I’m so happy to announce that I am working with Liturgical Press on a book that explores the beliefs, practices and ministerial possibilities for engaging Catholics who attend Mass infrequently. The working title is Cultural Catholics: Who They Are, How to Respond and will use the most recent wave of the American Catholic Laity survey. In analyzing the self-reported attitudes and behaviors of over 1500 Catholics, this book allows us to compare the 53 percent of American Catholics who attend Mass “a few times a year” or less often with more regular Mass attenders, offering ministerial insights for reaching out to Catholics who are less engaged with parish life.

This book will explore how cultural Catholics understand and enact their Catholic identity, their political and civic beliefs, their experiences in parish life and thoughts on Church leadership. It is geared primarily for parish, campus and diocesan leaders who want to cast a wider net in their accompaniment and ministerial offerings and will likely be a useful read for a variety of ecclesial leaders.