Washington, D.C. -- Do U.S. Catholics believe marriage between a Catholic and a non-Christian is considered a sacrament by the Church? Do they think non-Catholic spouses have to promise to have their children raised Catholic? These are some of the questions answered in a landmark survey of American Catholic marriage patterns released this week by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.

Among the key findings of the study conducted in June 2007, CARA found that 53 percent of adult Catholics (age 18 and older) are currently married, and two-thirds of that group was married in the Church. Seventy-two percent of married Catholics have a Catholic spouse and on average, adult Catholics have had two children. Among single Catholics who believe they may marry in the future, 72 percent indicate that it is of some importance to them that they be married within the Catholic Church.

"The research reflects that many U.S. Catholics see marriage in the Catholic Church as having a lasting effect on their relationships and faith,” says Mark Gray, research associate professor and co-author of the study. “It is also telling that many noted on their own, in response to an open-ended question, that the sacramental nature of marriage in the Church and the presence of God at the wedding and in the marriage are distinctive features of marriage in the Church compared to other secular, legal, and faith traditions."

The study found that Catholics who attend Mass more frequently have more children than those who attend Mass less regularly. Those who attend Mass frequently also describe themselves as familiar with Church teaching on marriage.

"We did find that involvement in parish life, as measured by Mass attendance, consistently has an impact on marriage and family life,” Gray says.

Most Catholics report having heard accurate statements about Church teachings: that marriage between two baptized people is a sacrament (71 percent), that openness to children is essential to marriage (71 percent), and that the Church does not consider a civil marriage after divorce to be sacramentally valid (71 percent). Overall 47 percent of Catholics have heard an inaccurate statement of Church teaching – that a non-Catholic spouse must promise to have their children raised Catholic – and believe it to be true.

Researchers found that seventy-two percent of married Catholics have a Catholic spouse. Unmarried Catholics who are living with a partner are significantly less likely to indicate that the person they are living with is Catholic (49 percent).

The study also found that Catholics are very similar to the U.S. population as a whole in terms of the demography of marriage, such as marital status, age at first marriage, and having been divorced. One-quarter of respondents have never been married. Slightly over half are currently married. Twelve percent are divorced, and 1 percent is currently separated. Five percent are widowed and four percent are living with a partner.

Marital Status of U.S. Adult Catholics

• Married 53%
• Never married 25%
• Divorced 12%
• Widowed 5%
• Living with a partner 4%
• Separated 1%
  

Twenty-three percent of adult Catholics have gone through a divorce; 12 percent are currently divorced and 11 percent are currently remarried, living with a partner, or widowed but have been through a divorce in the past. Only 15 percent of divorced Catholics have sought an annulment.

The study also examined marriage preparation trends among U.S. Catholics and found that 90 percent of Catholics married in the church say they met with a Catholic priest before getting married. Among preparation classes, 36 percent attended a class occurring over several nights, 26 percent attended weekend preparation programs, and 26 percent attended a one-day program. Those participating in the weekend program were most likely to say they found the program to be “very helpful” to their marriage.

The survey looked at awareness of and understanding of Catholic Church teaching on marriage, general attitudes about marriage, and personal experiences of marriage preparation, the sacrament of marriage and daily married life among adult U.S. Catholics.

Commissioned in April 2007 by the Committee on Marriage and Family Life of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) the survey was designed to assist the Committee’s implementation of the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage. CARA partnered with the polling firm Knowledge Networks to interview the 1,008 self-identified adult Catholics (age 18 and older) who participated (margin of sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points). The full report is available online at: http://cara.georgetown.edu/MarriageReport.pdf.

About the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate

CARA is a non-profit, independent and non-partisan research institution at Georgetown University. CARA researchers conduct applied social scientific research related to the Catholic Church in the United States. CARA was created in 1964 and has been affiliated with Georgetown University since 1989. More information about CARA is available here: http://cara.georgetown.edu.

About Georgetown University

Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs on its three campuses in Washington, DC. For more information about Georgetown University, visit www.georgetown.edu.