Study explores ‘Jesus without Church’ paradox

[Michie]

The number of people who believe their faith does not depend on attending Mass has increased as more Catholics are cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus, according to a recent survey of U.S. Catholic beliefs.

ACS Technologies, a church management software and data analysis company, investigated the trends in “American Beliefs Study: Religious Preferences and Practices.” The study researched the religious preferences, practices, beliefs, and media habits of Americans.

Initially conducted in 2012-2013 and repeated in 2016-2017, 2020-2021, and 2024-2025, the study reflects the responses of roughly 60,000 participants over time. The most recent version of the study surveyed more than 15,000 Americans on Christian preferences, affiliations, values, and beliefs.

ACST Catholic, a business of ACS Technologies, specifically examined the feedback from 3,100 self-identified Catholic participants in the most recent survey. The updated findings were published in a recent guide: “The Evolving Landscape of Catholic Beliefs in 2025.”

Continued below.

Study explores ‘Jesus without Church’ paradox

The number of people who believe faith does not depend on attending Mass has grown, according to a survey.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

 

[JimR-OCDS]

"The number of people who believe their faith does not depend on attending Mass has increased as more Catholics are cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus, according to a recent survey of U.S. Catholic beliefs."

So, this is bad?

Consider a parish that embraces LGBTQ+ ideology and works to drive conservatives away?

 

[Michie]

"The number of people who believe their faith does not depend on attending Mass has increased as more Catholics are cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus, according to a recent survey of U.S. Catholic beliefs."

So, this is bad?

Consider a parish that embraces LGBTQ+ ideology and works to drive conservatives away?

There are many Protestants that think this way as well.

 

[Valletta]

"The number of people who believe their faith does not depend on attending Mass has increased as more Catholics are cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus, according to a recent survey of U.S. Catholic beliefs."

So, this is bad?

Consider a parish that embraces LGBTQ+ ideology and works to drive conservatives away?

The conclusion is misleading. As to attending mass, the question was "Belief in Jesus does not require attending Mass."

 

[JimR-OCDS]

The conclusion is misleading. As to attending mass, the question was "Belief in Jesus does not require attending Mass."

Attending Mass deepens a person's relationship with Jesus if they have faith. However, just attending Mass out of obligation
and daydreaming through it does not mean the person has faith.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

There are many Protestants that think this way as well.

Faith in Jesus must be first. Christ came into my life before I returned to the Church. It was
through Him that I returned to the Church and grew spiritually. Without the revelation
of Jesus Christ, I would probably not have returned to the Church.

 

[timewerx]

Ironically, it's both prophesied and Biblical teaching that attending church will no longer be necessary.

1 John 2:27
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Propecy of it:

Jeremiah 31:33:34
33“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”

Many will counter that by saying the Holy Spirit will guide Christians to attend church but 1 John 2:27 already negates it.

Some will quote Paul's epistles but not aware that Paul's teachings are under a heavy cultural and period-specific context which Paul himself said - 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

 

[Valletta]

Attending Mass deepens a person's relationship with Jesus if they have faith. However, just attending Mass out of obligation
and daydreaming through it does not mean the person has faith.

They have faith enough to show up.

 

[Michie]

Ironically, it's both prophesied and Biblical teaching that attending church will no longer be necessary.

1 John 2:27
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Propecy of it:

Jeremiah 31:33:34
33“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”

Many will counter that by saying the Holy Spirit will guide Christians to attend church but 1 John 2:27 already negates it.

Some will quote Paul's epistles but not aware that Paul's teachings are under a heavy cultural and period-specific context which Paul himself said - 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

You are in the Catholic forum…

 

[Valletta]

Ironically, it's both prophesied and Biblical teaching that attending church will no longer be necessary.

1 John 2:27
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Propecy of it:

Jeremiah 31:33:34
33“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”

Many will counter that by saying the Holy Spirit will guide Christians to attend church but 1 John 2:27 already negates it.

Some will quote Paul's epistles but not aware that Paul's teachings are under a heavy cultural and period-specific context which Paul himself said - 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

It's not a matter of teaching. Receiving the Eucharist at mass is following the instructions of Jesus to "do this." The Church, through the power granted by Jesus as per the Bible, makes minimal requirements of the faithful to attend mass, knowing how important it is.