American Catholics in Transition [Paperback]

D'Antonio, Dillon, and Gautier have written a report on the fifth survey (administered in 2010) in a series of opinion polls of the American Catholic laity that started in 1987. Responses were analyzed by generation, gender, and ethnicity, with attention to the increasing impact of Hispanic Catholics. Many trends established in the earlier studies have stayed on the same trajectory, with a few changes. Core beliefs remain strong, the magisterium carries relatively little weight with the laity, and certain areas (the importance of the sacraments, Mary the Mother of God, and helping the poor) continue to differentiate Catholics from others. On the other hand, a decreasing commitment on the part of American women to the church is evident. Hispanics often are more traditional in their responses, but the authors do not discuss whether this will change with economic and cultural assimilation. The study is clear and readable. The authors clearly have a bias toward what one might call the 'progressive' direction in American Catholicism. At times one can see that a different grouping of the data would present a different picture. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty.American Catholics in Transition, the fifth in a series of books on the American Catholic laity, is the continuation of a tradition of excellent scholarly work on a pertinent and timely topic. The book is a concise, nontechnical but rigorous portrait of the American Catholic laity . . . the book provides a historical arc, and sets the generations within a cultural and historical context.This report on a fifth national survey of American Catholic opinion shows both continuity and change. Internal church matters and public policy issues are considered. A decided preference for individual conscience over church authority and a continued decline in weekly church attendance are notable.Catholic leaders and rank-and-file members alike could learn much from this book about tl0