At their meeting last June, the American Catholic bishops approved a document titled "The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist: Basic Questions and Answers" (Origins, June 28). The bishops’ statement provides theological responses to fifteen questions "that commonly arise with regard to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist." The document was a response to the bishops’ November 1999 meeting, during which concern was expressed that "a significant number of Catholics are confused about the Real Presence."

I am interested in the role that published surveys played in the development of the bishops’ document, and I would like to review and critique two surveys in particular that prompted the bishops’ "The Real Presence." Then, I will summarize seven more recent studies, which confirm earlier indications that there has been some decline in Catholics’ belief in the Real Presence, but also indicate that Catholics, including young adults, are more likely to believe in the Real Presence than earlier studies suggested.

The first study to catch the bishops’ attention was commissioned by the Reverend Peter Stravinskas, a well-known Catholic apologist and editor of The Catholic Answer. In 1992, he obtained funds from the Saint Augustine Center Association and hired the Gallup Organization to conduct a national poll asking Catholics: "Which one of the following statements about Holy Communion do you think best reflects your belief?" Only 30 percent of the respondents chose the first option: "When receiving Holy Communion, you are really and truly receiving the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, under the appearance of bread and wine" (which Stravinskas interpreted as the "orthodox" Catholic view). Twenty-nine percent indicated "you are receiving bread and wine, which symbolize the spirit and teachings of Jesus and in so doing are expressing your attachment to His person and words." Twenty-four percent believed "you are receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, which has become that because of your personal belief." Ten percent said "you are receiving bread and wine, in which Jesus is really and truly present." Finally, 8 percent said "none of the above," "don’t know," or refused to answer.

Stravinskas also found that only 44 percent of Catholics who attended Mass weekly or more often accepted the orthodox Catholic view; and that even fewer monthly churchgoers (24 percent) and Catholics who attended once a year or less (22 percent) chose that view. He also reported that only half of Catholics age fifty and over agreed with the orthodox view, compared with even fewer thirty to forty-nine year-olds (21 percent) and eighteen to twenty-nine year-olds (22 percent). Stravinskas announced these findings in the March 15, 1992 issue of the National Catholic Register, and he theorized that the confusion about the Eucharist mostly stems from changes in the way the Mass is conducted (such as standing for Communion, taking Communion in the hand, elimination of the eucharistic fast, and allowing laypeople to distribute Communion).

Two years later, the New York Times (June 1, 1994) reported the results of a New York Times/CBS News poll on Catholics and their beliefs about the Real Presence (see also Commonweal, January 27, 1995). In this poll, Catholics were asked whether the bread and wine used in the Eucharist are "changed into the body and blood of Christ," or are "symbolic reminders of Christ." The reporter, Peter Steinfels, concluded that "almost two-thirds of American Catholics believe that during Mass, the central sacred ritual of Catholicism, the bread and wine can best be understood as ’symbolic reminders of Christ’ rather than as actually being changed into Christ’s body and blood." He also wrote: "Even among the subgroups of Catholics who said they attended Mass every week or almost every week, 51 percent described the rites as strictly symbolic." As further evidence of a "hollowing out" of belief in this vital area, Steinfels reported that young Catholics are more likely than older ones (70 percent vs. 45 percent) to hold the symbolic view.

The results of the 1992 Gallup survey were brought to the attention of the bishops at their meeting in November 1992. While there was no immediate response from the body of bishops, individual bishops became concerned. Steinfels’s conclusions, which have been widely accepted (see Charles Morris, Catholic America, 1997; Chester Gillis, Roman Catholicism in America, 1999), triggered further concern among church leaders.

Both the 1992 Gallup and 1994 Times/CBS studies, however, are problematic. In standard telephone interviews, researchers should provide succinct response categories that respondents can readily understand and easily distinguish in a brief period of time. In my view, the 1992 survey violated this norm. It offered respondents four lengthy choices which contained theological nuances that I suspect some respondents found difficult to discern over the phone. For example, I doubt that all the 10 percent of Catholics who chose the response "you are receiving bread and wine, in which Jesus is really and truly present" meant to reject the church’s view of the Eucharist in favor of "the heretical teaching of Martin Luther called consubstantiation."

The 1994 New York Times/CBS News poll may also have been misleading. While it offered a choice between two views of Eucharist (one, that the bread and wine are actually changed into the body and blood of Christ; the other, that the bread and wine are symbolic reminders of Christ), the descriptions may have confused some respondents. Thus in a letter to the Times (June 18, 1994), theologian Peter Casarella expressed concerns about the survey’s wording. In his view, some respondents might have shied away from the first response category, thinking it meant "the form of the material elements is transformed into the physical body of Christ" (which the church does not claim). Instead, they might have taken the second option, believing that "real symbolic presence and the memorial meal are standard features of traditional Catholic theology." In my view, the two options also might have put an undetermined number of respondents in the uncomfortable position of choosing between two categories, both of which they agreed with. They might have preferred a third option: that the bread and wine are the body and blood of Christ both really and symbolically (which is consistent with Catholic theology).

Thus, we need to explore other approaches before we conclude how many Catholics believe in the Real Presence. Let me suggest three possibilities. First, without denying the symbolic nature of the sacrament, researchers could ask Catholics if they believe the bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ in some real way. Second, researchers could ask if Catholics believe that the consecrated bread and wine are symbols in which the body and blood of Christ are really present. In both cases, agreement would signify belief in the Real Presence. Third, researchers could ask if people believe that the bread and wine are strictly symbolic reminders of Jesus. Agreement in this latter case would not square with a Catholic understanding of the Eucharist.

