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Research can be one of the tools in
developing action plans. The following research is
offered as background information.
Black Catholic
Population
The African American population is today 12% of
the total United States population, and it is and
always has been overwhelmingly Protestant. Blacks
are about 3% of the total Catholic population.
Today a century later, in the estimation of many
the Black Catholic population in the United States
is somewhere between two million and two million and
a half. Some would even suggest that the number
should be three million. Black Protestant churches
are, or course, much larger than this. There are
about eleven million members in the two Black
Baptist Conventions, the National Baptist
Convention, U.S.A., Inc. and the National Baptist
Convention of America, Inc. The Church of God in
Christ, Inc. has about five and a half million. The
African Methodist Episcopal Church numbers some
three and a half million and the AME Zion Church has
a million two hundred thousand members. Black
Catholics are about fifth in this list of black
churches.
|
Priests in the United States |
| |
Diocesan |
Religious |
Total |
|
Total Priests |
30,572 |
16,939 |
16,939 |
|
Retired Priests |
6,921 |
2,603 |
9,524 |
|
Percent Retired Priests |
23% |
15% |
20% |
|
Priests Active in Diocesan or Parish Ministry |
22,394 |
4,621* |
27,015 |
|
(Percent of Total Diocesan or Religious) Priests
Who are Active in Diocesan or |
|
Parish Ministry |
73% |
27%** |
57% |
|
Extern Priests |
2,455 |
|
2,455 |
*Active in parish or diocesan ministry only.
Another 9,715 religious priests (57 percent) are
active in institutional ministry, internal ministry,
or other apostolates.
**When all religious priests in active ministry
whose religious community responded to the survey
are included, 73 percent are in active ministry.
Page [1], [2],
[3],
[4],
[5],
[6]
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