(ZENIT News / Washington, 02.01.2023).- Since 2010, the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has commissioned the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University to conduct a survey of women and men religious who profess perpetual vows each year in a religious congregation, province, or monastery based in the United States.
For this project, CARA was asked to gather information about the characteristics and experiences of these religious and report the findings to the Secretariat for use with the World Day of Consecrated Life in February. CARA then programmed the questionnaires into an online survey to give respondents the option of completing the survey either online or on paper. This report presents results of this survey of women and men religious of the Profession Class of 2022.
To obtain the names and contact information for these women and men, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) contacted all major superiors of men and women religious institutes in the United States that were identified by the USCCB Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. Each major superior was asked to provide contact information for every member of the institute who was scheduled to profess perpetual vows in 2022.
CARA then contacted these men and women religious by e-mail or mail to explain the project and ask them to complete a brief survey. After repeated follow-ups, CARA received a response from 484 of 737 major superiors, for an overall response rate of 66% among religious institutes. Three religious institutes were not interested in participating in the studies. In all, the major superiors provided contact information for 168 members (88 women and 80 men) who professed perpetual vows in religious life in 2022.
Of these 168 identified women and men religious, a total of 114 religious members, including 62 sisters and nuns and 52 brothers and priests, responded to the survey by January 14, 2022. This represents a response rate of 67% of the 168 potential members of the Profession Class of 2022 that were reported to CARA by major superiors of men and women religious The questionnaire asked these religious about their demographic and religious background, education and work experience, previous ministry or service and other formative experiences, encouragement and discouragement to consider religious life, initial acquaintance with their institutes, and vocation/discernment programs and experiences. This report presents analyses of each question from all responding religious.
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This report presents findings from a national survey of women and men religious who professed perpetual vows in 2022 in a religious institute, province, or monastery based in the United States. To obtain the names and contact information for these women and men, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) contacted all major superiors of men and women religious institutes in the United States that were identified by the USCCB Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.
Each major superior was asked to provide contact information for every member of the institute who was scheduled to profess perpetual vows in 2022. CARA then contacted these men and women religious by e-mail or mail to explain the project and ask them to complete a brief survey. After repeated follow-ups, CARA received a response from 484 of 737 major superiors, for an overall response rate of 66% among religious institutes.
Three religious institutes were not interested in participating in the studies. In all, the major superiors provided contact information for 168 members (88 women and 80 men) who professed perpetual vows in religious life in 2022. Of these 168 identified women and men religious, a total of 114 religious members, including 62 sisters and nuns and 52 brothers and priests, responded to the survey by January 14, 2022. This represents a response rate of 67% of the 168 potential members of the Profession Class of 2022 that were reported to CARA by major superiors of men and women religious.
Major Findings Demographic Background
Family Background
Education, Work, and Ministry Experience
Consideration of Religious Life and Choice of Religious Institute
