The decline of the religious in US Catholic schools: the effects of the changing religious ethos on high school seniors

Abstract

Catholic schools in the United States have been in a serious state of decline, with the closing of a rising number of Catholic elementary and secondary schools, a major drop in student enrolments, and a real shortage of clergy and religious brothers and sisters to work in these schools. The purpose of this research article is to analyse how this overall decline in Catholic schools (numbers and enrolments) – with concomitant losses in religious leaders, teachers, and chaplains – may be affecting a cohort of students completing their secondary school education.