Date & Time
Date(s) - 07/31/2018
8:30 am - 4:00 pm

Location
Sheraton Westport Chalet Hotel

Categories No Categories

In their study, The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics, Saint Mary’s Press reveals extensive research on young Catholics who have left the church. This presentation will identify the underlying dynamics that lead to disaffiliation, describe the factors that reinforce those dynamics, and examine the implications for the Church and ministry with young people. We will hear about these issues from young people, in their own voices. We will examine the broader sociological shifts that enhance and diminish religious affiliation and engagement in secularized society.

Overview

• Participants will connect this research and the stories of young adults with their lived experiences
• Participants will understand the dynamics leading to disaffiliation among young Catholics
• Participants will consider the implications for the Church and its ministry

Presenters:

John M. Vitek currently serves as the president and chief executive officer of Saint Mary’s Press. He is the co-author of Going, Going, Gone! The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics (Saint Mary’s Press 2018). He has served in church leadership for 36 years, including as a parish minister and director of religious education, a diocesan director, and as diocesan chancellor.

Bob McCarty has been in professional ministry since 1973, serving in parish, school, diocesan, and national settings. He offers consultations, retreats, workshops and training programs in ministry skills and issues internationally. Bob serves as the project coordinator for the Saint Mary’s Press research project, Going, Going, Gone: The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics.Bob has a BS in Sociology/Theology from St. Joseph’s University, an MA in Religious Education from LaSalle University and a D.Min. from the Graduate Theological Foundation in Indiana. Bob is adjunct faculty at The Catholic University of America and The University of Dallas.

Elizabeth Drescher, PhD is an educator, scholar, writer and public speaker on the topic of spirituality in everyday life today and in the past. She holds a Ph.D. in Christian Spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union and an MA in Systematic Theology from Duquesne University. Dr. Drescher teaches in the undergraduate program in religious studies and the graduate program in pastoral ministry at Santa Clara University and is a consulting scholar at The BTS Center, a think-tank for 21^st century ministries in Portland, Maine. Her writing has been highlighted by the Atlantic Wire, the Utne Reader, The Daily Beast, NPR, Radio Australia, and the BBC. Her book, Choosing Our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of American Nones (Oxford, 2016) explores the spiritual lives of people who are not affiliated with any religion. She lives with her family in Northern California’s Silicon Valley.

Josh Packard, PhD, sociologist, professor, and researcher at the University of Northern Colorado, serves as Executive Director of the Social Research Lab and CEO of The Packard Group, a strategic innovation consulting firm. Josh’s research has appeared in numerous academic and trade publications. His recent book, Church Refugees: Sociologists reveal why people are DONE with church but not their faith (Group Publishing), explores how religion drives people away from church, but not from God.