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Young Catholics are not copying the Canadian secularism trend which older Catholics are modelling.
A recent Cardus Institute study says young Canadian Catholics are twice as likely as their elders to attend religious services at least once a month.
Faith’s shifting landscape
Cardus’ 2022 report “The Shifting Landscape of Faith in Canada” says religious indicators among people identifying as Roman Catholic have declined since 2017.
Fewer said they believe in God, have an experience of God in their life or regularly read scripture, pray or attend religious services.
Younger Canadian Catholics are the exception says Deacon Andrew Bennett from Cardus.
81 percent of young Catholics believe in life after death and, while 91 percent of under 35-year old female Catholics believe this, only 60 percent of older female Catholics do.
Bennett thinks the more Canada’s secular society grows, the more Catholicism will become an attractive option for young adults (18-34 years old).
It’s a form of rejection rather than escape. Increasingly, young people are rejecting society’s “highly subjective idea of truth” Bennett says.
“They are seeking integrity, authenticity and something with real staying power … and returning to their Catholic roots…”
Personal beliefs
Cardus’ 2024 “Still Christian(?)” survey examined the relationship between Canadian Christians’ personal beliefs and the teaching of various church denominations.
It found “younger Christians appear to be more intentional or committed to the teachings and practices of the faith than Christians of their parents’ or grandparents’ generations”.
The younger generation “is beginning to desire a more traditionally Catholic life” Bennett says.
“If you look at any church where the Traditional Latin Mass is being offered … they are bursting at the seams.”
At one parish the Latin Mass has become the source and summit for its growing community.
Parochial vicar Fr Kent Grealy says parish growth in young people and families has amounted to about one new parishioner each Sunday for almost the last six months.
He thinks that, apart from an escape from the ideals of modern culture, there is something intrinsic in discovering a higher purpose that leads young people directly to the Gospel.
The romance of faith begins to take shape around that age and draws them into discovering the Gospel, Grealy says.
It “shows them that the nihilistic and materialistic bent of modernity makes life not worth living”.
Some advice for parishes
Eric Chow from the Archdiocese of Vancouver says young Catholics crave to find their role within the Church. They’re also seeking an identity that is true to who they are and who God has made them to be.
The demographics are changing – young Catholics want Church, and engagement, within its life and leadership formation.
“They are hungry for more than even just a young adult community, something that is not limited to a prayer group once a week” Chow says.
“I think [increased young adult involvement] invites every parish to consider how they might provide support … tangible on-the-ground leadership opportunities to serve the Church in a greater way.”
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