Market Forces and Catholic Commitment: Exploring the New Paradigm

Abstract

The traditional paradigm in the sociology of religion sees strength in religious monopolies, attributing to them the ability to sustain an unchallenged, taken-for-granted sacred canopy. The newer paradigm regards religious monopolies as weak, locating religious vitality in pluralism and competition. A crucial test of these competing paradigms arises in the hypothesis that rank-and-file Catholic commitment varies inversely to the proportion nominally Catholic within any appropriate set of units of analysis. Results based on the 102 Roman Catholic dioceses of the United States show that ordination rates, the ratio of priests to nominal Catholics, and Catholic school enrollment are proportionately highest where Catholics are few. Results based on the 50 states show the same inverse relationship between the percent Catholic and the ratio of priest to Catholics. These data also show that the smaller a state's Catholic minority, the higher the circulation rate of the Catholic Digest