Drawing extensively on the 2001 Australian Census and the 2001 National Church Life Survey, The Catholic Community in Australia provides a detailed demographic profile of both the Catholic community in general and of those who are active in Church life. As well as painting a comprehensive profile of the contemporary Catholic community, it also traces the history of Catholics in Australia from the First Fleet to the present day, and examines how the richness of the community's traditions increased through the arrival of Catholic immigrants from many countries during the second half of the twentieth century. The book also includes a brief account of the major Catholic beliefs and religious practices and looks at the complex organisations and activities that make up the Catholic Church. It concludes by noting both the achievements of the Church in Australia and the challenges it faces in the years ahead.

The book is a completely revised, updated and expanded version of Dixon's 1996 book The Catholics in Australia.

Features of the new edition include:

• the characteristics of families of Catholic children attending school (p. 87)
• changes in the demographics of the Catholic population between 1991 and 2001 (p. 89)
• dis-identification among young adult Catholics (p. 91)
• Mass attendance rates by age (p. 97)
• the demographic characteristics of Mass attenders (pp. 99-105)
• trends in baptisms and marriages (pp. 111-115).

The book has the capacity to appeal to a wide audience, including

• teachers in Catholic schools and students studying religion in Australian society,
• people involved in parish life and participants in RCIA programs,
• members of the general public with an interest in the Church and the Catholic faith

The book has been published by Openbook Publishers in Adelaide in association with the Christian Research Association (CRA). It was launched by Archbishop Denis Hart at the Melbourne Campus of Australian Catholic University on 17 June.

The Catholic Community in Australia is available for $28.00, including postage (5 or more copies, $20 each). To obtain a copy please contact The Christian Research Association on 03 9878 3477 or email: admin@cra.org.au

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Who Goes When? Mass attenders and their usual Mass time

Results at a glance

Parishes with Sunday evening Masses

In the major cities, parishes which provide a Sunday evening Mass tend to have:

• a larger overall attendance
• a higher proportion of people aged 15‑29 among their attenders,
• a higher proportion of attenders who live outside the parish, and
• higher attendance measured as a proportion of the Catholic population of the parish.

Attenders in these same parishes tend to have a weaker sense of belonging than attenders in parishes which don't have a Sunday evening Mass.

Only one of these effects is found in parishes outside the major cities: those which have a Sunday evening Mass tend to have a larger overall attendance than those which do not.

Providing a Sunday evening Mass is potentially one way in which a parish can increase its attendance and, in the major cities at least, attract more young adults. On the other hand, a parish which discontinues its Sunday evening Mass risks losing its best opportunity of contact with young adults.

Characteristics of attenders at different Mass times*

People who attend Mass at different times are quite different from one another. They differ in their demographic makeup, their levels of parish involvement and in their experience of the liturgy.

In particular, Sunday evening congregations differ markedly from those that meet on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings. They have a much younger average age, a much more even gender balance, more people with a tertiary education and a much higher proportion of people who do not live in the parish where they attend Mass. Sunday evening attenders tend to attach less importance to the place of the parish in their lives and to derive less satisfaction from the liturgy than attenders at other Mass times.

These differences have pastoral implications that need to be considered by all those interested in the mission of the parish.

Age

• Early Sunday morning is the most popular Mass time for people age 60 or more.

• Sunday evening is easily the most popular time for older teenagers and young adults.
• Mass attenders aged 80 have a strong preference for a single Mass time, and prefer not to go to Mass at different times from week to week.

Education

• People with higher levels of education favoured Sunday evenings.
• Congregations at early Sunday morning Masses have a lower percentage of people with
• university degrees than at any other Mass time.

Length of attendance

• The early Sunday morning Mass time has the highest proportion of people who have been going to Mass in the same parish for twenty years or more.
• Sunday evening Masses have the highest proportion of visitors.

Home location

• The early Sunday morning Mass time has the highest proportion of people who live in the parish where they attend Mass.
• Even after taking account of the high level of visitors at Sunday evening Masses, attenders at that time include the highest percentage of people who attend Mass in a parish other than the one in which they live.

Sense of belonging

• The highest percentage of people with a strong and growing, or stable, sense of belonging are found among people who often attend Mass at different times, but not on Sunday evening.
• The lowest percentage of people with a strong and growing or a stable sense of belonging are found among people who go to Mass on Sunday evening.

Preferred style of music

• Early Sunday morning attenders expressed the strongest preference for traditional hymns at Mass.
• Sunday evening and Saturday evening attenders expressed the strongest preference for contemporary liturgical music.

Experience of liturgy

• Sunday evening attenders were the least likely to experience joy and a sense of God's presence during Mass, and the most likely to say they experienced boredom.
• Sunday evening attenders were also the least likely to say they found the preaching they heard at Mass helpful to them in their everyday lives.

* Age plays a part in many of the findings presented here, but in most cases the differences between attenders at different Mass times remain even after controlling for age. One exception is attenders' experience of liturgy: most of the difference between groups attending Mass at different times is due to variation in their age profiles.

Download full report here.

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Australia's Religious Communities (CD-ROM; 2nd Edition)

A CD-ROM produced by the Christian Research Association. Edited by Rev Dr Philip Hughes.

This outstanding CD-ROM provides an account of more than 170 religious groups in Australia, with 29 major religious traditions given detailed, book-length treatment covering the tradition's history, particularly its history in Australia, its beliefs and practices, organisation, current statistics, and biographies of selected individuals. A shorter account is given of other groups.

In most cases, the story of each religious group is told by a member of the group, in straightforward, descriptive language.

The material on the Catholic community was prepared by Robert Dixon, author of The Catholic Community in Australia and Director of the Pastoral Projects Office. There is a high degree of overlap between the book and the Catholic component of the CD content.

The CD is an outstanding resource for all Catholic organisations, especially parishes and schools.

For students and teachers, this resource makes available relevant, accessible, accurate information in a well-presented, attractive and engaging format. A great resource for schools and all interested in the study of Australia's religious heritage and practice.
- Dr Sandra Carroll, Lecturer in Religious Education, Australian Catholic University

The cost of the CD is $137.50.

To obtain a copy, please contact The Christian Research Association on 03 9878 3477 or email: admin@cra.org.au

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