Publisher's Weekly Review
Aside from a decline in attendance at Mass, young American Catholics haven't changed much over the last few decades, according to religion sociologist Smith and his co-writers. Their new work serves to undercut the widespread notion that there is a steady drop in association with, participation in, and adoption of Catholic teachings among this group. In their attitudes, "Catholic emerging adults basically look like other emerging adults," writes Smith. Reminiscent of his influential Soul Searching (2005), this newest book drawn from Smith's National Study of Youth and Religion data provides another in-depth portrait of emerging adults' attitudes about faith. Unique among studies that present a single snapshot in time of a young adult cohort, the research presents extensive data on a group of emerging adults from a period of 10 years. Smith and his co-writers precede their findings with a concise, clear, and valuable history of the postwar Catholic Church. This excellent resource on the generations of emerging adult Catholics since the 1970s has numerous helpful tables and charts. The general reader may find it data-heavy, but this is a major work on an important subject. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Choice Review
This examination of the spiritual lives of US Catholics entering "emerging adulthood" (ages 18-23) is based on the latest results of the longitudinal National Study of Youth and Religion, begun in 2002 and entering the third wave of survey and interview research. The authors (Notre Dame) investigate Catholic millennials born between 1985 and 1990 and situate their findings within the transformations of US society after WW II. Sophisticated statistical models interpret the findings by differentiating a typology of identity that covers the spectrum from high to low degrees of religiosity as measured by attendance at mass, prayer and piety, and self-identification. Although the authors find a general decline in religiosity from adolescence to emerging adulthood, those who remain completely or mostly Catholic types benefited from strong and consistent influence from parents and teachers, effective catechism, and internalized beliefs and religious worldview. The "lapsed majority" of youth evidence apathy and little anger toward the church. The authors fault the failure of catechism and programs for emerging adults to prevent this declension. The issue of the priest sexual abuse scandal is largely absent from this study. An important book that will inform a national conversation about the future of Catholic education in the US. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. J. H. Rubin University of Saint Joseph
