Year: 2025

(OSV News) – A new study indicates a growing number of U.S. adults see religion as gaining influence in public life – with more Americans saying religion has a positive impact on society.

In addition, an increasing number of the nation’s adults report feeling at odds with mainstream U.S. culture because of their religious beliefs.

The findings were released by Pew Research Center in an Oct. 20 report.

Data for the study was collected from two surveys of U.S. adults who are part of Pew’s American Trends Panel. Pew polled 9,544 panelists from Feb. 3-9 and another 8,937 from May 5-11.

While “most Americans continue to say that religion’s role in society is declining,” said Pew, “Americans’ views about religion in public life are shifting.”

The center noted that “the share of Americans expressing positive views of religion in 2024 and 2025 are up significantly from 2022 and 2019, indicating an overall shift toward more positive views about religion’s role in American life over the past five years or so.”

— A rise in religion’s influence on society, but still a minority view —

From February 2024 to February 2025, Pew found “a sharp rise” in the share of U.S. adults who hold that religion is becoming more significant in public life.

Back in February 2024, only 18% of U.S. adults — the lowest level recorded by Pew in over two decades — said religion was gaining traction in American life.

But one year later, that number had shot up to 31%, “the highest figure we’ve seen in 15 years,” said Pew in its report.

The rise has been detected “across several demographic groups,” with “gains of at least 10 percentage points among Democrats and Republicans, adults in every age category and in most large religious groups,” said Pew.

White evangelical Protestants (36%, up 20 points) and white non-evangelical Protestants (31%, up 19 points) were most likely to report gains in religion’s influence as of February 2025.

Catholics and the religiously unaffiliated (atheists, agnostics and those who list their religious affiliation as “nothing in particular”) both saw upticks of 12 points in their February 2025 responses, with 27% of Catholics and 31% of the religiously unaffiliated reporting a gain in religion’s influence.

The largest surge was among the Jewish community, which saw an increase of 23 points during the 12-month period, with 44% (up from 21% in February 2024) reporting that religion was gaining influence in U.S. society.

Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Indigenous and other faith communities were not separately analyzed in the report due to insufficient sample sizes, Pew communications manager Hannah Taber explained to OSV News in an email.

Republicans (32% as of February 2025) saw a greater 12-month jump in their view of religion’s influence, up 17 points from February 2024. Democrats, 30% of whom report an increase in religion’s influence, demonstrated a 10-point rise from February 2024.

The share of young adults (ages 18-29) who hold that religion has gained influence shot up 18 points, from 19% in February 2024 to 37% a year later.

At the same time, “most Americans continue to say that religion’s role in society is declining,” with 68% overall currently holding that view — although that number has decreased from 80% in 2024, said the report.

Almost three quarters of the nation’s Catholics (73%) said that religion was losing influence in U.S. society.

— Religion in society: Good or bad? —

Pew also asked survey participants to evaluate the shift, with researchers combining the questions to determine whether respondents ultimately viewed religion’s influence in society as positive or negative.

More than half (59%) of the nation’s adults viewed religion’s influence on American life as positive — either by stating with approval that religion’s influence is growing, or lamenting a decline in religion’s impact.

In contrast, 20% responded negatively, approving the waning of religious influence or expressing concern at its growth.

Another 21% provided “neutral or unclear views,” said Pew.

White evangelical Protestants (92%) were by far the most likely to express positive views, followed by Black Protestants (75%), Catholics (71%) and white non-evangelical Protestants (67%).

Responses among Jewish survey participants were more evenly split, with 36% positive, 38% negative and 26% neutral or unclear.

Pew found that “Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are about twice as likely as Democrats and Democratic leaners to have a positive view of religion,” at 78% vs. 40%.

In addition, “older Americans are more likely than young Americans to express a positive view of religion’s influence in public life,” Pew reported. For example, 71% of adults ages 65 and older express a positive view of religion, compared with 46% of 18- to 29-year-olds.

