Almost two-thirds of Catholics believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist according to a newly published survey from Georgetown University’s Centre for Applied Research in the Apostolate.
The survey also revealed a high correlation between belief in the Eucharist and weekly or even monthly Mass attendance.
The 2022 survey of self-identified Catholics published September 26 and titled Eucharist Beliefs: A National Survey of Adult Catholics found 64% of respondents provided responses that indicate they believe in the Real Presence.
That conclusion was drawn from both open-ended and closed-ended questions respondents were asked about their understanding of Church teaching about the Eucharist and additional questions to clarify their beliefs.
According to the CARA study, 49% of respondents correctly identified that the Church teaches that “Jesus Christ is truly present under the appearance of bread and wine”.
The other 51% incorrectly identified the church’s teaching as “Bread and wine are symbols of Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper, meaning that Jesus is only symbolically present in the consecrated bread and wine”.
“Results of this question indicate that there is substantial confusion about what the Church teaches about the Eucharist with slightly more adult Catholics not knowing this correctly than those correctly identifying the teachings,” the report stated.
The survey report noted the data from the responses to the questions indicated “most who do not believe in the Real Presence are not rejecting the teaching, as they do not know this is what the Church teaches”.