What can help children raised Catholic continue practicing the faith as adults?

According to The Pillar Survey on Religious Attitudes and Practices, there are factors that can help predict whether children raised Catholic continue practicing the faith as adults. These factors are the following:

  • Attending Catholic school
  • Going to Mass weekly with the family
  • Saying grace
  • Living with parents who are married and never divorced
  • Living in a family practising the following activities monthly or more
    • reading the Bible
    • volunteering (soup kitchen, prison Ministry, church work, etc.)
    • praying the rosary
    • going to confession
    • attending Eucharist adoration
  • The religious influence from a priest or grandparents
  • Attending Catholic college or university
  • Attending Mass while in Catholic college or university

The Pillar Survey on Religious Attitudes and Practices also discovered 3 main practical reasons, by order of importance, driving children’s decision to stop attending Mass.

  1. Moving away from the church they had been attending;
  2. Having circumstances that made it harder for them to attend (work, health, family situation);
  3. Moving away from family.

Source: https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/special-report-why-catholics-leave

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