On balance, said Pew, “the share of Americans expressing positive views of religion in 2024 and 2025 are up significantly from 2022 and 2019, indicating an overall shift toward more positive views about religion’s role in American life over the past five years or so.”

— Christianity and American life —

In its May 2025 survey, Pew included a specific question about Christianity’s influence on American life. Just under half of the respondents (48%) said Christianity’s influence is decreasing, with 27% reporting an increase and 24% replying there has been no real change.

Pew clarified that these results “are not comparable to the question about religion’s changing influence,” since the question structure and response options differed.

At the same time, said Pew, “general patterns on these two questions are similar,” and “a larger share of Americans now say Christianity’s influence on American life is increasing (27%) than said this in 2020 (19%).”

Yet, said Pew, “it is still a minority view.”

— Religion and culture clash —

Notably, Pew reported that for the first time since 2020, “a majority of U.S. adults (58%) say they feel at least some conflict” between their religious beliefs and the nation’s mainstream culture” — up 10 points from February 2024 alone, and up 16 points from February 2020.

“This view is held by roughly half or more of Americans in both political parties and all age groups — and in every religious group analyzed, with the exception of those who say their religion is ‘nothing in particular,'” said Pew.

White evangelicals (80%) are “by far” the most likely to report some level of culture clash, with slightly more than half of Catholics (55%) indicating “some” (42%) or “a great deal” (13%) of tension between their beliefs and the culture, said Pew.

Republican and Republican-leaning respondents (62%) were more likely than their Democratic counterparts (55%) to say they feel such conflict.

Responses were more even among age groups, ranging from 59% for adults ages 18-29 and age 65 and older (57%).

— Loving God, loving country —

In its May 2025 survey, Pew also assessed respondents’ views of patriotism and faith, asking them to rank the importance of that relationship as well as other traits in overall religious identity.

Among Christians, 29% said that “loving your country” was “essential” to being Christian, with 47% ranking patriotism as “important but not essential” and 24% stating it was not important.

White evangelical Protestants (30%) and Catholics (30%) tied among Christians who named patriotism as essential to their identity as Christians.

Republican and Republican-leaning survey participants (33%) were more likely than their Democratic counterparts (23%) to cite patriotism as essential to Christian identity.

Attending religious services regularly was named as essential by 28%, important but not essential by 52% and not important by 20%.

In contrast, Christians were much more likely prioritize as “essential” being honest (86%), treating people with kindness (85%), believing in God (85%) having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (76%) and helping those in need (66%).

Being part of a community (33%) and continuing family traditions (29%) were seen as less essential, although still named as “important but not essential” by 56% and 53% respectively.

— American belief in one true religion —

Data from Pew’s May 2025 survey showed just under half (48%) of U.S. adults hold that many religions may be true.

Just over one quarter (26%) of the nation’s adults believe only one religion is true, with 18% maintaining “there is little truth in any religion” and 6% stating “there is no truth in any religion,” said Pew.

The survey also found that “clear majorities of White nonevangelical Protestants (69%) and Catholics (65%) say many religions may be true,” while “most White evangelicals (62%) say only one religion is true.”

The Catholic Church’s Second Vatican Council affirmed humankind’s innate search for God, stating in “Nostra Aetate” that the church “rejects nothing that is true and holy” in other religions while continuing to “proclaim Christ ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ (Jn 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.”

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue promotes “respect, mutual understanding, and collaboration between Catholics and the followers of others religious traditions,” while the church’s relations with Judaism are specifically engaged through the Commission for Religious Relations with Jews and the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee, both of which are overseen by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Canonizing seven new saints on World Mission Sunday, Pope Leo XIV said God is present wherever the innocent suffer, and his form of justice is forgiveness.

“God grants justice to all, giving his life for all,” he said in his homily during a canonization Mass in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 19 — the second-to-last Sunday of October, when the church prays for missionaries and their efforts in evangelization, education, health care and other ministries.

“Indeed, it is this faith that sustains our commitment to justice, precisely because we believe that God saves the world out of love, freeing us from fatalism,” he said. “When we hear the cries of those in difficulty, let us ask ourselves, are we witnesses to the Father’s love, as Christ was to all?”

