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Just one-third of U.S. Catholics agree with their church that Eucharist is body, blood of Christ
Source: Pew Research Center
By Gregory A. Smith is an associate director of research at Pew Research Center.
Transubstantiation – the idea that during Mass, the bread and wine used for Communion become the body and blood of Jesus Christ – is central to the Catholic faith. But a new Pew Research Center survey finds that most self-described Catholics don’t believe this core teaching. In fact, nearly seven-in-ten Catholics (69%) say they personally believe that during Catholic Mass, the bread and wine used in Communion “are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.”
Just one-third of U.S. Catholics (31%) say they believe that “during Catholic Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus.”
In addition to asking Catholics what they believe about the Eucharist, the new survey also included a question that tested whether Catholics know what the church teaches on the subject. Most Catholics who believe that the bread and wine are symbolic do not know that the church holds that transubstantiation occurs. Overall, 43% of Catholics believe that the bread and wine are symbolic and also that this reflects the position of the church. Still, one-in-five Catholics (22%) reject the idea of transubstantiation, even though they know about the church’s teaching.
The vast majority of those who believe that the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ – 28% of all Catholics – do know that this is what the church teaches. A small share of Catholics (3%) profess to believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist despite not knowing the church’s teaching on transubstantiation.
About six-in-ten (63%) of the most observant Catholics — those who attend Mass at least once a week — accept the church’s teaching about transubstantiation. Still, even among this most observant group of Catholics, roughly one-third (37%) don’t believe that the Communion bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ (including 23% who don’t know the church’s teaching and 14% who know the church’s teaching but don’t believe it). And among Catholics who do not attend Mass weekly, large majorities say they believe the bread and wine are symbolic and do not actually become the body and blood of Jesus.
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Categories: Catholic Church, Catholicism, Catholics, Christianity, Collection of articles, Demographics, Poll
ONLY 7 out of 10 ?
This is so made up. They made up these numbers. It’s a farce. This is not true at all. Catholics do believe in the presence of God in the Eucharist they would not be Catholics if they did not believe. Stop making up lies.
Ask Muslims, how many of them believe that God is present during their 5 daily prayers?
The details of dogma and belief are not important. Religions do not die. They continue to serve their primary purpose which is to create a moral human being. All religions have this ability, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Islam. None of them is dying.