Best Review at the Catholic Press Association ConventionStudies of young American Catholics over the last three decades suggest a growing crisis in the Catholic Church: compared to their elders, young Catholics are looking to the Church less as they form their identities, and fewer of them can even explain what it means to be Catholic and why that matters. Young Catholic America, the latest book
based on the groundbreaking National Study of Youth and Religion, explores a crucial stage in the life of Catholics. Drawing on in-depth surveys and interviews of Catholics and ex-Catholics ages 18 to 23--a demographic commonly
known as early "emerging adulthood"--leading sociologist Christian Smith and his colleagues offer a wealth of insight into the wide variety of religious practices and beliefs among young Catholics today, the early influences and life-altering events that lead them to embrace the Church or abandon it, and how being Catholic affects them as they become full-fledged adults. Beyond its rich collection of statistical data, the book includes vivid case studies of individuals spanning a full decade,
as well as insight into the twentieth-century events that helped to shape the Church and its members in America.An innovative contribution to what we know about religion in the
United States and the evolving Catholic Church, Young Catholic America is the definitive source for anyone seeking to understand what it means to be young and Catholic in America today.
Best Review at the Catholic Press Association ConventionStudies of young American Catholics over the last three decades suggest a growing crisis in the Catholic Church: compared to their elders, young Catholics are looking to the Church less as they form their identities, and fewer of them can even explain what it means to be Catholic and why that matters. Young Catholic America, the latest book
based on the groundbreaking National Study of Youth and Religion, explores a crucial stage in the life of Catholics. Drawing on in-depth surveys and interviews of Catholics and ex-Catholics ages 18 to 23--a demographic commonly
known as early "emerging adulthood"--leading sociologist Christian Smith and his colleagues offer a wealth of insight into the wide variety of religious practices and beliefs among young Catholics today, the early influences and life-altering events that lead them to embrace the Church or abandon it, and how being Catholic affects them as they become full-fledged adults. Beyond its rich collection of statistical data, the book includes vivid case studies of individuals spanning a full decade,
as well as insight into the twentieth-century events that helped to shape the Church and its members in America.An innovative contribution to what we know about religion in the
United States and the evolving Catholic Church, Young Catholic America is the definitive source for anyone seeking to understand what it means to be young and Catholic in America today.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Catholic Emerging Adults in Historical Context: 1945 to
1970
Chapter 2: Emerging Adults Catholics across Four Decades: 1970s to
2000s
Chapter 3: A Statistical Portrait of Catholic Emerging Adults
Today
Chapter 4: Emerging Adult Catholics, Their Faith, and the Church in
Their Own Words
Excursus: Who Actually IS a ''Catholic?''
Chapter 5: Religious Trajectories from the Teenage Years into
Emerging Adulthood
Chapter 6: Catholic Faith and Lifecourse Outcomes
Chapter 7: Does Catholic Schooling Make a Difference?
Conclusion
Appendix
Notes
Index
Christian Smith is William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology at
the University of Notre Dame, Director of the Center for the Study
of Religion and Society, Director of the Notre Dame Center for
Social Research, Principal Investigator of the National Study of
Youth and Religion, and Principal Investigator of the Science of
Generosity Initiative. He is the author, co-author, or editor of
numerous books, including Souls in Transition: The
Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Emerging Adults, Lost in
Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood, and Soul
Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American
Teenagers.
Kyle Longest is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Furman
University.
Jonathan Hill is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Calvin
College.
Kari Christoffersen is a PhD candidate at the University of Notre
Dame.
"[An] engaging book...there is a lot of interesting material in
this study. The book will animate discussion among students,
scholars, and others interested in Catholicism, religion more
generally, American culture, and the life course, as well as among
Catholic church planners and educators."--American Journal of
Sociology
"[A] major work on an important subject" - Publishers Weekly
"Pastoral leaders cannot effectively navigate in our ministry if we
don't understand the territory-and the Catholic territory is
increasingly complex! Young Catholic America provides an in-depth
analysis of emerging adults in, out of, and gone from the Church,
building on the research from the National Study of Youth and
Religion. Describing the incredible diversity within American
Catholicism, acknowledging the challenge of even defining
'Catholic,'
and identifying critical impacts on faith, this is an invaluable
resource for pastoral ministers." --Robert J. McCarty, D.Min.,
Executive Director, National Federation for Catholic Youth
Ministry
"Young Catholic America is the definitive statement of
Catholicism's challenges. Parents, schools, and parishes are as
crucial as ever, but each is weaker than it was fifty years ago.
Unable to go back to the way it was or forward the way it is, the
Church stands at a crossroads." --Michael Hout, Professor of
Sociology, New York University
"Christian Smith and co-authors Kyle Longest, Jonathan Hill, and
Kari Christoffersen have carried out the most in-depth study yet of
emerging young Catholic adults. An important and highly relevant
book." --William V. D'Antonio, Senior Fellow, Institute for Policy
Research and Catholic Studies, Catholic University
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