Jesus “is the humble one who calls the arrogant to conversion, the just one who makes us just,” he said.

During the second canonization ceremony of his pontificate, Pope Leo declared the sainthood of seven men and women from the 19th to the 21st centuries, including Venezuela’s first saints: St. Maria Rendiles Martínez and St. José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros.

St. Rendiles was the Venezuelan founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus, who was born in Caracas in 1903 and died in 1977. St. Hernández was born in 1864 and became a Third Order Franciscan. A Venezuelan doctor, he became known as “the doctor of the poor,” and he was killed in an accident in 1919 on his way to helping a patient.

The pope also canonized:

— St. Ignatius Maloyan, the martyred Armenian Catholic archbishop of Mardin, which is in present-day Turkey; born in 1869, he was arrested, tortured and executed in Turkey in 1915.

— St. Peter To Rot, a martyred lay catechist, husband and father from Papua New Guinea. Born in 1912, he was arrested in 1945 during the Japanese occupation in World War II and was killed by lethal injection while in prison.

— St. Vincenza Maria Poloni, founder of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona, Italy; she lived from 1802-1855.

— St. Maria Troncatti, a Salesian sister born in Italy in 1883 who became a missionary in Ecuador in 1922. She died in a plane crash in 1969.

— St. Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer born in 1841. He had been a militant opponent of the church and involved in the occult, but converted, dedicating himself to charity and to building the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei. He died in 1926.

The pope called the new saints “faithful friends of Christ” who are “not heroes or champions of some ideal, but authentic men and women,” who were martyrs for their faith, evangelizers, missionaries, charismatic founders and “benefactors of humanity.”

Having faith on earth is what “sustains the hope for heaven,” the pope said in his homily.

In fact, Christ tells his disciples “to pray always” without becoming weary, he said. “Just as breathing sustains the life of the body, so prayer sustains the life of the soul: faith, in fact, is expressed in prayer, and authentic prayer lives on faith.”

In his parable of the persistent widow in the day’s Gospel reading (Lk. 18:1-8), Jesus asks his disciples if they believe God is a just judge toward everyone, and “if we believe that the Father always wants our good and the salvation of every person.”

It is important to ask because two temptations test this belief, the pope said. The first temptation “draws strength from the scandal of evil, leading us to think that God does not hear the cries of the oppressed and has no pity for the innocent who suffer.”

“The second temptation is the claim that God must act as we want him to: prayer then gives way to a command to God, to teach him how to be just and effective,” he said.

But Jesus “frees us from both temptations,” especially with his words during his passion, “Father, your will be done,” Pope Leo said.

“The cross of Christ reveals God’s justice, and God’s justice is forgiveness. He sees evil and redeems it by taking it upon himself,” he said. “When we are ‘crucified’ by pain and violence, by hatred and war, Christ is already there, on the cross for us and with us.”

“There is no cry that God does not console; there is no tear that is far from his heart,” he said. “The Lord listens to us, embraces us as we are, and transforms us as he is.”

“Those who reject God’s mercy, however, remain incapable of mercy toward their neighbor. Those who do not welcome peace as a gift will not know how to give peace,” he said.

Jesus invites the faithful “to hope and action,” and he asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith in God’s providence?” the pope said.

After the Mass and before praying the Angelus, Pope Leo thanked the leaders and dignitaries from different countries who attended the canonization Mass, including Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Lebanese President Joseph Khalil Aoun.

He told some 70,000 people present that “today is World Mission Day.”

While the entire church is missionary, “today we pray especially for those men and women who have left everything behind to bring the Gospel to those who do not know it,” he said. “They are missionaries of hope among all peoples.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Leo XIV traveled 23 miles by car to board the “Bel Espoir” sailboat and speak to the crew about peacemaking.

The boat, whose name means “beautiful hope,” had spent the previous eight months sailing to 30 Mediterranean ports where rotating crews of 25 young adults met their peers and talked about their faith and the challenges to peace.

