Catholic World News News Feature
60% of US Catholics obey Lenten fast March 14, 2008
Just 60% of American Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent, a new survey shows.
Abstinence from meat on Friday is obligatory for adult Catholics. But the Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University found that 40% of self-identified Catholics do not follow that Church directive.
The CARA survey found that 45% of Catholics receive ashes on Ash Wednesday, and 44% undertake some special spiritual effort-- either giving something up or doing something positive-- during Lent.
Traditional practices of Lenten discipline are much more common among Catholics who attend Mass regularly, CARA found. Of the survey respondents who attended Mass each Sunday, 89% abstained from meat on Friday and 85% reported making some other special effort during the penitential season.
CARA also found that young adult Catholics of the "millennium generation" were more likely than their parents to follow the prescribed Lenten fasting regulations, and considerably more likely to give up something else, along with meatless Fridays, during Lent.
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