A survey of 2,401 Catholic adults found that 39% said they have faced racial discrimination at some point in their lives, and 10% said they have faced racial discrimination within their parish community.
The survey was published on Oct. 26 by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), which is a research center at Georgetown University that produces social scientific studies about the Catholic Church.
It found significant differences among racial and ethnic categories, with Indigenous and Black Catholics reporting the highest levels of racial discrimination. Non-Hispanic white Catholics reported the lowest levels of racial discrimination.
The survey found that 75% of Indigenous Catholics reported experiences of racial discrimination in their lives. About 15% said they have experienced it in their parishes and 23% have experienced it in Catholic education.
It found that 66% of Black Catholics said they have experienced racial discrimination at some point in their lives, with 26% experiencing it in their parish communities and 26% experiencing it in Catholic education.
About 54% of Hispanic Catholics reported experiencing racial discrimination in their lives, with 15% saying they have experienced it in their parishes and 16% saying they have experienced it in Catholic education.
Among Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian Catholics, 54% said they have experienced racial discrimination in their lives, with 11% saying they experienced it in their parishes and 14% saying they have experienced it in Catholic education.
For white non-Hispanic Catholics, 29% reported they have experienced racial discrimination in their lives, with 6% saying they experienced it in their parishes and 7% saying they experienced it in Catholic education.
The largest category of respondents was white non-Hispanic Catholics, who made up 49% of those surveyed. About 24% of respondents were Hispanic; 16% were Black; 6% were Asian, Pacific Islander, or Native Hawaiian; 2% were Indigenous; 1% were another race; and 1% were mixed.
Ali Mumbach, research assistant for CARA, told EWTN News: "The findings from this report are very revealing about racism in the U.S. Catholic Church."
"There is one group that experiences racial discrimination within the walls of the Catholic Church in the U.S. more than any other," Mumbach said. "Black Catholics are the most likely to attend a parish that has merged (26%), have experienced racial discrimination in their parish (26%) as well as in Catholic education (26%). Twenty-six percent is 1 in 4 Black Catholics, compared to 1 in 10 adult Catholics in their parish or in Catholic education."
"Based on the findings in this study, adult Catholics are generally in agreement with Church teachings that racism is a sin," she said. "However, the reality of living out anti-racism within the Church seems to be a different story."
A large majority of each racial and ethnic group said they believe implicit and explicit racism exist in their local communities to some degree. Implicit racism refers to forms of discrimination, such as unfair housing, access to education, and job opportunities. Explicit racism refers to forms of discrimination, such as verbal name calling, being denied services, and racial profiling.
The survey found that 17% of Catholics believe implicit racism exists "very much" in their local communities. It found that 33% believe it exists "somewhat," 28% believe it exists "a little," and 22% said it does not exist at all in their communities.
It found that 19% of Catholics said they believe explicit racism exists "very much" in their local communities, 32% said it exists "somewhat," 27% said it exists "a little" and 22% said it does not exist at all.
White Catholics were the least likely to say explicit and implicit racism exists "very much" in their local communities. Black Catholics were the most likely to say those forms of racism exist "very much" in their communities.
Views about racism
The survey also asked respondents about their views on racism, which CARA said is derived from Church documents that condemn and define racism. A majority of each racial and ethnic group strongly or somewhat agreed with each statement.
It found 75% of Catholics strongly or somewhat agree it is sinful to "exclude, ridicule, mistreat, or unjustly discriminate against persons on the basis of their race or ethnicity." It found that 19% neither agree nor disagree and 7% either strongly or somewhat disagree.
The survey found that 73% of Catholics strongly or somewhat agree racism can also come in the form of a sin of omission "when individuals, communities, and even churches remain silent and fail to act against racial injustice when it is encountered." Another 20% neither agree nor disagree and 7% either strongly or somewhat disagree.
It found 67% of Catholics strongly or somewhat agree "racism can only end if we contend with the policies and institutional barriers that perpetuate and preserve the inequality — economic and social — that we still see all around us." Another 24% neither agreed nor disagreed, and 9% either strongly or somewhat disagreed.