Meeting the last crew Oct. 17 at the marina in Ostia, outside of Rome, Pope Leo told them the world needs “signs, witness, impressions that give hope.”

The name of the boat and, even more, the efforts of the young people “are indeed a sign of hope for the Mediterranean and the world,” he told them.

Living and working together on the boat, the pope said, has taught them the importance of dialogue.

“How important it is to learn to talk to one another, to sit down, to learn to listen, to express your own ideas and your own values with respect for one another” so that others also feel they were heard, he said.

Eight groups of 25 young adults from different Mediterranean countries and different religions each spent a month as part of the crew and held roundtable discussions on different themes with young adults in the 30 ports of call.

The experience, the pope said, should have reinforced for them the importance of “building bridges,” not literally, “but a bridge among all of us, peoples from many different nations.”

Pope Leo said he had asked each member of the crew where they were from, which made it obvious that despite big differences in language, faith and culture, the young adults still made life aboard work.

Living on a relatively small boat with a large group of people, he said, “you have to learn how to live with one another and how to respect one another, and how to work out the difficulties, and that too is a great experience for all of you as young people, but (also) something that you can teach all of us.”

Noting that the crew included several Palestinians, Pope Leo told the group that it is especially important to learn “to be promoters of peace in a world that more and more tends to go toward violence and hatred and separation and distance and polarization.”

The young people can show the world that “we can come together, even though we are from different countries, we have different languages, different cultures, different religions, and yet we are all human beings.”

“We all sons and daughters of the one God,” he said. “We are all living together on this world, and we all have a shared responsibility to together care for creation and care for one another and to promote peace throughout the world.”

Pope Leo also told the crew that he had been to Ostia many times as an Augustinian friar because of the port town’s close connection to the story of St. Augustine and, especially, his mother, St. Monica.

In fact, St. Monica died in Ostia in 387 while waiting for St. Augustine to join her for the return journey to North Africa. She was buried there, but her remains were moved to Rome in the 15th century.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While the number of Catholic priests and religious continues to decline, the number of lay missionaries, catechists and permanent deacons continues to increase, according to the news agency Fides.

In anticipation of the celebration Oct. 19 of World Mission Sunday, the Vatican’s missionary news agency shared statistics about the Catholic population, church personnel and the works they are engaged in.

In a message released Oct. 13, Pope Leo XIV, who served for decades as a missionary in Peru, encouraged all Catholics to mark World Mission Sunday with their prayers and financial support for the church’s missionary work.

According to Fides, the number of Catholics in the world was just over 1.4 billion as of June 30, 2023, Fides reported. That represented an increase of 15.8 million Catholics over the previous year, an increase reported in every continent, including Europe, which had reported a decrease in the Catholic population from 2021 to 2022.

The continents with the largest increases were Africa, with more than 8.3 million baptisms, and the Americas with close to 5.7 million baptisms.

“For the past five years, available statistics show that the total number of priests in the world continues to decline, reaching 406,996,” a decrease of 734 over the previous year, the news agency said.

The number of permanent deacons in the world continued to climb, reaching 51,433 in the world. The largest number of ordinations was in the Americas, with 1,257, followed by Oceania – Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific – with 57 new deacons.

The number of religious brothers in the world declined slightly to 48,748 while the number of religious sisters dropped by more than 9,000 to 589,423.

At the same time, Fides reported, the number of lay missionaries grew by more than 31,000 to reach 444,606. And the number of catechists increased by more than 17,000 to reach more than 2.8 million.

The Catholic Church, Fides said, runs more than 103,000 health care facilities, including 5,377 hospitals and 13,895 clinics or dispensaries. There are 504 church-run care homes for people with Hansen’s disease, mainly in Asia and Africa.

Other church facilities include more than 15,000 homes for the elderly or chronically ill and close to 8,600 orphanages.

The number of Catholic schools and the number of students served also continues to grow, Fides reported.

