“Your line of questioning with regards to who is being counted as Catholic much ado about nothing.”
You chose to enter into the discussion by answering a question not posed to you, didn’t you?
If you don’t know please just say so instead, thank you.
In answer to your question, the number of Catholics in the United States cited specifically by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the United States is that of registered parishioners.
To be a registered parishioner means that one must have signed up in a particular parish, and one must maintain sufficient level of involvement that one will not be purged from the rolls over time. In our parish, you must have a personal interview with the pastor before your registration is accepted. Not all pastors require this, although I’ve noticed a trend toward this practice in my own little corner of the world.
Our pastor would like to know how serious folks are about the practice of the faith, whether he can expect them at Mass weekly, whether they will support the mission and activities of the parish. He takes time to inform folks of the different ministries and activities of the parish, and if there is interest, will put folks in contact with folks in the parish who run various activities.
He isn’t going to turn anyone away from registering if they’re honest and say, “Look, Father, we’ll be here when we’re here, but don't wait up for us.” However, I’d like to believe that at least showing an interest will encourage more folks to come to Mass more often and be more involved.
Also, many unmarried young people will try to join our parish in order to marry in the Church. Although our pastor may permit them to register, he may not approve the wedding in our parish if he thinks they're trying to game the system.
In my own parish, folks who show no activity in the parish over the course of a year are purged annually. I believe that this is the rule of my archdiocese, but I couldn’t assure you that every parish is as diligent to the process as mine. Our last pastor only purged the rolls a couple of times over the course of ten years. Ironically, my family got purged the last time around when the last pastor did the job, even though we're at Mass weekly and are involved in the parish.
Thus, don’t take the count as being overly precise. It’s not.
But just as in some parishes, the rolls are not as regularly purged as would be liked, and thus some folks stay on them who have actually left the parish, keep in mind that many Catholics, especially younger Catholics who are either unmarried or without children, don’t re-register when they move to a new parish.
I was married in one parish, and my wife and I were both registered parishioners. But when we moved to another parish, we didn’t bother to register, and I assume that our registration at the old parish lapsed. Thus, even though we went to Mass weekly, we were nowhere counted in the annual census of Catholics by the Church. We didn’t intend to live long in our first home, and thus didn’t want to get heavily involved in the new parish. Indeed, within a few years, we did move, and we did register in the new parish that we began to attend.
Interestingly, when pollsters poll on religious affiliation, more folks self-identify as Catholics than are counted in the Church’s census. If one looks at polls that ask religious self-identification, one will find polls that estimate the number of Catholics at over 70 million. Obviously, there are folks included in this mix who haven’t darkened the door of a church, ANY church, in a very long time, but still consider themselves Catholic, even though the Church no longer has a record of their belonging to any particular parish.
Also keep in mind that the number of folks who are currently registered is not the same as the number of folks who make at least the minimal commitment to the practice of the faith. Only a minority of Catholics even show up for Mass weekly (one of the most minimal criteria of the practices of Catholic faith). Most Catholics show up for Mass only here and there, or only on Christmas and/or Easter.
At least in our archdiocese, the Church is diligent in asking the question, “How many of the faithful are all that faithful?” and in getting the answer thereto. Our own parish does a physical head count at every Mass every couple of months, at the instruction of the archdiocese.
Finally, don't confuse this census of at least minimally-active Catholics with the number of persons the Church views as canonically-Catholic. A lapsed Catholic is still a Catholic, but wouldn't ordinarily be counted in the census.
Hope that helps.
sitetest
If you didn't want anyone replying to your posts you should be posting in the clear in the first place. Send a private message next time so that you wont be bothered.
If you don’t know please just say so instead, thank you.
I answered your question.