Most Catholics who regularly attend Mass at U.S. Catholic churches say their overall satisfaction with their parish is “good” or “excellent.” This is just one of the key findings generated from a series of surveys of Catholics conducted in-pew during Mass by The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University in conjunction with The Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership Project.
A total of 14,437 interviews were conducted for Emerging Models in 2011 and 2012, and are supplemented by 371,863 additional interviews conducted by CARA using the same or similar questions in recent years. The survey results are significant because, according to CARA, this likely represents the largest known sample of Catholics ever surveyed in pew to date.
One of the more interesting survey questions pertained to what attracts survey respondents to their parish. Two-thirds (67 percent) cited their parish’s open, welcoming spirit as attracting them “very much.” One of the other top responses was “the sense of belonging they feel in the parish” (62%). The data supports the fact that hospitality is a hallmark of a stewardship parish and furthers our belief that creating a welcoming atmosphere is an important step in developing stewardship at the parish level.
