Catholic Connections

Pew reports:

All told, fully 45% of U.S. adults have one of four types of connections to Catholicism:

• 20% are Catholic: One-in-five Americans say that their current religious affiliation is with the Roman Catholic Church.
• 9% are “cultural Catholics”: Nearly one-in-ten U.S. adults say that their religion is ot Catholic (most are Protestants or are unaffiliated with any religion), but also say they consider themselves Catholic or partially Catholic in some other way. These cultural Catholics most often say they were raised Catholic or had a Catholic parent and still think of themselves as Catholic in terms of ancestry or family tradition.
• 9% are “ex-Catholics”: These are people who were raised Catholic, but who no longer describe themselves as Catholic (by religion or otherwise). Like cultural Catholics, ex-Catholics also are now largely divided between people who are now Protestant and those who are religiously unaffiliated.
• 8% have other connections to Catholicism: Some respondents do not fit into one of the above categories but nonetheless have a meaningful connection to the Catholic Church. This could be through a Catholic parent or spouse, or through occasional attendance at Catholic Mass.