In search of the Real Presence: US survey investigates loss of faith in Christ’s presence in the Eucharist

In July, a group called the Real Presence Coalition undertook a national survey of lay Catholics in the United States to try to understand why there has been such a loss of faith in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist – a Pew Forum study found a decade ago that 70 per cent of Catholics do not believe in this fundamental dogma.

It was the single largest survey of lay Catholics ever conducted in the US, and involved 16,000 participants reasonably representative of American Catholics in terms of age, sex and diocese, though inevitably weighted towards those congregations that included members of the Coalition.

Given that one in five attends a Tridentine Mass, it may well over-represent liturgical conservatives. It posed the question not whether the participants themselves believe in the doctrine, but: “Why do lay Catholics believe there has been a loss of faith in the Real Presence?”

The answers are thought-provoking. One is critical: “lack of humility and reverence in the presence of the Eucharist” and, closely related to this, “a casual attitude to the Eucharist on the part of some clergy” and “lack of catechism about Eucharistic doctrine”. And connected to all these things, “a loss of the sense of a sense of transcendence at Mass”.

There are other suggestions which perhaps reflect the sample group, such as the reception of the Eucharist in the hand while standing (though this is a valid practise approved of by the Church) but the overall sense of the findings is that Catholics have lost the sense of awe and reverence towards the Eucharist which would be evident if they really did believe that God is on the altar at Mass and present in the tabernacle in every Catholic church across the world. Practice follows belief, and belief has to be taught and inculcated as well as absorbed.

Some simple morals can be drawn from this survey, which the bishops in the US should take to heart. One is that there needs to be more rigorous catechesis in schools and parishes, which will help form the understanding of the next generation of Catholics.

Another is the necessity to behave as if we believe what we profess. If we have the habit of genuflecting before the Blessed Sacrament, for instance, that physical expression of belief will affect what goes on in our heads. And we need to consider whether our liturgy reflects the numinous, and whether the atmosphere in our churches raises the mind and heart to God.

These are all questions the bishops must consider. Reminding children to bless themselves as they pass a Catholic church, to salute God within, would be a very good place to start.

This article appears in the November 2024 edition of the Catholic Herald. To subscribe to our award-winning, thought-provoking magazine and have independent, high-calibre, counter-cultural and orthodox Catholic journalism delivered to your door anywhere in the world click HERE.

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