a more in-depth look at the findings of the report.
Prayer Findings
48% responded that they pray the Rosary
19% responded that they pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
19% responded that they use personal prayer
Eucharist and reconciliation were the top two sacraments selected as being impactful on their personal faith life
Bible studies and Bible in a Year (by Fr. Mike Schmitz) were also used - 31% and 25% respectively
Areas of Strength
Respondents reported prayer, Mass attendance, and embracing Catholicism as primary areas of strength in their faith lives.
Prayer - “Respondents in this study are dedicated to daily prayer with nearly 7 in 10 praying every day”
Mass attendance - “3 in 4 respondents attended Mass more than the month’s weekly obligations”
Embracing Catholicism - “Nearly 3 in 4 respondents said that their Catholic faith is ‘the center’ of their identity”
Areas of Growth for Faith Life
Overall, the report found that: “Catholics express a desire to grow in a number of key and wide-ranging areas: witnessing to the faith, humility, sacrifice, expressions of faith, and increasing frequency of confession and attending retreats.”
Evangelization was cited frequently as an area for growth: “Many felt they needed to grow in witnessing and sharing their faith with others.”
This finding, in particular, is concerning. Committed Catholics are struggling with, or believe they could be better at, sharing their faith with others. This suggests that there is an opportunity for ministries to focus on equipping people to share their faith.
“The top two areas of need in growing in the interior life were diverse: going on retreats and better taking up their crosses.”
56% of respondents rated level of strength for “Going on retreat” as “None” while only 7% rated it as “High”
30% rated it as “High” in Need for Growth
In the category of taking up their cross:
Only 9% rated level of strength as “High”
19% rated Need for Growth in this area as “High”
Confession was also identified as an area for growth.
23% rated Level of Strength with Confession as “None”
34% rated it as “Little”
18% rated their need for growth as “High” for “regularly going to confession”
In summary: While citing prayer, Mass, and Catholic identity as areas of strength, respondents identified evangelization, sacrifice, retreats, and confession as areas of growth for their faith life.
Tools for the Faith
Both physical and digital tools were reported as being used for faith enrichment: “Catholics use a number of aids in living out their faith. While physical aids are key, digital aids are used a great deal.”
74% - Bible (physical)
67% - other spiritual books
58% - Prayer books
60% - Podcasts
53% - faith websites
Also interesting to note is respondents’ experience with spiritual direction. The report found that “Over half of respondents have experienced Spiritual Direction, but only 1 in 5 are currently engaged in it. Only 4 in 10 know that it is available nearby, indicating a need for heightened visibility and availability.”
When asked about reasons for not currently receiving Spiritual Direction, the most common answer was “I don’t know how to find someone for Spiritual Direction”:
41% of respondents who have received Spiritual Direction in the past cited this reason
61% of respondents who have not received Spiritual Direction in the past cited this reason
Takeaways: How to Help Devout Catholics Grow in their Faith
Prayer and the sacraments are key to the development of the faithful.
Also important: print and digital media.
Takeaways: How to Help Devout Catholics Grow in Their Faith
Respondents’ answers in this study can help us determine how to meet the spiritual needs of committed Catholics, thus equipping them to grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus and share their faith with confidence.
The study reveals key insights that can be used to make decisions around outreaches, parish offerings, apostolate programs, and more, especially in the areas of retreats, confession, and taking up the cross.
Retreats
Respondents expressed a desire to attend retreats. Starting a retreat program or reevaluating your current one can have a positive impact on your parish or ministry’s effectiveness in evangelization.
Here are some ideas on how to implement this takeaway:
Offer a retreat and note the response and attendance
Promote nearby retreats or organize a group to attend one
Find ways to make your current retreats more accessible, such as offering a low-cost option or multiple dates
Share the benefit of going on retreats, especially by using attendee testimonials
Use retreats to meet the diverse and specific needs of your audience, such as a retreat for empty nesters or a retreat for young men discerning their vocation
Taking Up the Cross
Respondents identified taking up their cross as an area of growth. To encourage your audience to grow in uniting themselves to Christ in their suffering:
Educate your audience on what it means to take up the cross and experience meaning in suffering (Lent can be a great opportunity to start this)
Consider starting a ministry to reach out to those who are suffering, such as a grief support group
Confession
Similarly, devout Catholics expressed that they desire to attend confession more frequently. Some ways you can utilize this takeaway:
Offer more confession times at your parish if feasible
Speak about the importance of confession, and the fruits of regular confession, in homilies, small groups, etc.
Host a retreat focused on confession
In addition to the above suggestions, here are two other ideas to meet the needs of Catholics who want to grow in faith:
Offer prayer ministries that match up with respondents’ desires and current practices, such as the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet
Utilize physical and digital faith tools as part of your ministry, such as books and apps
Provide a resource, such as a physical directory or a page of your website, to help people find local or virtual spiritual directors
What’s next?
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE REPORT
Research can be utilized to help your parish or ministry identify if your audience is experiencing anything different than the findings in this study. The study could also be used to understand the faith lives of less devout Catholics and what might inspire them to engage more with their faith.
Another option would be to choose a method of evangelization and conduct a pre-post study to gauge its effectiveness by having people rate their progress in different areas of their faith life.
It could also be useful to examine how different demographics responded to determine how to best reach varying audiences.
If you are interested in conducting research to gauge your audience’s level of engagement with their faith and discover more effective ways to reach them, contact Vinea Research.
Who is Vinea Research?
Vinea Research was founded with the goal of applying proven, business-based market research methods to helping Catholic groups get the information they need to further the New Evangelization.
Vinea Research offers a full range of market research techniques to deliver critical customer insights that can help transform the way Catholic leadership, parishes, apostolates, and advocacy groups reach and motivate the people they serve.
Vinea Research is built on a team of experienced market research experts and deep knowledge and understanding of Catholicism. Our mission is to support Church leadership, apostolates, parishes, and other organizations by helping them better understand those they serve through expert market research and insights.
