Yes, Jesus is really there : Most Catholics still agree - holy communion

Commonweal, Oct 12, 2001 by James D. Davidson

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."