Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 15, 2025 / 12:41 pm

An economics paper published last month on religious service attendance trends in 66 countries concluded that the implementation of reforms associated with the Second Vatican Council likely contributed to subsequent Mass attendance declines.

The working paper , “Looking Backward: Long-term Religious Service Attendance in 66 Countries,” was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) on July 21.

NBER economists delved into historical trends for religious service attendance in historically Catholic and historically Protestant countries based on 1,900 religious affiliation statistics.

According to the researchers, attendance rates declined significantly faster in historically Catholic countries than in Protestant ones

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