The Catholic Church runs 74,550 kindergartens with more than 7.6 million students, 102,455 primary schools with more than 36.1 million students and more than 52,000 secondary schools serving more than 20.7 million pupils.

ROME (CNS) – “Allowing millions of human beings to live – and die – as victims of hunger is a collective failure, an ethical aberration, a historical fault,” Pope Leo XIV said on World Food Day.

The pope drove across Rome Oct. 16 to address world leaders and government representatives at the headquarters of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. In addition to marking World Food Day, the delegates were celebrating the 80th anniversary of FAO’s establishment.

In his speech, Pope Leo decried the fact that while humanity has made huge advances in technology, medicine, agriculture and transportation, 673 million people go to bed hungry each night, and 2.3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet.

The FAO statistics are not just numbers, he said; “behind each of these numbers is a broken life, a vulnerable community.”

“This is not a coincidence, but the clear sign of a prevailing insensitivity, of a soulless economy, of a questionable model of development, and of an unjust and unsustainable system of resource distribution,” Pope Leo insisted.

Perhaps referring to the situation in Gaza, but also to other war zones, the pope said that “current conflict scenarios have brought back the use of food as a weapon of war.”

A global conviction that “deliberate starvation as well as the intentional obstruction of access to food for communities or entire peoples, constitutes a war crime” seems to be slipping away, he said.

The “cruel strategy” of using food as a weapon of war, the pope said, “condemns men, women and children to hunger by denying them the most basic right: the right to life.”

While governments have an obvious role in addressing hunger, Pope Leo said no one can consider the problem to be someone else’s responsibility.

“Those who suffer from hunger are not strangers,” he said. “They are my brothers and sisters, and I must help them without delay.”

Hunger “is a cry rising to heaven, demanding a swift response from every nation, from every international body, from every regional, local or private entity,” he said. “It is a battle that belongs to us all.”

“How can we explain the inequalities that allow a few to have everything, while so many have nothing?” Pope Leo asked.

And, he said, “How can we fail to remember all of those who are condemned to death and hardship in Ukraine, Gaza, Haiti, Afghanistan, Mali, the Central African Republic, Yemen and South Sudan, to name just a few places on the planet where poverty has become the daily bread of so many of our brothers and sisters?”

No individual or government can look the other way, the pope said. “We must make their suffering our own.”

“We cannot aspire to a more just social life if we are not willing to rid ourselves of the apathy that justifies hunger as if it were background music we have grown accustomed to,” the pope said.

Failure to act, even for individuals, he said, is to be “complicit in the promotion of injustice.”

“We cannot hope for a better world, a bright and peaceful future, if we are not willing to share what we ourselves have received,” Pope Leo said. “Only then can we affirm — with truth and courage — that no one has been left behind.”

SCRANTON – World Mission Sunday is a special day that unites Catholics worldwide in prayer, solidarity, and support for the Church’s mission efforts.

This year’s theme, chosen by the late Pope Francis, is inspired by the Jubilee of Hope: “Missionaries of Hope Among the Peoples.” It is an invitation to bring Christ’s light and hope to the world, especially to communities where the Church is young, growing, and often struggling.

A Pontifical Mass in honor of World Mission Sunday will be celebrated at the Cathedral of Saint Peter, 315 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, at 12:15 p.m.

The Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will serve as the principal celebrant, and the homily will be delivered by Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi of the Diocese of Sunyani, Ghana. All are invited to attend.

This year’s celebration of World Mission Sunday at the Cathedral of Saint Peter will carry special meaning for the Diocese of Scranton, which has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the Diocese of Sunyani. Currently, eight priests from Sunyani serve in the Diocese of Scranton as pastors or assistant pastors, enriching parish life with their faith, energy, and missionary zeal. Their presence is a reminder of the universal nature of the Catholic Church and the bonds of solidarity that connect communities across continents.

Bishop Gyamfi has led the Diocese of Sunyani since 2003, guiding its faithful with a strong emphasis on evangelization, Catholic education, and care for the poor. His visit to Scranton offers an opportunity for local Catholics to hear directly about the joys and challenges facing the Church in Ghana and other mission territories. His presence highlights the vital role that mission dioceses play in the global Church and the importance of prayerful and financial support from Catholics everywhere.

