Report
CARA Report: Catholic Schools in the United States in the 21st Century (2014)
Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., June 2014
Catholic Schools in the United States in the 21st Century: Importance in Church Life, Challenges, and Opportunities by Mark M. Gray, Ph.D.
What is the impact of Catholic schools on the Church in the United States? Answers to this question are entangled with generational changes. In CARA’s national surveys of the adult Catholic population (CARA Catholic Polls; CCPs) a majority of those of the Pre-Vatican II Generation (born before 1943) and the Vatican II Generation (born 1943 to 1960) say they attended a Catholic primary school (51 percent). However, in the generations that followed many fewer report enrollment. Only 37 percent of Post-Vatican II Generation (born 1961 to 1981) Catholics and 23 percent of adult Catholics of the Millennial Generation (born 1982 or later) have attended a Catholic primary school at some point.
CARA surveyed an oversample of teenagers, ages 14 to 17 in 2012. As shown in the figure below, 14 percent said they attended a Catholic school only. An additional 18 percent attended Catholic schools and parish-based religious education. Overall, one in four Catholic teens reported having no religious education.