A Portrait of Black Catholics in the United States

Surveys don’t often allow for one to say much about Americans who self-identify their race as Black, African American, Afro-Caribbean, or African and who also self-identify their religion as Catholic. It is all a problem of numbers and random selection. In a typical survey of the U.S. adult population only 1,000 people are randomly selected and interviewed. Of these, fewer than 10 respondents would be expected to self identify as a Black Catholic—far too few to make any inferences whatsoever. Even in a typical CARA Catholic Poll (CCP), in which the sample typically includes at least 1,000 randomly selected adult Catholics, fewer than 50 of the respondents would be expected to self-identify as Black or African American—still too few for an acceptable level of sampling error for this sub-group.

To obtain even a somewhat reliable portrait of the Black Catholic population in one survey requires a specially designed over-sample of this group or a very, very large survey (which is often financially prohibitive). Two of the latter have been done in recent years—The Religious Landscape Survey by Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in 2007 and the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) in 2008. The results presented in this post are generated from the Pew survey data (in this survey an unweighted total of 35,957 adults were interviewed of which 252 self-identified as Black and Catholic; resulting in a margin of sampling error for this sub-group of ±6.2 percentage points).

Of all adults in the Pew survey who self-identified their race as Black in the United States, 8.2% also self-identified their religion as Catholic (representing 4% of all adult Catholics in the U.S.). Extrapolating the results to the total population in 2010, it can be estimated that about 3.5 million U.S. residents self-identify as Black and Catholic (this estimate includes adults and children). 

So who are the adult Black Catholics in the United States today?

• 83% indicated that they were raised Catholic and 17% said they converted to Catholicism at some point after being raised in another faith
• 96% say their religion is “somewhat” or “very” important in their life (70% “very” important only)
• 40% describe themselves as a “Charismatic” Catholic and 16% as a “Pentecostal” Catholic
• 42% also self-identified their ethnicity as Hispanic compared to only 4% of Black Protestants (the non-Hispanic Black Catholic population represents 2.5% of the overall adult Catholic population)
• 36% are foreign-born (20% are non-citizens)
• 46% are married (including those married and currently separated) and 82% of these Catholics have a Catholic spouse
• 65% describe their political views as “moderate” (33%) to “conservative” (24%) or “very conservative” (8%)
• 39% have attended college
• 25% make $50,000 or more per year
• 30% are age 18 to 30 and 10% are age 65 and older

A significant number of African Americans were raised Catholic and have subsequently left the faith. The “retention rate” for Black Catholics is lower than for Catholics overall.  This rate is the percentage of those raised in the faith who are affiliated with that faith as an adult. Overall, for Catholics in the U.S the retention rate is 68%. However, among African Americans who are raised Catholic, only 57% remain Catholic as adults. Thus, 43% African Americans raised Catholic are estimated to have changed faiths at some point.

Where do these former Catholics go? Nearly two-thirds (64%) affiliate with another Christian faith. Three in ten (30%) either identify with “nothing in particular” (28%) or say they are agnostic (1%) or atheists (1%). This result is also different from the overall pattern among adult Catholics in the United States who are less likely to adopt another Christian faith if they leave Catholicism and instead are slightly more likely to identify with “nothing in particular.”  Thus, African Americans who have left the Catholic faith are more likely than all former Catholics in general to choose another Christian faith.

It is important to note that these results are only based on 252 randomly selected individuals (N=851 when using the Pew weights).  There is a need for a sampling design that increases the number of interviews in future studies for this sub-group of the Catholic population to ensure a more reliable portrait is available. Also, both the Pew and ARIS studies are based on questionnaires intended to be used by people of all faiths. Thus, there is limited content that can speak to issues that are specific to Catholicism. At the same time, these sources represent the best available data to study this sub-group of Catholics.

For those interested in more information, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the Subcommittee on African American Affairs (SCAAA), the National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC), and Xavier University's Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS) have additional information and resources regarding Black Catholics in the United States.

