Conclusions and Implications
How can we best summarize the demographic characteristics of Southern Catholicism and their likely future effects? I would emphasize four points. First, the growth of Southern Catholicism appears to have been fueled primarily by migration, as demonstrated by the large number of Southern Catholics in the region who moved from other, more Catholic regions, and as indirectly shown by the large number of persons now in the South who used to be Catholic but who have left the Church. Second, even if based on migration, it is indisputable that Catholicism has grown in the South, that it has grown faster than other religious bodies in the region, and that its numbers of churches have increased, albeit not as fast as its adherents have, meaning Southern churches are now serving far larger numbers of parishioners than they have. Third, as demonstrated by comparatively low attendance at church and by a propensity of many to leave Catholicism, many Southern Catholics may have only a tenuous relationship with the Church. Strengthening this relationship may be key to sustaining the growth Southern Catholicism has enjoyed by migration.
Fourth and finally, the “growing pains” of Southern Catholicism, or the difficulties in sustaining the growth it is enjoying from migration, may increase the diversity of Southern Catholics continues to increase. While the data are somewhat sketchy, it may be that continuing to meet the needs of new populations, whether migrants from elsewhere or a burgeoning Hispanic population growing most rapidly in areas where Hispanics traditionally have not been, may be critical to meeting this challenge.