Catholic Parishes of the 21st Century

Charles Zech is a professor of economics in the Villanova University School of Business and the Director of Villanova's Center for Church Management. He is the author or co-author of over 50 articles and 12 books on the topic of church management.Mary L. Gautier is a sociologist and senior research associate at CARA. She specializes in Catholic demographic trends in the United States. She edits The CARA Report, and is the co-author of eight books on Catholicism.Mark M. Gray is the director of CARA Catholic Polls and a senior research associate at CARA. A political scientist, he specializes at CARA in attitudinal and polling research. He teaches in Georgetown University's Catholic Studies and Liberal Studies programs.Jonathon Wiggins is a CARA researcher whose primary focus is helping parishes to plan for the future through Parish Life Surveys. He teaches part-time at Georgetown University, where he once served as a chaplain-in-residence.Thomas P. Gaunt, S.J. is the executive director at CARA. Prior to CARA, he served in Jesuit governance on the national and province level for sixteen years, and earlier on was a pastor and director of planning in the Dioces of Charlotte for ten years.

• Foreword Chapter One: IntroductionChapter Two: A Quarter-Century of ChangeChapter Three: Changing Demographics in Pastoral LeadershipChapter Four: Parish Reconfiguration StrategiesChapter Five: Parish AdministrationChapter Six: Catholic Parish Finances in the Twenty-First CenturyChapter Seven: Who's in the PewsChapter Eight: Cultural Diversity in Parish Life Chapter Nine: The View from the Pews Chapter Ten: Summary and Conclusions AppendixNotesReferences Index

Much needed, intellectually rich, and clearly written... This ambitious project is a highly commendable work that is a vital resource for understanding American Catholic life and, specifically, how parishes operate and function in the context of the twenty-first century. The book illuminates how religious structures like American parishes are currently adapting to serve the needs of their parishioners in this changing context.