Catholic Elementary School Tuitions Do Not Often Cover the Costs to Educate

Recently, media attention has been paid to the closing of Catholic parish elementary schools. In late 2009, CARA completed analyses for the most recent update to the National Catholic Education Association’s (NCEA) biennial survey of Catholic elementary schools, Financing the Mission:  A Profile of Catholic Elementary Schools in the United States. This survey asks Catholic elementary school principals about the finances, staffing, and other characteristics of their schools. Using these data, CARA creates a snapshot of Catholic elementary schools nationally. The recent trend of closings at parish schools seems shocking to some, but an investigation of the relevant data from this study reveals that the tuition model is under severe strain in some areas. For example, the average tuition for the first child of Catholic parents attending a parish school for 2008-2009 was $3,383. For that same child the per-pupil cost of education for 2008-2009 was $5,436. This means that 63% of this child’s per-pupil cost was covered by their tuition. 

Looking at specific types of Catholic elementary schools, patterns begin to emerge. Schools in New England cover the most of their per-pupil costs through tuition, while schools in the Plains do not charge tuition at even half the cost to educate a student. Urban and suburban schools cover their per pupil costs through tuition at higher rates than inner city and rural schools. The smallest schools—those with enrollment less than 100 students—charge only a third of the actual cost to educate a student.

So, how are these schools making up for the cost to educate students? One way is that some schools look to subsidies from their parish to subsidize the remaining costs. Almost all (97.8%) schools in the Plains region report receiving a parish subsidy. Similarly, nine in ten (90.6%) rural schools report receiving a parish subsidy. And, more than four in five of the smallest schools receive a parish subsidy. Schools with the highest ratio of tuition to student costs and the lowest number of parish subsidies tend to be located in the Northeast, urban, but not in the inner city, sponsored by the diocese or archdiocese, and have a high enrollment.

--By, Melissa A. Cidade, Director of CARA's Pastoral Assistance Surveys and Services (PASS)

Special thanks to Br. Robert Bimonte, FSC, Executive Director, Department of Elementary Schools at NCEA.

Above photo courtesy of Vaguely Artistic at Flickr Creative Commons.

Fish Food for Thought

Many fast food restaurants have started their pre-Lent fish sandwich advertising campaigns including Jack in the Box, Wendy’s, and Long John Silver’s. McDonald’s has yet to release a sequel to its memorable 2009 commercials but it has apparently reinvented this as a singing fish decoration (Give me back that filet o' fish, Give me that fish...) available at a retailer near you.

According to estimates from CARA’s national surveys, CARA Catholic Polls (CCP), of the more than 51 million adult Catholics in the United States, 31 million (about six in ten) are expected to abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent. Although some may fast and others may choose a vegetarian/vegan option, many will seek out fish on coming Fridays.

Those abstaining from meat are not just the weekly Mass attenders. A majority of Catholics abstaining from meat either attend Mass only a few times a year (25%) or at least once a month, but less than weekly (28%).  However, among the 31 million, 10.5 million attend Mass at least once a week (34%). Of those Catholics who do not abstain from eating meat, 60% "rarely or never" attend Mass.

Of those who do abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent:

• Nearly nine in ten have celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation (89% compared to 74% who do not abstain)
• Nearly eight in ten are in a household registered with a Catholic parish (79% compared to 34% who do not abstain)
• Nearly three in four “agree” that they think of themselves as “a practicing Catholic” (74% compared to 26% who do not abstain)
• A majority are married (53% compared to 48% who do not abstain)
• Four in ten say they regularly wear a crucifix or cross (40% compared to 22% who do not abstain)
• Nearly four in ten self-identify as Hispanic or Latino (39% compared to 36% who do not abstain)
• Nearly four in ten go to confession at least once a year (38% compared to 7% who do not abstain)
• One quarter attended a Catholic high school (25% compared to 17% who do not abstain)
• One in six attended a Catholic college or university (17% compared to 9% who do not abstain)

There are absolutely no generational differences. Catholics both young and old are just as likely to abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent.

When CARA first released survey data regarding Lenten practices in Sacraments Today: Belief and Practice among US Catholics we got a message from one concerned reader who worried about the impact of the tradition of eating fish on Fridays during Lent on the sustainability of the world’s fisheries. Here is an interesting article on this topic specific to McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish from The New York Times: “From Deep Pacific, Ugly and Tasty, With a Catch.”

Instead of going the restaurant chain route, many Catholics craving seafood will likely go to a parish fish fry or a local eatery and get a plate that looks much like the image above. If you are wondering what this means nutritionally there is good news and bad news!

Above photo courtesy of rick at Flickr Creative Commons.