NEW church attendance statistics show a 13 per cent fall in Catholic Massgoers between 1996 and 2001.
The figures are contained in a report released by the National Church Life Survey (NCLS).
While the report showed a 13 per cent drop in Catholic Mass attendance between 1996 and 2001, it also showed strong growth in Pentecostal and some Evangelical churches.
In light of the statistics, researcher Bob Dixon said attracting young people remained the major challenge for the Catholic Church in Australia.
Mr Dixon, who is director of the Pastoral Projects Office of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC), co-ordinated the 1996 Catholic Church Life Survey and is a member of the NCLS Research team working on the 2001 National Church Life Survey.
He said the interesting question for the Catholic Church was what could be done to stop the decline.
He prepared a paper using research from the 1996 Catholic survey, the 2001 NCLS and the NCLS report on national church attendance.
Among the findings were that 15 per cent of Australia’s Catholics attend Mass each weekend, average weekly attendance declined by almost 100,000 between 1996 and 2001; the average number of children (aged under 15) attending per parish has declined from 119 in 1996 to 92 in 2001; and the rate of attendance has declined among Catholics of all ages, including those in the oldest age groups.
ACBC representative on the NCLS steering committee, Fr Brian Lucas said: ‘The decline of weekly attendance at Mass, for us as for other denominations, is of great concern.
‘However, we are heartened that the national census tells us that over 5 million Australians continue to identify themselves as Catholic (27 per cent).’
Dr Ruth Powell of NCLS Research said growth occurred where denominations were effective in attracting newcomers to church life, while at the same time working to retain teenagers and young adults.
Dr Powell said this phenomenon was not about the Churches dying out but it was to do with ‘a reforming, rearranging, rebirthing’, and Churches were exploring new models.
