(ZENIT News / Washington DC, 20.06.2024).- A recent study of Vinea Research challenged the results of the 2019 Pew Research Center survey, which alarmed the Catholic community, revealing that only one third of Catholics believed in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Vinea’s new survey, carried out at the end of 2022, showed that 69% of Catholics that attend Mass affirm this fundamental belief, attributing the difference to a change in the formulation of the questions.
Vinea Research, a company specialized in studies for the Catholic community, assures that the language used in it survey reflects better the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist. “Using a language more commonly understood by Catholics, our research indicates that many more Catholics than was thought originally understand the central teaching of Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist,” highlighted the group in its press release.
Pew’s 2019 study elicited a significant response in the Church, which is promoting the National Eucharistic Congress, an initiative of the American Bishops, which seeks to revitalize devotion to the Eucharist, and which will culminate in the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis from July 17-21.
Vinea’s survey divided 2,200 participants in two groups: one responded with Pew’s original writing, whereas the other did so with revised questions to reflect a more Catholic language. Although the group that responded with Pew’s writing showed slight improvement over the original study, with 41% affirming their belief in the Real Presence, the group with the new writing reached a significant 69%.
Hans Plate, Founder of Vinea Research, stressed the importance of language in the surveys. “The writing matters significantly,” he said. Plate also underscored that belief in the Real Presence varies significantly according to the frequency of Mass attendance. Among Catholics that go to Mass weekly, 81% expressed their belief in the Real Presence, figure that rises to 92% among those that attend Mass more than once a week.
This is not the first time that an attempt is made to revise Pew’s questions. In 2023, the Center of Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) of Georgetown University found that 64% of those surveyed believed in the Real Presence when a modified writing was used.
Despite Vinea’s most optimistic results, Plate alerts that the Eucharistic Renaissance is still necessary. “Although a considerable portion of Catholics does not believe in the Real Presence, we also found a population that rarely goes to Mass but believes that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist,” concluded Plate.
This new study reopens the debate on faith and the understanding of the Eucharist among Catholics, stressing the importance of the way this central mystery of the Catholic faith is communicated and taught.
The complete results of the survey can be seen here.
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