Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Why some Americans have left Catholicism, while others stay
Most current U.S. Catholics were raised in the faith
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- Why some Americans have left Catholicism, while others stay
- Most current U.S. Catholics were raised in the faith
- Fulfillment of spiritual needs, belief in teachings are top reasons Catholics cite for being Catholic
- 46% of former Catholics say a loss of belief was a major reason they left the faith
- Former Catholics who are now religious ‘nones’ tend to give different reasons for leaving the faith than former Catholics who are now Protestants
- 79% of Protestant adults who grew up Catholic cite belief in teachings as extremely or very important reason they are Protestant
- When asked why they are religiously unaffiliated, 81% of ‘nones’ who used to be Catholic say an extremely or very important reason is that they can be moral without religion
- Lifelong Catholics are more likely than former Catholics to say they had positive religious experience as kids