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Population Trends Among Religious Institutes of Men Santiago Sordo Palacios | Thomas P

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Population Trends Among Religious Institutes of Men Santiago Sordo Palacios | Thomas P SpecialCENTER FOR APPLIED RESEARCH IN THE APOSTOLATE Report | GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY | WASHINGTON, DC Placing social science research at the service of the Church in the United States since 1964 Fall 2015 Population Trends among Religious Institutes of Men Santiago Sordo Palacios | Thomas P. Gaunt, S.J. | Mary L. Gautier, Ph.D. n 1970, the number of priests, brothers, and men in formation in religious institutes In spring 2014, the Center for Applied Re- outnumbered diocesan priests by over 2,500.1 Altogether, the Catholic Church in the search in the Apostolate (CARA) initiated a longitudinal study of institutes of women and IUnited States was bustling with the vitality of nearly 80,000 men in ministry as priests men religious in the United States, drawing (diocesan or religious) or brothers. By the late 1970s, the two populations (diocesan and on data reported by these institutes to The religious) intersected and diocesan priests have outnumbered religious priests and broth- Official Catholic Directory (OCD). The first ers since that time. The most current data indicate that today there are over 8,000 more publication in this series, Population Trends among Religious Institutes of Women, was diocesan priests than there are men in religious institutes. CARA undertook this longitu- released by CARA in fall 2014. This second dinal study of population trends in men’s religious institutes to investigate in more detail report in the series, Population Trends among some of the trends that underlie this decrease in numbers over the past 45 years. Religious Institutes of Men, draws from the same source, incorporating data from 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2015. When an The first section of this report presents overall population trends in the number of men institute did not list a total for a given year, or religious as reported by The Official Catholic Directory. To look more deeply, CARA if the number listed seemed irregular, the re- created seven categories that are based on observation of the trends among the various cords from previous and following years were consulted. Although the OCD lists religious in- institutes within this overall population. The first three categories present the ten largest stitute numbers according to province, CARA institutes, the ten institutes surrounding the median (the midpoint of all religious insti- researchers combined those separate listings tutes as ranked by size), and the ten smallest institutes according to the number of mem- into one total number for each institute. bers listed in the OCD in 1970. A fourth category is new religious institutes that were not 2 The OCD presents the numbers for each listed in 1970. The fifth category analyzes the trends of institutes that displayed growth religious institute as they were reported by during the years studied. The final two categories consist of observations of brother-only the institutes. For example, one institute may institutes and monastic institutes, respectively.3 report their novices as novices, while another may report their novices as seminarians or students. For accuracy, the total number that General Observations CARA compiled for each institute includes all The total membership among religious institutes of men has decreased dramatically priests, brothers, novices, seminarians, and across the last 45 years, from almost 42,000 in 1970 to fewer than 18,000 in 2015. This any other vowed member reported by the institute. Any pre-novices and lay associates decline in numbers is notably greater than the corresponding decline in the number of were excluded from this total. For this reason, diocesan priests in the United States over the same period. There are now 30 percent the total numbers of men religious reported fewer diocesan priests than 45 years ago, while the number of men in religious life has here do not align with the total numbers of declined by 58 percent. This drop is especially significant given the growing Catho- religious priests and brothers reported in the General Summary in the OCD; nor do lic population in the United States, which has increased from 47,900,000 in 1970 to they align with the total numbers of religious 68,100,000 in 2015. priests and brothers reported by CARA on its website. Those numbers include only the The number of Catholics per diocesan priest has doubled over the last 45 years while men religious who have professed perpetual vows and do not include the men in forma- the number of Catholics per religious priest or brother has more than tripled. Compared tion who have professed first vows. to 1970, proportionately more men are entering diocesan seminaries today than are entering the novitiates of religious institutes. This is a significant factor that affects U.S. 50 members. Because the difference in membership size is so great FIGURE 1. MEMBERSHIP IN RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES OF MEN among religious institutes, their membership trends are next exam- 41,886 ined here according to three categories of institute size in 1970: the 40,000 ten largest institutes, the ten institutes surrounding the median, and 34,302 35,000 the ten smallest institutes. 