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‘Rural Revival’? Inside the Surprising Catholic Convert Spike in America’s Heartland

Michie

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Rural dioceses are experiencing new signs of life and deserve to be as much a part of the ‘Catholic revival’ conversation as their big-city counterparts.

America’s apparent Catholic revival appears strongest among the college-educated but may be leaving working-class people behind.

Does this also mean that the Catholic convert numbers are the highest in major metropolitan areas where the white-collar demographic tends to congregate, while more blue-collar rural dioceses are stagnating?

The answer, paradoxically, is No.

Leading up to Easter, the Register collected data on total conversions in dioceses across the country and compared the numbers to last year. While some dioceses that include major metros made the top 10 for percentage increase in conversions — St. Petersburg (84%) and Kansas City-St. Joseph (70%) — the list is dominated by more sparsely populated rural dioceses.

Continued below.