Analysis of Catholic Mass Attendance
The National Centre for Pastoral Research analyses census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and produces national, diocesan and parish level reports on the Catholic population.
This December 2020 report is an in-depth analysis of Catholic Mass attendance in Australia. The report findings offer a detailed review of the demographic characteristics of Mass attenders and the changes in attendance over time. These insights have been drawn from three research projects, the National Count of Attendance, the National Church Life Survey and the Australian Census.
The National Centre for Pastoral Research published an earlier version of this report in 2013, reporting results from data collected in 2011. This current report provides updated tables and charts using the 2016 results, with commentary on what has changed in the last 20 years. Additional information on the age and sex of Mass attenders in dioceses has also been included. Some results from the 2016 National Count of Attendance have been reported in earlier print and online publications. These are reproduced here to provide a comprehensive picture of Mass Attendance in Australia at this time.
Highlights
- In 2016, the number of people at Mass in Australia on a typical weekend was about 623,400, or 11.8 per cent of the Catholic population.
- The percentage of Mass attenders born in non-English-speaking countries has risen from about 18 per cent in 1996 to almost 37 per cent in 2016.
- Over the last 20 years, the number of attenders born in Australia and in other English-speaking countries has almost halved.
- Almost one third of Mass attenders (32.5%) are currently aged between 60 and 74 years, and attenders overall are ageing.
- Over three in every five attenders are women; this ratio has remained unchanged over five successive surveys.
Access the full report at the link below.
Document: In-depth analysis of Catholic Mass attendance in Australia (PDF 922.2KB)