Catholicism at a Crossroads The Present and Future of America's Largest Church

"With a deft use of survey data, excerpts from interviews, a keen grasp of important trends and an unfailing generosity of spirit, this research team tells a detailed and engagingly written story of the Catholic community within the United States today. This book finds a deservedly broad readership among Church leaders, rank-and-file Catholics, sociologists and other religion scholars, as well as among any readers interested in a compelling account of how a longstanding religious tradition, marked by both constancy and change, continues to anchor a people's faith." - Jerome Baggett, author of The Varieties of Religious Experience: Atheism in American Culture "U.S. Catholicism is, indeed, at a crossroads. At our own peril, the faithful, ministry leaders, and scholars alike ignore the importance of people of color in the U.S. Catholic Church and increasing religious disaffiliation. If dioceses and parishes as well as Catholic schools and universities are going to survive and thrive in the middle and decades of the 21st century, we must understand where the U.S. Church is and where it is going. The data and analyses presented by Day, Cavendish, Perl, Dillon, Gautier, and D'Antonio provide a much needed roadmap for creating plans to ensure the U.S. Catholic Church's future." - Tia Noelle Pratt, Villanova University "Deeply realistic, deeply thoughtful, deeply hopeful, Catholicism at a Crossroads offers the best insight available into the state of Catholicism in the US today-and where it may go in the future. It should be read by every religious sister, priest, and bishop; every Catholic teacher and organizational leader; every professor at a Catholic college; and every thinking Catholic. Even just reading the "Implications" section that concludes each chapter will be rewarding. This will likely be the smartest Catholic book you read this year-and may even change how you relate to Catholicism." - Richard L. Wood, President, Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies