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AUGUST 19, 2020
Saint Mary’s Press Pioneers Brand New Distance-Learning Options for Flexible Learning During COVID-19 Pandemic
APRIL 11, 2019
Saint Mary’s Press and the California Catholic Conference launch new eLearning program celebrating California Native Peoples and Missions
MARCH 20, 2019
Mission: Building Solidarity Across Differences
JANUARY 29, 2019
Singer-Towns Takes On New Role After Storied Career at Saint Mary’s Press
JANUARY 9, 2019
OPEN WIDE OUR HEARTS
JULY 12, 2018
ACTA Publications and Saint Mary’s Press Conclude Historic Sale
JUNE 29, 2018
Janet Zafft: A celebration of 40 years of faithful, joyful service
JANUARY 17, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SAINT MARY’S PRESS & GEORGETOWN RESEARCHERS RELEASE TWO-YEAR NATIONAL STUDY ON DISAFFILIATION IN YOUNG CATHOLICS
JANUARY 15, 2018
RELEASE: SAINT MARY’S PRESS RELEASES NEW CATHOLIC YOUTH BIBLE DESIGNED TO INSPIRE AND ENGAGE
JANUARY 5, 2018
RELEASE: SAINT MARY’S PRESS HOSTS A PUBLIC DISCUSSION ON WHY YOUTH ARE LEAVING RELIGION
SEPTEMBER 19, 2017
"A better children's bible" from Aleteia: a review of The Catholic Children's Bible
JULY 3, 2017
Making a difference in Ethiopia
AUGUST 10, 2015
Ready-To-Go Game Shows
JULY 8, 2015
Coming Soon! A New Translation of The Catholic Youth Bible
MAY 8, 2015
New type of Bible with African-American history
MAY 3, 2015
World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery
APRIL 21, 2015
Religion teacher wants students to open Bible, be surprised
APRIL 14, 2015
The Catholic Children's Prayer Book
MARCH 26, 2015
New Edition of Bible Considers African-American Catholic Faith, Youth and Community
JANUARY 9, 2015
New Bible is Designed Specifically for Young Black Catholics
DECEMBER 29, 2014
One of Us
DECEMBER 19, 2014
Cotter student receives free prayer book from Saint Mary's Press
NOVEMBER 24, 2014
Bible aims to make God's word more accessible to African-American youth
OCTOBER 7, 2014
Bible for African-American youth to be released
MAY 28, 2014
Saint Mary's Press Named Gold Winner for Benjamin Franklin Award
APRIL 26, 2014
Essential Guide to Biblical Life and Times
APRIL 21, 2014
Anselm Academic Study Bible
APRIL 12, 2014
The Catholic Youth Bible
APRIL 8, 2014
Break Through!
MARCH 31, 2014
Moses and the Ten Commandments Big Book
MARCH 30, 2014
The Catholic Children’s Bible
MARCH 24, 2014
Vocations: Answering God's Call
FEBRUARY 5, 2014
Excellent Textbook on Morality For Kids
JANUARY 30, 2014
Church History: Apostolic Times to Today
DECEMBER 13, 2013
The Catholic Children’s Bible
NOVEMBER 24, 2013
Catholic TV interviews John Vitek on The Catholic Children's Bible
AUGUST 25, 2013
Back-to-School Time Is Good Reading Time-Review by National Catholic Register
AUGUST 21, 2013
The Catholic Children's Bible by Saint Mary's Press-Review by Equipping Catholic Families
JULY 27, 2013
"Great Addition to The Catholic Children's Bible" by Stuart Dunn
JULY 12, 2013
The Catholic Children’s Bible by Saint Mary's Press -Review by Gidget Bookworms
JUNE 18, 2013
The Catholic Youth Bible® New Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition, Not just for Roman Catholics!
MAY 26, 2013
The Catholic Children's Bible Review
MAY 26, 2013
The Catholic Children’s Bible
MAY 19, 2013
Liturgical Press, Loyola Press, Saint Mary's Press Dominate 2013 "Excellence in Publishing Awards"
MAY 19, 2013
Saint Mary's Press: The Catholic Children's Bible
MAY 5, 2013
Saint Mary's Press partners with Kno to Offer the World's Best-Selling Catholic Youth Bibles as Interactive E-Books
APRIL 1, 2013
First Dog, Midwest Book Review
OCTOBER 24, 2012
Made in Winona: Saint Mary's Press
OCTOBER 1, 2012
Reviews of Who Is Jesus Christ?
SEPTEMBER 28, 2012
The Catholic Youth Bible® Dancing at LARE!
AUGUST 22, 2012
Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics
AUGUST 16, 2012
Who is Jesus Christ?
JULY 16, 2012
Sister Michaela Hedican Elected 16th Prioress of Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, MN
JUNE 6, 2012
Breakthrough! The Bible for Young Catholics
APRIL 16, 2012
Great People of the Bible
JULY 1, 2011
Great People of the Bible Student Book
FEBRUARY 1, 2011
Sister Michaela Hedican Elected 16th Prioress of Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, MN
JANUARY 26, 2011
Saint Mary's Press Releases High School Textbooks Found in Conformity with the Catechism
JANUARY 26, 2011
Saint Mary's Press Releases High School Textbooks Found in Conformity with the Catechism
JANUARY 1, 2011
Saint Mary's Press Releases Framework High School Textbooks Declared in Conformity with the Catechism
DECEMBER 17, 2010
Jesus in the Gospels and Acts: Introducing the New Testament
DECEMBER 17, 2010
The Catholic Church: A Brief Popular History
DECEMBER 17, 2010
Using the Remote to Channel Jesus: 50 Movie Clips for Ministry
NOVEMBER 1, 2010
Brian Singer-Towns Receives Youth Ministry Award
NOVEMBER 1, 2010
Saint Mary's Press Announces Partnership with Catholicquiz.com
OCTOBER 31, 2010
Interview with John Vitek
JUNE 1, 2010
Reviews of Saint Mary's Press® Essential Guide to Biblical Life and Times
JUNE 1, 2010
The Catholic Family Connections Bible
MARCH 1, 2010
Using the Remote to Channel Jesus: 50 Movie clips for Ministry
DECEMBER 1, 2009
World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery, Third Edition
January 17, 2018
The comprehensive report, Going, Going, Gone! The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics, offers compelling and sometimes disturbing insight into the reasons young people are leaving the Catholic Church and religion in general, said Saint Mary’s Press president and CEO John Vitek.
“This study was all about young people telling their stories of why they left the church in their own words, uncensored and unfiltered,” said Vitek. “Some of what was said by youth about the Catholic Church is difficult and unpleasant, but it’s critical for church leaders to hear it without casting blame or trying to explain it away.”
The findings were released at a symposium at the Maritime Conference Center in Baltimore, hosted by Saint Mary’s Press. More than 250 people gathered to hear a nondenominational discussion about the findings. Two days of discussion with nearly 65 national leaders in the Catholic Church followed the symposium.
Vitek hopes the church can embrace and seriously reflect on the truthfulness and candor in these stories in a way that helps the church come up with meaningful solutions to keep young people engaged.
Saint Mary’s Press, which is based in Winona Minnesota and celebrates its 75th Anniversary this year, is known for producing educational content for Catholic youth. Vitek said that he and his team were compelled to find out more about why young Catholics leave the church following the Pew Research Center findings in May 2015 about the growth of the “Nones,” people who don’t affiliate with any religion. Of all the major denominations, Catholicism has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes.
The Saint Mary’s Press/CARA study found that the largest demographic of disaffiliated Catholic youth claim no religious affiliation.
When asked their current religion:
When asked at what age they no longer identified themselves as Catholic, 74 percent of the sample said between the ages of 10 and 20, with the median age being 13 years old.
“The reasons most adults think young people leave the church are not the reasons young people leave the church,” Vitek said. “There are so many assumptions made by adults that are simply not accurate. When you hear a young person tell their story in their own words, it’s really instructive and clarifying. Clarity, accurateness and truth open the doors to authentic insight and understanding.”
The study found that disaffiliation is a process that happens over time for young people, typically prompted by a series of events or unresolved questions that accumulate over time. The report stated that many disaffiliated youth believe in what Jesus taught, but they perceive organized religion as having corrupted Jesus’ fundamental teachings. They see the church’s dogmas and doctrines as nonsensical, and they believe they can live more moral lives without the baggage of religion. Many perceive that religion was forced on them, and they report feeling freer and happier without what they experience as the burden of religion.
“It’s clear that church leaders will need to open their minds and their hearts in order to view disaffiliation not as a grave threat, but as a new reality in which the church’s evangelizing mission must function in wholly new ways,” Vitek said. “Most young people still believe in God and want to be connected spiritually, but they also believe that religion is just one path to a fulfilled life. A critical first step for the church is to provide a nonjudgmental place for young people to openly and honestly wrestle with their questions, struggles, and doubts about faith and religion. If we don’t, they will leave and find a place where they can.”
Vitek said that Saint Mary’s Press will continue to advocate for the voice of youth in the Catholic Church by continuing to collect and share personal stories through their research web site www.catholicresearch.smp.org.
Saint Mary’s Press and The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate interviewed 204 of the 5.4 million individuals in the United States who are former Catholics between the ages of 15 and 25. Interviews were conducted September 10– 23, 2015. The report has a margin of sampling error of +/- 6.86 percentage points, considered a statistically sound sample.
The full report Going, Going, Gone! The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics is available at www.catholicresearch.smp.org.