Drop in Membership
Enrollment in post college seminaries in the U.S. has dropped from 22,334 in
1968 to 9,560 in 1978 to 4,981 in 1988.
Fewer than half of Americans attend services 4 or more times a month. 46.5%
Americans attend religious services less than once a month.
Of the 5.6 million people who live in Chicagos metropolitan area, about
2.3 million are Catholic. Only about a quarter of these attend mass.
The average number of Roman Catholic priests ordained dropped from 932 in
1966-1969 to 289 in 1990-1994. The median age of the 94,022 Roman Catholic nuns in the
U.S. is 65 years. 37% are over 70 years; 42% are from 51 to 70 years; and 16% are 50 years
and younger.
Islam is the most rapidly growing religion in the U.S. with about 5 million
adherents. In 1960 there were 104 Muslim mosques in the U.S. In 1993 there were 1,100
mosques.