All are warmly invited to attend this special liturgy. Following Mass, a light reception will be held in the Diocesan Pastoral Center, with displays from religious communities serving in the Diocese. Together, Bishop Bambera and Bishop Gyamfi will remind the faithful that the call to mission is shared by all, and that through generosity and prayer, the Gospel continues to reach the ends of the earth.

Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton will provide a live broadcast of the Mass. The Mass will also be livestream on the Diocese of Scranton website, YouTube channel and across all Diocesan social media platforms.

My Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Each year, World Mission Sunday reminds us of something profound: we are not simply individual believers, but members of one family in Christ, called to share the hope that has been given to us. This year’s theme, “Missionaries of Hope Among the Peoples,” speaks directly to the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. These words take on deeper meaning under Pope Leo XIV, whose own life as a missionary in Peru gives witness to the very hope we are called to share.

It is worth remembering that the Catholic Church here in the United States was itself once mission territory. Just over a century ago, our parishes and schools were taking root through the generosity of Catholics from across the ocean who understood that faith shared is faith multiplied. They gave to families they would never meet, recognizing the urgency of living their faith in service to sisters and brothers beyond their own church walls.

Today, that same call comes to us. We are asked to extend our hands and hearts to the 1,124 mission territories where the Church is still taking root amid poverty, persecution, and tremendous challenges. These communities in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Oceania, and the Middle East depend on our prayers and support.

When we contribute to the World Mission Sunday collection, we become part of something beautiful. Our gifts help form seminarians, train catechists, build schools where children discover they are beloved by God, and support hospitals where healing becomes witness to Christ’s love.

As Pope Francis reminded us, “We cannot be inactive Christians. To sit on the sidelines as a follower of Jesus makes no sense.” The light of Christ we celebrate each Sunday is meant to reach the ends of the earth through our prayers, generosity, and willingness to see ourselves as missionaries right here, right now.

I encourage you to respond with hearts open to the Spirit’s call. Your sacrifice joins with thousands of others to ensure the Gospel reaches those who might otherwise never hear it, affirming that we are one Church, one family, united in bringing God’s love to all people.

May this World Mission Sunday inspire you to live as missionaries of hope in your homes, workplaces, and communities, discovering more fully who we are called to be as disciples of the risen Christ.

Faithfully yours in Christ,

Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.

Bishop of Scranton

 

 

SCRANTON – Since 2020, the Diocese of Scranton has raised $1,016,918.19 to support mission territories around the world! This impressive total comes from participation in three programs of the Pontifical Mission Societies: World Mission Sunday, the Missionary Cooperative Plan, and the Missionary Childhood Association. Each of these offers us a unique way to live out our faith by supporting those who serve in some of the poorest and most remote areas of the world.

World Mission Sunday, celebrated each October, unites Catholics worldwide in prayer and solidarity for the Church’s mission efforts. Contributions support over 1,100 mission dioceses in Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and remote regions of Latin America. These funds help build churches, train seminarians, support religious sisters, and provide education, healthcare, and pastoral outreach.

The Missionary Cooperative Plan invites missionaries from around the world to visit parishes in our Diocese each summer. Through personal stories and firsthand witness, the parishioners gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced in mission territories. Special collections taken during these visits go directly to the missionaries’ home dioceses or religious communities, supporting essential work in evangelization and humanitarian aid.

The Missionary Childhood Association helps form a missionary spirit in young Catholics through education, prayer, and sacrifice. With the motto of “children helping children,” many of our Catholic schools and parish religious education programs participate in the Missionary Childhood Association. Their support funds schools, orphanages, clinics, and catechetical programs for children in mission lands.

Crossing the million-dollar mark isn’t just a cause for celebration – it’s a reminder of who we are. We are a missionary Church, rooted in love and sent to serve. Thank you for saying “yes” to that call, and for being the hands and heart of Christ reaching out to the world.