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Future of Faith in America: Catholicism

The last decade has been challenging for American Catholics as scandals and apathy have rocked the Church. The energy generated by Pope Francis's new approach has galvanized many, but the statistics are still bleak. But are the statistics the whole story?

Essays address the current realities in the Church and focus on the cultural trends that jeopardize faith, the hope of spiritual revitalization, and the possibilities of new vocations, of young leadership, and of radical choices for authentic discipleship.

This topic is part of our summer symposium on the Future of Faith in America. For more resources visit our Future of Faith main page.

Commentary From Our Blogging Community

Where Are You Going, Catholic Church?

Patheos is hosting a symposium on "The Future of Faith in...

The Future of the Catholic Church is the Same as Its Past

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Featured Panelists

A Poorer, Younger Church of Great Promise

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Catholicism Faces a Heavy Future, Full of Light

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Watching the Birds: Catholicism's New Missionary Era

The cultural expressions of ritual can sometimes...

The Power of the Pope's Witness, the Need for Ours

The pope may have dragged the church into a "field...

The New Evangelization in Reverse?

Catholic teaching of our faith appears to be in retreat,...

The Gift of the Millennial Catholic to the Church

National ministry organizations, continue to bemoan the...

New Growth May Bring New Reconciliation

From the cloister, the future looks encouraging. Our...

The Scandal of Catholicism and Its Radical Future

If the Church's future is treated as a quantitative...

More Catholic, Less American

The Christian life is a matter of prayer, not prediction;...

Future for the US Church? Stop Evangelizing Through the...

Like many, I grew up in a Catholic family, attended...

The Future of Gay Catholics

I am not the best person to contribute to a symposium on...

The Catholic Church in America: Persevering Through...

I'm sticking with a loving, global, imperfect church.

American Catholics: Intentional or Missing in Action?

Many are wrestling with the practical implications of the...

Patheos Archives

TOPICS

Patheos regularly hosts a variety of symposiums and series on current events and trending topics. Open the list below for a full offering of our topical pages featuring curated columns, blogs, and articles by subject.

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PUBLIC SQUARE

In the Public Square, we connect the timely and the timeless and host conversations about some of the most important questions in life. For a full list of topics featured in our Public Square open the list below.

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