31,232 30,000 Largest Religious Institutes 25,262 The ten largest religious institutes in the United States in 1970 25,000 contained 57 percent (or 22,597 members) of the total population 20,258 20,000 17,791 in men’s religious institutes, which was 41,886 men. These ten are some of the most well-known religious institutes across the nation. 15,000 For example, the Society of Jesus is known as a leader in education, Number of Men Religious 10,000 sponsoring Fordham University, Georgetown University, Boston Col- lege, and 25 other colleges and universities. The Benedictine Monks, 5,000 according to The Official Catholic Directory, have established more 0 than 50 monasteries across the United States over the years. 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2015 Perhaps as a result of their various ministries, their international pres- ence, or their sizable presence in the United States, seven of the ten Catholics’ exposure to, and experience with, men religious in their largest institutes in 1970 are still among the seven largest institutes vast array of ministries in the Church. in 2015.6 These seven institutes also include a declining share of the total number of men in religious life throughout this period. As While the number of men in religious institutes has declined over the previously noted, the ten largest institutes included 57 percent of the past 45 years, the number of religious institutes of men listed in The total population of men religious in 1970, but by 2015 these same Official Catholic Directory has increased. In 1970 there were 116 in- stitutes listed; in 2015 there were 131. Twenty-four institutes that were not listed in 1970 are included in the 2015 OCD and nine institutes TABLE 1. TEN LARGEST RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES OF MEN, 1970 that were listed in 1970 are no longer included in 2015. Percentage Religious Change There are 14 religious institutes that reported growth in members Initials Religious Institute 1970 2015 1970–2015 during this period, increasing from 640 members to 1,227 members. S.J. Society of Jesus 7,628 2,325 -70% In addition, there are 24 institutes that either did not have a presence O.F.M. Franciscan Friars 3,252 1,147 -65% in the United States in 1970 or came into existence since 1970. These O.S.B. Benedictine Monks 2,516 1,324 -47% 24 institutes report a combined total of 896 members in 2015. 4 These F.S.C. Brothers of the new institutes are examined in depth in a later section of this report. Christian Schools 2,212 589 -73% S.M. Society of Mary 1,311 630 -52% The size of religious institutes varies greatly. There are many insti- C.Ss.R. Redemptorist Fathers 1,293 210 -84% tutes with fewer than 50 members as well as a handful of institutes with more than 1,000 members. In 1970, there were 42 institutes O.P. Order of Preachers 1,199 722 -40% with 50 or fewer members and ten institutes with more than 1,000 M.M. Maryknoll Fathers men. In 2015, there are 68 institutes with 50 or fewer men and only and Brothers 1,112 352 -68% three with more than 1,000 men. O.F.M.Cap. The Capuchin Franciscan Friars 1,044 623 -40% The median5 size of a religious institute of men in 1970 was 109; in O.M.I. Oblates of Mary 2015 the median size was 40. This means that more than half of the Immaculate 1,030 264 -74% religious institutes of men in the United States now have fewer than TOTALS 22,597 8,186 -64% 2 | Special Report Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate FIGURE 2. NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF MEN RELIGIOUS IN THE TEN LARGEST INSTITUTES OF MEN 25,000 57% 60% Percentage in ten largest institutes 53% 51% 49% 20,000 47% 22,597 46% 50% 18,329 Total number of men religious 15,000 40% 15,914 10,000 12,327 30% 9,534 8,186 Number of men religious 5,000 20% Percentage among all men religious Percentage 0 0 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2015 institutes had only 46 percent of all men religious. As a group, the The smallest religious institutes increased overall in their percent- decline in membership among the ten largest institutes was steeper age share of the total number of men in religious institutes over the than the overall average across all religious institutes of men over the past 45 years. TABLE 2. TEN MEDIAN SIZE RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES OF MEN, 1970 Religious Institutes Surrounding the Median Percentage Religious Change The next category according to size examined for this study includes Initials Religious Institute 1970 2015 1970–2015 the ten religious institutes that surround the median in terms of size M.S.C.
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