Two-thirds of Catholics believe Jesus is present in the Eucharist, but only 17% attend Mass weekly, according to survey
Almost two-thirds of Catholics believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but only 17% of adult Catholics physically attend Mass at least once per week, according to a newly published survey from Georgetown University’s Centre for Applied Research in the Apostolate. The survey also revealed a high correlation between belief in the Eucharist and weekly or even monthly Mass attendance.
The 2022 survey of self-identified Catholics published Sept. 26 and titled “Eucharist Beliefs: A National Survey of Adult Catholics” found 64% of respondents provided responses that indicate they believe in the Real Presence, that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly present under the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist.
That conclusion was drawn from both open-ended and closed-ended questions respondents were asked about their under-standing of church teaching about the Eucharist and additional questions to clarify their beliefs
According to the CARA stu-dy, 49% of respondents correctly identified that the church teaches that “Jesus Christ is truly present under the appearance of bread and wine.” The other 51% inco-rrectly identified the church’s teaching as “Bread and wine are symbols of Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper, meaning that Jesus is only symbolically present in the consecrated bread and wine.”
“Results of this question indicate that there is substantial confusion about what the church teaches about the Eucharist with slightly more adult Catholics not knowing this correctly than those correctly identifying the teach-ings,” the report stated.