Seven recent studies employ these three options. And unlike the 1992 and 1994 surveys, these studies all indicate that a majority of Catholics, including young Catholics, continue to embrace this core church teaching on the Real Presence. In 1994, colleagues and I asked Catholic parishioners in Indiana to respond to this statement: "In Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ." Eighty-seven percent agreed. In 1997, when Dean Hoge, William Dinges, Mary Johnson, and Juan Gonzales used the same item in their study of twenty-to-thirty-nine-year-old Catholic confirmands, they found that 96 percent of Latinos and 87 percent of non-Latinos agreed (see Hoge et al., Young Adult Catholics, 2001). That same year, the Roper polling company found that 82 percent of American Catholics believe that "The bread and wine used in Mass are actually transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ." A national poll conducted this year by CARA (Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate) concludes that 70 percent of Catholics twenty years of age and older believe that "Jesus Christ is really present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist," while 30 percent of those polled believe "The bread and wine are symbols of Jesus, but Jesus is not really present."

Recent studies also indicate that Catholics believe the Real Presence is among the core elements of their personal faith. In a 1995 national survey in which colleagues and I asked Catholics about the importance of the Real Presence, 63 percent said believing that "In Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ" is "very important" to them personally. Another 23 percent responded "fairly important" or "somewhat important." Only 12 percent said it is "not very important." In the same study, the percentage of registered parishioners believing in the importance of the Real Presence was higher still (see Davidson et al., The Search for Common Ground, 1997). In 1997, when Hoge, Dinges, Johnson, and Gonzales asked a national sample of twenty-to-thirty-nine-year-old Catholics what they consider "essential to the faith," 80 percent of young adults who attended Mass regularly, and 65 percent of all young Catholics, indicated "belief that God is present in the sacraments." Seventy-four percent of weekly Mass attenders, and 58 percent of all young adults, said "belief that Christ is really present in the Eucharist" is essential. In 1999, when colleagues and I asked American Catholics what it takes to be a good Catholic, 60 percent said one cannot be a good Catholic "without believing that in the Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus" (William D’Antonio et al., American Catholics, 2001). Our respondents attached more importance to the Real Presence than to church teachings about abortion (45 percent), helping the poor (43 percent), opposing divorce and remarriage (33 percent), opposing artificial birth control (26 percent), and going to Mass every Sunday (23 percent).

Like the 1992 and 1994 surveys, however, these more recent studies also indicate that belief in the Real Presence is declining. In our 1995 national survey, for example, we found that 79 percent of older Catholics but only 57 percent of middle-aged and younger Catholics believe that "In Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ" is "very important" to them personally. A similar weakening was found in our 1999 national survey, where 90 percent of the pre-Vatican II generation, 84 percent of the Vatican II generation, and 73 percent of the post-Vatican II generation said that belief in "sacraments, such as the Eucharist and marriage" is "very important." In the same survey, 62 percent of pre-Vatican II Catholics, 65 percent of Vatican II Catholics, and 55 percent of post-Vatican II Catholics said that one cannot be a good Catholic "without believing that in the Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus." Finally, according to CARA’s 2001 poll, 80 percent of pre-Vatican II Catholics, 70 percent of Vatican II Catholics, and 62 percent of post-Vatican II Catholics believe that "Jesus Christ is really present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist," compared to 20 percent, 30 percent, and 38 percent respectively who now hold that "The bread and wine are symbols of Jesus, but Jesus is not really present."

What conclusions can we draw about what American Catholics really believe concerning the Real Presence? First, that we need to do more research. The most recent studies address some of the limitations of earlier studies, but they have limitations of their own (for example, they are based entirely on mailed questionnaires and telephone surveys). Future research should explore various theological perspectives and wordings, and should employ a variety of methodologies (interviews and focus groups, as well as mailed questionnaires and telephone surveys). It also should try to identify the factors in the church and in American society that make it possible for some Catholics to believe in the Real Presence, and those which hinder other Catholics from embracing this important teaching.

In the meantime, the bulk of recent research on the Real Presence supports two hypotheses. First, there has been some real decline in the belief of Catholics in the Real Presence. Bishops and other church leaders should do all they can to enhance a fuller appreciation and understanding of the Eucharist. The bishops’ document "The Real Presence" is a step in that direction. Further steps might include changes in the way priests, religious, and lay leaders present the Real Presence to the laity. These might take place in the context of the Mass (for example, teaching Masses), but also in religious education programs for both young and adult Catholics. These efforts also might address alternative views of the Eucharist that Catholics are likely to encounter in a society that tends not to support a Catholic understanding of this sacrament.

Second, the situation is not as bleak as the 1992 Gallup survey and the 1994 New York Times/CBS News poll suggested. More recent research shows that a majority of Catholics, including young Catholics, still agree with the church’s teaching that the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ. A majority also believe that the Real Presence is closer to the core of the Catholic faith than many other church teachings. Although laypeople do not participate in the Eucharist as often as church leaders would like, and probably cannot express their belief in the Real Presence in language that would satisfy the theological virtuosos, still a strong majority of Catholics believe that Christ is really present in the Eucharist.